Krampus in North American popular culture

Sign on a pole in University City, late 2014.^{[note 1]}

Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" of Austrian and Bavarian folklore, has entered the popular culture of North America;^[1] Christian Jacobs notes that "thanks to the Internet and YouTube^{[note 2]} [Krampus] is now very much on America's Christmas radar".^[2] Tanya Basu interprets this as part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations": a "bah, humbug" rejection of – or novel alternative to – mainstream festivities.^[1] Brian Joines of Image Comics suspects that the reason Krampus (specifically, as well as dark aspects of Christmas in general) has not been historically popularized in America is a social artifact resulting from "the nature of how we view Christmas in this country, both as a big day for kids and as the birth of a big religious figurehead".^[3] In some North American depictions, Krampus is an antihero who seeks to prevent children from becoming spoiled by rampant consumerism flowing from the economics of Christmas.

While tangential mentions of Krampus sometimes appear in media related to Christmas,^{[note 3]} notable instances where the character played a significant role in North American media include:

Krampus Celebrations

With Krampus breaking into the North American conscious, multiple Krampus related celebrations are held in cities across the continent. Each event may be focused on a theme and or cause, be it a simple bar crawl, toy drive, or a charity fundraiser. The following is but a small sampling of Krampus celebrations in North America:

Washington DC Krampusnacht walk, 2016.

• Krampusnacht Washington DC. ^[4]

• Toronto Krampus Ball. ^[5]

• Chicago Krampus Fest. ^[6]

• LA Krampusfest. ^[7]

• San Francisco Krampus Krawl. ^[8]

• Dallas Krampus Society. ^[9]

• Krampuslauf Philadelphia. ^[10]

Costumes

Costumed characters are a central part of all Krampus celebrations. These characters include: Krampus, Saint Nikolaus, the woodsman, angels, and the old woman. As Krampus is half-goat and half-demon, the costume normally shares certain primary elements such as: a fur suit, horns, demon mask, and hooves. Props commonly used are; bells, a birch switch, basket worn on the back, chains, walking staff, and a horse hair or hemp flogger. The most traditional Krampus costumes are made from goat/sheep skins, animal horns, and hand carved masks. More often they are made with modern and less costly materials, such as: fake fur and latex masks. Several Krampus costume instructional YouTube videos are available. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Film

• A Christmas Horror Story anthology horror film (2015).
• Krampus horror comedy (2015) from Universal Pictures. Produced for $15 million USD, as of 14 December 2015 it is estimated to have grossed $61 million worldwide.^[16] Its director, Michael Dougherty, commented: "The dark ancient origins of our holidays have always fascinated me."^[17]

In production

• Anti-Claus (initially titled Comes the Krampus), from Kevin Smith.^[18]
• Happy Krampus!, from Walden Media and The Jim Henson Company.^[19]

Television

• G4 commercial (2003).^[20] Christmas carolers outside a house sing a dirge about Krampus, who has entered to punish the naughty children inside.
• The Colbert Report segment "The Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude - Hallmark & Krampus" (2009), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'.^[21]

Animation

• The Venture Bros.^[3] episode "A Very Venture Christmas" (2004).
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated^[3] episode "Wrath of the Krampus" (2012). Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
• American Dad! episode "Minstrel Krampus" (2013).^[1] Voiced by Danny Glover and Charles Bradley.

Live action

• The League^[3] episode "A Krampus Carol" (2012).
• The Aquabats! Super Show! episode "Christmas with The Aquabats!" (2013).^[2] Voiced by Robert Smigel.
• Grimm episode "Twelve Days of Krampus" (2013). Depicted as a man who annually transforms into Krampus (Derek Mears) to kidnap and eat "naughty" children on Christmas.^[22]
• Lost Girl episode "Groundhog Fae" (2013).^[23]

Print media

• Chickenhare graphic novel (2006), had a Krampus named Banjo as one of the main characters.^[24]
• Krampus: The Yule Lord novel (2012), by Gerald Brom set in Boone County, West Virginia.^{[25][note 4]}

Other

• CarnEvil arcade game (1998), has a "freakishly evil St. Nick" boss named Krampus.^[26][27]
• Random Spirit Lover album (2007), by the Canadian indie band Sunset Rubdown, features a picture of Krampus on the back cover. Spencer Krug stated that it was placed there because "he represents the sort of duality that's a theme on the record, the two sides of every thing."^[28]
• The Binding of Isaac video game (2011), features Krampus as a possible surprise boss encounter in rooms where the player would normally expect the chance to make a pact with the Devil. Upon being defeated, he leaves behind a lump of coal.^[29]
• The Don't Starve video game (2013), where Krampus is a boss who instantly appears if the player has raised their Naughtiness level high enough by killing innocent creatures. On spawning he steals nearby items on the floor as well as in storage containers, and on death he drops charcoal, with a small chance to drop his Sack.

See also

• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a Finnish thriller film about finding the source of the original Santa Claus myth; a supernatural being who, rather than rewarding good children, punishes the naughty.

Jack Frost in Harper's Weekly (1861)

Krampus is not the only 'nightmare before Christmas'.

Apart from evil versions of normally good Christmas characters (i.e. Santa, Frosty, etc.), or Jack Frost who is usually depicted as just mischievous, malevolent monsters associated with Christmas in North American popular culture other than Krampus include, in chronological order:

• Bogeymen from Babes in Toyland (1934)
• The Grinch (1957)
• "Bumble", the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
• Gremlins (1984)
• Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

…and villains from cult films:

• Santa Claus (1959) from Mexico features a demon who ineptly attempts to ruin Christmas.
• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

Notes

References