50 Fun Facts About Krampus

Krampus is a horned figure from the folklore of which mountain region?

He belongs to Central and Eastern Alpine tradition, especially Austria and Bavaria.

Krampusnacht, when Krampus roams the streets, falls on which night?

It is the eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas.

In the tradition, what does Saint Nicholas hand out to good children while Krampus deals with the bad?

The saint concerns himself only with good children; Krampus takes care of the rest.

With what does Krampus traditionally punish naughty children?

In Styria the bundle of birch twigs is painted gold and displayed in the house all year as a reminder.

Krampus is usually depicted with one human foot and one what?

He also has horns, black hair, fangs and a very long tongue.

What are the chains that Krampus rattles thought to symbolise?

They are sometimes hung with bells of various sizes for extra noise.

What does Krampus carry on his back?

In the older tales the children were taken away to be drowned, eaten or delivered to Hell.

Historians doubt Krampus has pre-Christian origins because he is not attested before which century?

Masked devils causing mischief are recorded in Germany from at least the 1500s.

Why, in the 17th century, was a helper like Krampus paired with the gift-giving bishop?

The same logic produced Knecht Ruprecht, Schmutzli, Père Fouettard and Zwarte Piet elsewhere.

What is a Krampuslauf?

Spectators sometimes take revenge for whippings; one 2013 season in East Tyrol sent eight people to hospital with broken bones.

Which earlier Alpine procession with goat-like Percht figures is the ancestor of the Krampus run?

The Church viewed the Perchtenlaufen with suspicion but bans proved unenforceable in the rugged Alps.

Who banned the Krampus tradition in Austria after the 1932 election?

In the 1950s the Austrian government handed out pamphlets titled 'Krampus Is an Evil Man'.

What did 1950s Austrian government pamphlets titled 'An Evil Man' warn about the horned figure?

The tradition roared back at the end of the century and is now reviving in Bavaria too.

Greeting cards featuring Krampus, exchanged since the 19th century, are called what?

They often open 'Gruß vom Krampus', with humorous rhymes and the beast looming over children.

How has the Krampus of greeting cards changed over time?

Some older cards even had sexual overtones, showing him chasing buxom women.

What drink is customarily offered at the devils' runs?

It is a strong distilled fruit brandy, though herbal liqueurs now trade on the name too.

In Slovenia, Krampus is known by what name?

Tuifl is the Tyrolean name, Klaubauf is used in Bavaria and Austria, and Bartel in Styria.

In parts of Bosnia and Croatia, a misbehaving child receives which token from Krampus instead of gifts?

Good children get a golden branch from Saint Nicholas for their year's good deeds.

In isolated Styrian villages, Krampus is joined by antlered 'wild man' figures known as what?

They resemble the kukeri dancers of Bulgaria, and Saint Nicholas is nowhere to be seen.

Who directed the 2015 comedy-horror film Krampus?

He had earlier made the Halloween anthology Trick 'r Treat.

In the 2015 film Krampus, what does young Max do that summons the demon?

He throws the pieces out the window and a blizzard descends on the town.

Which studio created the creature effects for the 2015 Krampus film?

The film cost about $15 million and grossed over $61 million.

In the 2015 film, what does Krampus leave behind at the houses he has tormented?

The final shot reveals he watches the families through hundreds of snow globes in his lair.

Which 2024 Christmas action-comedy also features Krampus?

He has also turned up in The Venture Bros., American Dad! and The Binding of Isaac.

Germany's best-known Nicholas companion, Knecht Ruprecht, has a name that translates as what?

He first appears in written sources in a 17th-century Nuremberg Christmas procession.

By tradition, what does Knecht Ruprecht quiz children on before deciding to reward or beat them?

Those who know them get apples, nuts and gingerbread; those who don't get his bag of ashes.

The fur-clad gift-bringer of the German Palatinate differs from Krampus in what way?

He combines the threatening and kindly roles in one crotchety figure, and survives among the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Belsnickel survives in the folklore of German communities in which two places outside Germany?

An 1830s Maryland account describes 'Beltznickle' scattering sweets with one hand and swinging a hazel switch with the other.

Père Fouettard, the Nicholas companion of eastern France and Belgium, has a name meaning what?

The most popular legend says he was an innkeeper who murdered three boys, whom the saint then resurrected.

Under what name did Père Fouettard appear in the United States in the 1930s?

The American 'Father Flog' or 'Spanky' had nothing to do with Christmas.

The Swiss Nicholas companion Schmutzli takes his name from the word for what?

Schmutz means dirt, a nod to the companions' soot-blackened faces.

In the Czech Republic, svatý Mikuláš is accompanied by which pair?

The čert threatens and the anděl reassures.

Which 19th-century scholar linked the Nicholas companions to pre-Christian house spirits like the kobold?

He argued their mischievous side was emphasised after Christianisation.

Zwarte Piet, Sinterklaas's helper, first appears in an 1850 book by which Amsterdam schoolteacher?

The book also invented the arrival by steamboat from Spain.

From which country does Sinterklaas traditionally arrive by boat each year in the Netherlands?

His historical homeland was actually Myra, in what is now Turkey.

What is the revised, less controversial version of the Dutch Sinterklaas helper known as?

Roetveegpiet keeps the actor's own skin tone with soot streaks from the chimney.

Alpine winter figure Frau Perchta punished women who had failed to do what by Twelfth Night?

Her penalty was to slit the offender's belly and stuff it with flax or straw.

Perchta also punished those who ate anything other than which permitted meal on her fast day?

Offenders were sewn up with a ploughshare for a needle and chains for thread.

Austrian winter processions feature 'Schönperchten' and 'Schiachperchten', meaning what?

The ugly masks with fangs and horse tails drive away evil spirits; the beautiful ones bring luck and wealth.

What do many children in northern Germany put outside the door on Nikolaus Eve?

The Nikolaus-Stiefel is filled with sweets overnight if the child has been good.

Which actress plays Sarah, the mother of the besieged family, in the 2015 film Krampus?

She joined the cast in March 2015 alongside Adam Scott and David Koechner, just days before principal photography began.

Since the 2000s the Krampus tradition, with hand-carved masks, has been revived in which German state?

Elsewhere the figure goes by local names such as Strohbart, Klaubauf and Pelzmärtel, depending on the valley.

In the 2015 film, what does the Engel family call Tom's mother, who knows the demon's legend?

She explains that as a girl in war-torn Europe she lost hope and wished her family away, summoning the creature to her village.

Principal photography on the 2015 film Krampus wrapped at Stone Street Studios in which country?

Filming ran from March to May 2015, and the score by Douglas Pipes later got a double-LP release from Waxwork Records.

In 2011 National Public Radio helped publicise a Krampus run being formed in which US city?

North American Krampus celebrations have grown steadily since, spawning themed liqueurs and merchandise.

What is the name of the demonic jack-in-the-box that devours victims in the 2015 film?

Its first victim is teenage Beth, who hides beneath a delivery truck before the toy seemingly comes to life.

In Styria, the twigs Krampus presents to families are painted which colour and kept on display?

They stay up all year as a reminder to any child tempted to forget what happens to the badly behaved.

Over 1,200 costumed Krampus figures gather each year in which town in Styria?

They arrive from across Austria in goat-hair costumes and carved masks, swinging cowbells to warn of their approach.

In Tyrol, Krampus also goes by which short name?

The other options are real regional variants too: Bartl in southern Austria, Zember around Cheb and Pöpel in Würzburg.

Krampus appeared in which 1998 arcade game?

He has since turned up in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, an Image Comics series and episodes of The League and American Dad!