A Visit From Krampus—Saint Nick’s Dark Companion

Alan Taylor
December 12, 2019
20 Photos
In Focus

While tales of Saint Nicholas feature him bringing gifts to good boys and girls, ancient folklore in Europe’s Alpine region also speaks of Krampus, a frightening beastlike creature who emerges during the Yule season, looking for naughty children to punish in horrible ways—or possibly to drag back to his lair in a sack. Krampus associations in villages hold parades without Saint Nick, frightening children on Krampusnacht, chasing them and hitting them with sticks, during an (often alcohol-fueled) run through the dark streets.

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A man dressed as a demon performs during a Krampus show in Goricane, Slovenia, on November 24, 2018. #

Borut Zivulovic / Reuters

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A demon carries a child during a Krampus show in Goricane, Slovenia, on November 24, 2018. #

Borut Zivulovic / Reuters

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Participants wearing traditional Krampus costumes and masks perform during a Krampus run in the village of Biberwier, Austria, on November 30, 2019. #

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Traditional Krampus performers appear in Bad Toelz, Germany, on December 9, 2017. #

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Actors dressed as Saint Nicholas and a Krampus creature lead men dressed in masks and straw in the form of a figure known locally as Buttnmandl, or "shaking man," through the town in an annual tradition on December 5, 2017, in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Buttnmandl wears heavy cowbells that he rings by shaking his hips. His role is to drive away the evil spirits of winter and awaken slumbering Mother Nature. #

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A little boy seems unfazed while confronting a devilish Krampus creature during the annual Krampus parade on Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, 2017, in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria. #

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People dressed as demons keep a child inside a pen as part of a tradition to determine whether he had behaved well during the past year, inside of a sandstone cave in the village of Svitava, near the town of Cvikov, Czech Republic, on November 24, 2018. #

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A participant dressed as Krampus takes part in the "Hike of the Krampus of Three Lands" parade in the Slovenian city of Podkoren, on November 30, 2018. #

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An actor dressed as Krampus walks in a parade through the Munich city center's pedestrian shopping district on December 9, 2018. #

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A person costumed as Krampus or Percht, figures from ancient Austrian custom, performs during a Perchten run in Vienna, Austria, on December 2, 2018. #

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Performers dressed as Krampus parade through the city center of Dobbiaco on December 7, 2019, in Bolzano, Italy. #

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A person dressed as Krampus lifts a young spectator during a Perchten run in Vienna, Austria, on December 2, 2018. #

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A man dressed as a devil walks through a sandstone cave in the village of Svitava, near the town of Cvikov, Czech Republic, on November 24, 2018. #

David W Cerny / Reuters

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Performers dressed as Krampus parade through the city center of Dobbiaco on December 7, 2019, in Bolzano, Italy. #

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Men wearing horned wooden masks and dressed as the Krampus creature prepare to participate in the annual Krampus parade on Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, 2017, in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria. #

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A woman poses with a person costumed as Krampus during a Perchten run in Vienna, Austria, on December 2, 2018. #

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Men dressed as Krampus arrive on a tractor wagon to participate in the annual Krampus parade on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6, 2017, in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria. #

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A Krampus exhibition at night in Tarvisio, Italy, photographed on December 1, 2018. #

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Locals dressed as Perchten, a traditional demonic creature in German and Austrian Alpine folklore, parade through the town center during the annual Rauhnacht gathering on December 30, 2017, in Bayerischen Eisenstein, near Regen, Germany. #

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A child looks at a man dressed as Krampus prior to the annual Krampus parade in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria, on December 6, 2017. #

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