CREEPY CHRISTMAS CREATURES: 10 Holiday Monsters and Their Story
With the holiday season approaching, getting cozy and having overflowing servings of hot cocoa and mulled wine are priorities. Happy thoughts are ephemerally replacing the gloomy feels that often come along in the colder season, and our worries are muted by jolly playlists and winter sales. This is representative of modern winter holidays: prioritizing family and friendship, food, gift-giving, partying, and such, it’s a merry time for everyone. But it wasn’t always like this.
Christmas has been celebrated for centuries. It is associated with the birth of Jesus Christ and is therefore a celebration of his birth and the values he preached. The holiday, as we know it today, was very different from the 1600s and before and has been banned, transformed, and appropriated time and time again. Harsh winters and food insecurity were big issues that could not be concealed by festivities, and families celebrating in these conditions have come up with numerous mythological characters and urban legends to help, protect, and enchant them. Some were kind and lenient creatures, while others were pure fuel for nightmares. This dark side of Christmas that we see little of today was a huge part of this festive season, and, in many ways, the creepiness has molded into the contemporary version of the holiday.
This article centers around Christmas specifically, as well as its Pagan roots, focusing on Europe, where it all started.
KRAMPUS
One of the most notorious creatures on this list, Krampus has never failed to inspire pop culture, and also scare the hell out of children who didn’t know any better.
It is thought that the myth of Krampus has been around since the 6th century, and has been observed throughout history in Germany, Austria, and other alpine states. Crowned by goat horns and walking on split hooves, Krampus stands on his legs and lets his snake-like tongue hangs loose, reminding many of the traditional depiction of the Devil. He accompanies the benevolent St-Nicholas to punish badly behaved children, either by whipping them or literally dragging them down into Hell by carrying them in his basket if he decides to not eat them as a tasty snack after boiling them alive in a bathtub. If his tar-colored fur doesn’t send shivers down your spine, the chains that he thunders to the ground will.
Festivities around Krampus are still observed, mainly in Eastern Europe. On December 5th, which is Krampusnacht, Krampuslaufen is celebrated by local men dressing up as Krampus’, running around drunk with every excuse to use their birch rods and pitchforks, though today the chaos following the holiday is toned down.
GRYLA, THE YULE CAT AND THE YULE LADS
These three come in a pack, and this folkloric trio brings out all the craze of the holidays. The Icelandic legends around these folkloric creatures are simultaneously alarming and comedic.
Norse mythology from the 13th century holds records of Gryla, who’s a revoltingly ugly ogre. Before getting kicked out of her village to live in a cave deep in the mountains, Gryla resided in a small cottage, knocking on doors to beg for disruptive children. On Christmas, she goes back to her old ways, looking to add bad kids to her cannibalistic stew. It is said that she is always hungry for children but can be shooed away with an offering of food.
The Yule cat is no other than her merciless sidekick, as well as the family pet of this wicked household. In old times, making clothes was a hard task, from shearing the sheep to weaving warm clothing for the winter, which was an urgent task necessary for survival, especially in Iceland. People who worked on this process were hence rewarded with clothes for Christmas, but others who slacked off would be attacked by the Yule cat for their laziness. The predatory giant cat would sometimes be content with simply eating the food of his victims, or slashing them to death and devouring them. Some families today make sure everyone receives new clothes during the holidays in order to escape the wrath of the feline monster.
Gryla is not only a monster but also a mother. Her demonic sons are somewhat funny compared to the rest of the family, but these men are hardcore tricksters. Licking spoons, stealing pots, sniffing homes, and eating skyr (yogurt), they create chaos in unsuspecting homes and leave rotten potatoes to disobedient children. The 13 of them are depicted like lankier dwarves, with full-grown white beards and heavy boots.
FRAU PERCHTA AND STRAGGELE
Frau Perchta, who once was known to be a beautiful goddess who would look over children dead in infancy in the afterlife in the areas of Germany and Switzerland, became a murderous and ravenous ill-spirited lady with her monstrous companion, Straggele.
Before she was transformed into a vile monster, Frau Perchta was known as Berchta or the White Lady, depicted in a white dress. She watched over the spirits of unbaptized children and women, bringing abundance and warmth to homes. Berchta was seen as a threat by the Church because people were praying to her instead of the Virgin Mary, and her name was switched to Perchta, the queen of all monsters.
Straggele
Her beauty was gone and was replaced by a horrific face: she was turned into an old hag with a nose made of iron resembling that of a crow’s beak. Her sweet temperament lost, she’d willingly punish people who didn’t respect her. It is said that disobedient kids would suffer from her wrath as Frau Perchta would sneak into their rooms while they were asleep, slit their stomachs, snatch their guts and intestines, and replace the cavity with straws and stones before restitching the wound. In fact, people who ate the wrong foods on Christmas were also punished by her, so indulging in cakes and foods prepared for her would make her murderous knife bounce back.
As if she couldn’t be more frightening, Frau Perchta rides on her demon sidekick, Straggele. He takes the appearance of a large, beastly demon with intimidating horns, protruding teeth, and long fur. Straggele is content with either eating Frau Perchta’s leftovers or ripping apart naughty children.
MARI LWYD
Much more benevolent than her counterparts, Mari Lwyd nonetheless has an unsettling appearance. Not much is known about this Welsh creature, as it was born from an amalgamation of folkloric beliefs.
Also known as the zombie horse, Mari Lwyd is unthreatening until it knocks at your door. A puppeteer disguises themselves as Mari Lwyd by cloaking themselves in a white cloth, crowned by a horse skull, and decorated with ribbons, flowers, bells, and other mirthful ornaments. The Welsh undead horse then attempts to go into houses and, in order to shoo it off, people have to appease it by playing a game of reciting poems or a verse. Meeting Mari Lwyd is a rather sympathetic experience than an unprepared encounter with any of the above-mentioned creatures.
♪ ♪ ♪ Wel dyma ni’n dwad (Well here we come)
Gy-feillion di-niwad (Innocent friends)
I ofyn am gennad (To ask leave)
I ofyn am gennad (To ask leave)
I ofyn am gennad i ganu (To ask leave to sing) ♪ ♪ ♪
PERE FOUETTARD
Pere Fouettard was the owner of a humble inn when three young men walked in to stay the night. The unsuspecting customers were lured into his butcher shop, where Pere Fouettard drugged them, and literally butchered them to make them into cured meats, or a stew, in different variants of the story. Saint-Nicolas saw Pere Fouettard’s crimes and, not only did he bring back to life the three men from their deli meat form, but also forced the evil old man to be his assistant during his rounds in Christmas.
Originating from France, Pere Fouettard is depicted with a scraggly dark beard and cloaked in dirty winter clothes. He marches with a long stick to carry the weight of the disobedient kids he stashes in his backpack, while Saint-Nicolas rewards children who have been nice with oranges, walnuts, cakes, and other treats. The repulsive, wrinkly man also punishes children by whipping them, hence his name which roughly translates to “Whipping Father”.
BELSNICKEL
Belsnickel is very similar to Pere Fouettard and is thought to be birthed from the fusion between Krampus and Saint-Nicholas. If you’ve watched The Office’s ninth season “Dwight Christmas” episode, you’re probably already familiar with this strange Christmas character.
Ugly, covered in soot and dirt, Belsnickel roams around Dutch and German communities amongst others. He’s a rather intrusive person, bursting into homes to inquisition kids about their niceness. The fur-covered man will willingly reward a good child with gifts and whip another for its bad deeds.
KALLIKANTZAROI
Nothing is cuter than fuzzy creatures with monkey hands, cleft hooves, and globular red eyes, or not. These Greek and Macedonian critters are thought to live underground but resurface during the twelve days of Christmas, when they roam in between houses at night and spoil food, break cooking ware, and overall add to the stress of the holiday season. In order to appease these goblins, households mark their doors with a black cross or hang meats in the chimney, but traditions in Cyprus also encourage throwing cakes and sausages onto roofs so the Kallikantzaroi can feast and return to their underground dens.
Another way to discourage these ape-like creatures is to leave a colander outside, as the Kallikantzaroi are thought to be unable to count beyond two, as three was thought to invoke the Holy Trinity and would instantly kill the mathematically unequipped goblin.
It was thought that babies born during the time Kallikantzaroi surface had the transformative gene of this monster. Rituals like burning the newborns’ toenails very slightly or wrapping them in herbs would deflect the unwanted trait.
Words by Mizuki Khoury