Showing posts with label Krampus. Show all posts

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Photo courtesy of Unknown/Pinterest.

It's Krampusnacht, 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.

Have you been good this year?

Enjoy these images of Krampus from various European Krampuslauf parades. I'll be writing more about these parades in an upcoming post!

Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine/Dominic Ebenbichler-Reuters/Corbis.

Photo courtesy of goout.net.

Photo courtesy of Spajzgirl.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Bernhard Knaus/MeinBezirk.

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

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

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Photo courtesy of Liv Rainey-Smith/Xylographilia.

Have you been good this year?

Enjoy these images of Krampus from various European Krampuslauf parades. I'll be writing more about these parades in an upcoming post!

Photo courtesy of Bernhard Knaus/MeinBezirk.

Photo courtesy of Spajzgirl.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Matej Divisna/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

Photo courtesy of Marktgemeinde Wölbling.

Photo courtesy of daili.it.

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Have you been good this year?

Photo courtesy of Liv Rainey-Smith/Xylographilia.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Matej Divisna/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Miguel Walch.

Photo courtesy of Hexe Productions.

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

Photo courtesy of Stefan Koidl.

And a little homage to the horned-one himself from the 2015 Michael Daugherty film of the same name to put you in a ghastly yuletide mood... "Cloven" by composer Douglas Pipes. Enjoy!

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Gruss vom Krampus!

Have you been good this year?

Photo courtesy of Liv Rainey-Smith/Xylographilia.

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Matej Divisna/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Miguel Walch.

Photo courtesy of Hexe Productions.

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

Photo courtesy of Stefan Koidl.

And a little homage to the horned-one himself from the 2015 Michael Daugherty film of the same name to put you in a ghastly yuletide mood... "Cloven" by composer Douglas Pipes. Enjoy!

"A Creepy Christmas 2021: Krampus' Revenge" at The Factory of Terror

I'm diving back into that haunt spirit tonight! I'm meeting up with my haunt crew and we're getting back to our annual holiday get-together down at The Factory of Terror in Canton, Ohio for their "A Creepy Christmas 2021: Krampus' Revenge."

We missed last year's event due to the pandemic, but I'm really excited to get back at it this year. The Factory does an incredible job of turning their haunt into a full holiday-themed nightmare, culminating in pictures with Krampus himself! (The holiday-themed bar ain't too bad, either...).

If you're in the Northeast Ohio area and looking for something to do tonight, why not meet us down at The Factory of Terror and get your haunt on with the great cloven-hooved one!

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Gruss vom Krampus!

Have you been good this year?

Photo courtesy of Liv Rainey-Smith/Xylographilia.

Photo courtesy of Matej Divisna/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Hexe Productions.

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

And a little homage to the horned-one himself from the 2015 Michael Daugherty film of the same name to put you in a ghastly yultide mood... "Cloven" by composer Douglas Pipes. Enjoy!

Gruss vom Krampus!

Have you all been good girls and boys this year? If not, you'll be visited tonight by Krampus, the European cloven-hooved, goat-demon who punishes bad children during this holiday season. With a flick of his long tongue and a lash from his birch branched switch, you'll be placed into the basket upon his back and transported to Hell to receive reprimand for all of your misdeeds...

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Hexe Productions

Photo courtesy of Fest300/Krampusnacht 2013.

Spital am Pyhrn Krampuslauf

So in these days leading up to Christmas, I have been checking out all of this year's cool Krampuslauf (Krampus Run) videos from in and around Austria.

Such a cool annual winter tradition! And as I have written in the past, a true "bucket list" item of mine would be to go over to Europe and experience one of these Krampus Runs in person.

But this year, I have decided to amend this a bit. After getting a chance to guest act in a local haunt this October, I really want to go to Europe and be a PARTICIPANT in a Krampus Run.

As I watch video after video, I realize that this is the European equivalent to haunt acting here in the US. The interaction is basically the same as being a queue line actor, and the parade watchers have the same reaction as our haunt guests. Fun and enjoyment, while trying to hide the fear and dread from those swinging birch sticks.

One of the best videos that I have seen this year comes from the Austrian town of Spital am Pyhrn (and although is says 2019 in the initial description, it may actually be from 2015--but let's just ignore that for now).

From the Youtube video description:
Accompanied by dull rumbling and roaring bells, around 600 Krampus performers and their companions marched through the snowy Austrian town of Spital am Pyhrn in Upper Austria in 2019. Due to the early darkness of winter and the impressive surroundings of the baroque collegiate church, this Perchten run in Upper Austria, which according to the custom is supposed to banish evil, receives a special touch.

I was blown away from the very first scene in this video. I had never seen the start of a Krampus Run and the vocal track along with the squatting band of Krampuses that spring up with flashing flares and fire on cue is quite powerful.

The entire parade takes place during an amazing winter snowfall, creating the perfect juxtaposed backdrop to the grotesque, frenzied figures parading through the town.

And this particular parade had some really incredible, outside-the-box characters throughout. Alongside the standard Krampus masks were an absolutely STUNNING angel with large flaming wings, an odd duck-billed surreal mask, a talking goat puppet head, a grim reaper with a flaming scythe and a lot more.

Enjoy this one. And if any Austrian Krampus actors wanna give me a shot as a Krampus in their local Krampuslauf, I'd be there in a heartbeat!!

"A Creepy Christmas 2019: Krampus Returns" at The Factory of Terror

It's hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. It seems like Thanksgiving was just last week. Where does the time go?

The only good thing about the yuletide season's quick arrival is the return of Christmas-themed haunts! And tonight, I'm going to blow off some steam with some good AARGH (Akron Area Regional Group of Haunters - cute, no?) friends down at the Factory of Terror for their annual Krampus haunt!

It wasn't that long ago that we were going crazy celebrating the Halloween season, but now it's time to get our Krampus creep on. And what better place than the Factory of Terror.

If you're in the Northeast Ohio area with nothing to do tonight, why not meet us down in Canton for some jolly good scares!? And did I mention themed drinks and snowball fights?

Die Pagger Buam - "Kramperl, Kramperl, Besenstiel"

Ummmm, what??

Fröhlich Krampusnacht!

Gruss vom Krampus!

Have you all been good girls and boys this year? If not, you'll be visited tonight by Krampus, the European cloven-hooved, goat-demon who punishes bad children during this holiday season. With a flick of his long tongue and a lash from his birch branched switch, you'll be placed into the basket upon his back and transported to Hell to receive reprimand for all of your misdeeds...

Have you been good this year?

Fröhliche Krampusnacht!

Photo courtesy of Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of Matej Divisna/Getty Images.

Photo courtesy of iamexpat.de

Photo courtesy of adobestock

And enjoy "Cloven" from the 2015 Michael Dougherty film, Krampus. Douglas Pipes' perfect track to accompany you on your trip to Hell...

Tuefellauf Hollabrunn, 2018

Poster courtesy of Dionysos Pass

Yes, attending an authentic European Krampus/Tuefel (Devil) Run is a bucket list event for me. Especially when seeing this Teufellauf (Devil Run) from Hollabrunn, Austria. Incredible Krampus and Devil costumes, a large group of spectators getting whipped with birch switches, and crying children. What else do you need!?

And aren't little kids dressed as Krampus truly the most adorable thing you have ever seen??

And this particular Parade goes so far to even have their own theme music, where the band plays live at the event. Wow! One ticket to Austria, please!!

Hand Carved Krampus Masks by Stefan Koidl

A year ago, I wrote about my dream to one day own a custom, hand-carved Krampus mask from one of a wide array of European artists. In fact, one of my bucket list items would be to one day travel to Europe and participate in an annual Krampuslauf parade. It really is a wintertime equivalent of working in a Halloween haunt, and every video I've seen looks like an incredibly crazy time!

I recently discovered the work of Austrian sculptor and painter, Stefan Koidl. His hand-carved Krampus masks are truly stunning, with intricate carving and finishing details on each piece he produces. Seeing his work makes me want to refocus on getting that Krampus mask to add to my collection and book my flight to Europe!

Do yourself a favor and go check out all of his art here.

The detail and intricate carving on this Norse King mask is some of the best that I have ever seen. I can't even imagine the work that we will be seeing in the coming years...