Fröhlich Krampusnacht!

Merry Krampus Night!

It's December 5th, and that means that all of the bad children will be visited by Krampus tonight! Krampus, the Christmas Devil and evil counterpart of St. Nicholas, is a cloven-hooved, goat-demon that punishes bad children with a lash of his birch branched switch, then transports them to Hell inside the wicker basket upon his back.

Photo courtesy of National Geographic/Sean Gallup-Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Matthias Schrader.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Both National Geographic and The German Way & More have great articles on the history and legend of Krampus. And while its origins are in Austria and the surrounding southern Bavarian regions, the legend and imagery are taking hold here in America, too. Krampus events seem to be popping up all over the country.

But nothing can compare to the traditional Austrian KrampusLauf (Krampus Run) parades in Europe. I've only been able to check them out via various YouTube videos, but I am definitely putting a wintertime KrampusLauf trip to Austria on my bucket list. This looks to be an absolutely incredible and unique experience that involves the whole town. What really makes me curious is how a meager home haunter from Akron, Ohio could somehow get connected with a Krampus performer in Austria and don a traditional costume and perform in one of these parades!?!?

Check out this video of the 2017 KrampusLauf from Schladming, Austria:

Fröhlich Krampusnacht!