Krampus in North American popular culture

Krampus Was Here
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.

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

In production

Television

Animation

Live action

Print media

Other

See also

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:

…and villains from cult films:

Notes

  1. cf. Kilroy was here
  2. A short film called A Krampus Carol was produced in 2011 for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations but never aired, as the Travel Channel considered it inappropriate; "Luckily, the special lives on on YouTube". Seth Abramovitch (12 December 2011). "Travel Channel Pulls Touching Christmas Special About a Child-Licking Demon". Gawker. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. Krampus is briefly mentioned in the Supernatural (U.S. TV series) episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (2007) as being one of the anti-Clauses in folklore.
  4. ISBN 978-0-06-209565-7. Brom's Krampus page.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tanya Basu (17 December 2013). "Who Is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 Hill, Jim (December 20, 2013). "Watch Santa Give Krampus a Seasonal Smackdown on The Aquabats! Super Show! Holiday Special". The Huffington Post.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Joines & Kotz's "Krampus!" Terrorizes Christmas at Image". Comic Book Resources. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. "Krampusnacht DC". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. "Toronto Krampus Ball". Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  6. http://www.chicagohorror.com/2016/11/martyrs-4th-annual-krampus-fest-dec-3/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. http://krampuslosangeles.com/events/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. http://sf.funcheap.com/existing-annual-bay-area-krampus-krawl-2016/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. http://krampussociety.com/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. https://krampuslaufphiladelphia.com/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITeExdGBcIc/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Bat4DaesA/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIcGe2zt8yw/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=821bETmHpB4/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOV1yV6NPAM/. Retrieved 4 December 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. "Krampus (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  17. Mike Fleming Jr (9 May 2014). "Legendary Taps Michael Dougherty To Helm Horror Comedy 'Krampus'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  18. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-kevin-smiths-anti-claus-708447
  19. G4 Winter 2003 Commercials (Krampus commercial begins ~4:21)
  20. from The Colbert Report's December 9, 2009 episode
  21. Josh Zyber (17 December 2013). "'Grimm' 3.07 & 3.08 Recap: "We're Dealing with One Sick Santa"". The Bonus View. High-Def Digest. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  22. Dorothy Snarker (2 January 2014). ""Lost Girl" Recap (4.08): Soylent green is candy". AfterEllen. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  23. Kevin Melrose (21 July 2011). "Dark Horse's Chickenhare Getting Animated By Sony". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  24. Barbara Hoffert (3 May 2012). "Fiction Previews, November 2012, Pt. 1: McCall Smith, Mayle, Munro, and More". Library Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  25. Ashley Reed and David Houghton (19 December 2014). "12 games where you beat the everloving cheer out of Santa Claus". GamesRadar. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  26. Video of gameplay: CarnEvil- Rickety Town boss
  27. Interview with Pitchfork Media: Interviews: Sunset Rubdown
  28. Video of gameplay: The Binding of Isaac - Krampus
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