The Enigma of Krampus

Unravel the enigma of Krampus, the notorious holiday figure who casts a shadow over the festive cheer, notorious for disciplining misbehaving children. Is his origin tied to ancient pagan rituals or is it the Alpine Austrian folklore that truly shapes his fearsome image? With horns, hooves, and a sinister long tongue, Krampus is the sinister companion to St. Nicholas on December 5th, adding a chilling layer to the holiday season. Despite medieval attempts to banish him, Krampus has endured, becoming a staple of modern festivities, from lively celebrations to gripping horror films. Join me as I ponder how this devilish character might have a hidden agenda of encouraging good behavior among little ones.

As the holiday season unfolds, exciting plans are on the horizon, including an upcoming episode featuring a special guest who will dive into the mysterious realm of dreams and their spiritual implications. More guests are queuing up, promising a series of captivating discussions. Connect with me on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, where reaching over a thousand followers will unlock the chance for live session recordings. Your reviews and ratings on platforms like Facebook and Spotify will help us grow and reach new listeners. Stay tuned for more thrilling content, and share your ideas for topics you’d love to hear explored next!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Witching Hour Chronicles. I am your host, christine. Welcome to episode four. I hope everyone has been enjoying these episodes so far. I know I've been having a lot of fun doing them. It is definitely not easy to do this by myself and not have a co-host, but it's definitely been a learning experience and definitely brings me out of my comfort zone. So it's a good thing. I've been loving it. I hope you are all loving it. I hope you love the kind of episodes I've put out there and if you have any suggestions on topics you would like me to cover, I would love that. I want to put out there what you want to listen to. So definitely send me a message. You can email me. You can get a hold of me on Facebook, whatever. You can get a hold of me on Facebook, whatever.

Speaker 1: 1:12

But anyways, so today, because Christmas is just a couple weeks away, I decided I would talk about Krampus today. I don't know how many of you really know much about him. I knew a little bit. I didn't know much. I guess I don't have a whole lot of information, because every article I read pretty much said the same short little paragraph, just basic little information on who Krampus is Some of it's very like contradicting, though In one article it says one thing, while in another it might say something similar but a little different. So I will get into that a little bit.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Krampus dates back to about the 17th century. Nobody really knows for sure exactly how far back Krampus goes, but that's probably the earliest people can have found in recordings is the 17th century. Now where it starts getting a little confusing is one place I read said that he was part of pagan rituals for the winter solstice, and that was only one article. I read this. Everything else said something a little different, and that was only one article I've read this. Everything else said something a little different, and it said that, according to legend, he was the son of Hel H-E-L, who was the Norse god of the underworld. But this one article was the only place I read that. Actually, after I wrote up my notes for this, I was actually on Instagram this morning scrolling and I came across something about Krampus and it said that nowhere in any pagan rituals does it actually talk about Krampus. So that is probably not true. It also said nowhere in Norse mythology is Krampus ever mentioned. So that's probably not true either, but hard to say because the way his story has changed and evolved over the years.

Speaker 1: 3:47

It's really hard to say exactly where he originated from, but he is described as half goat, half kind of demonish, almost very devilish kind of monster that punishes misbehaving children. His name comes from the German word krampen, which means claw, crampon, which means claw. So what is said to happen is on December 5th, him and St Nicholas. St Nicholas would arrive in the evening and reward children who were good and leave them gifts. Krampus, on the other hand, would punish children who were naughty. So I get where it comes like. People associate him with Christmas and kind of the opposite of Santa, but this happened December 5th, not the 25th. So what Krampus would do to these naughty kids is he would beat these children with branches and sticks and then, in some cases, for really bad children, he is said to eat them or take them to hell. And then on december 6th, which is saint nicholas day, children would wake up to either have gifts or injuries from being beaten by krampus.

Speaker 1: 5:32

Pretty interesting, uh, he's so okay. So I said he's a devil type creature, he, but he also is said to carry chains, he has hooves and is said to have a really long tongue. Uh, now, I brought up the pagan part and how. That part doesn't necessarily seem to be true. But what is a more popular theory is that he comes from Alpine Austria folklore, and this seems to make more sense. Folklore and this seems to make more sense. So Austria, parts of Germany, germany, is definitely where he seems to come from. He's definitely associated with the devil because of oh, he has horns as well. So he's associated with the devil because of horns and his hooves. Okay, this article here that I read. It says by the 1600s, krampus had a place in saint nicholas's day.

Speaker 1: 6:59

Festivals on the fifth, um, um, a lot of things that people do. People, people actually celebrate Krampus today and they hold like festivals where people dress up there to watch and they try to scare people. They've made movies on Krampus. So, yeah, that is definitely. It's still very popular in those regions and I kind of like the idea of krampus more than I mean, because, if you think about it, santa knows he has his naughty and nice list and those who are nice get gifts and those who are naughty get coal. Um, I just think the idea of a devil-like monster coming to beat you or possibly eat you well, if you're bad, thinking that some scary monster is going to come beat you, then wouldn't you behave? I know I would, let's see. So that is pretty much Krampus. Oh, I guess what I didn't mention too was so like, as Christianity spread, church leaders tried to suppress his influence and this was like during the medieval period, yeah, but it still didn't stop all the celebrations and Krampus from being included in all these festivities.

Speaker 1: 9:17

So I think that's pretty awesome this week and I'm really sorry for that I don't have anyone to sit here and talk to. I think if I had a co-host, I would be. These episodes would be a lot longer, but I think you all like the short, sweet to the point episodes. Seems how it is just about Christmas time. You know the holidays and all that. I think my next episode I am gonna tell you about Yule and how that plays into Christmas today kind of Should be a good episode, probably a little bit longer than 10 minutes, because that's where I'm at at this episode. But, like I said, if you have anything you would like me to discuss, definitely let me know. I definitely want you all to be part of making this show great, so let me know.

Speaker 1: 10:26

I know that I have a guest that's going to be on within, probably after all the Christmas episodes all the holiday episodes come out. I have a guest that's going to be on within probably after all the Christmas episodes, all the holiday episodes come out. I have a guest and we're going to do an episode on dreams. I know that dreams can be a very spiritual thing and all that. So, yeah, should be fun. I have a couple other people that want to jump on and be a guest as well. Should be fun. I have a couple other people that want to jump on and be a guest as well.

Speaker 1: 10:54

Um, but other than that, I think that is all I have for tonight. Uh, don't forget to follow me on Facebook. On Instagram, I have a TikTok. If I make it over a thousand followers on TikTok, I can start doing TikTok lives. I can do that while I'm recording an episode or whatever. That way, you can see my process on how I go through recording an episode. Don't forget, go ahead and if you can leave me a review on Facebook or follow me on Spotify and leave a rating, that would be amazing, because that really helps attract new listeners. Um, anyways, I think that's all I have for tonight, so good night.