Krampus in North American popular culture

Sign on a pole in University City, late 2014.^{[note 1]}

Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" of Austrian and Bavarian folklore, has entered the popular culture of North America;^[1] Christian Jacobs notes that "thanks to the Internet and YouTube^{[note 2]} [Krampus] is now very much on America's Christmas radar".^[2] Tanya Basu interprets this as part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations": a "bah, humbug" rejection of- or novel alternative to- mainstream festivities.^[1] Brian Joines of Image Comics suspects that the reason Krampus (specifically, as well as dark aspects of Christmas in general) has not been historically popularized in America is a social artifact resulting from "the nature of how we view Christmas in this country, both as a big day for kids and as the birth of a big religious figurehead".^[3] In some North American depictions, Krampus is an antihero who seeks to prevent children from becoming spoiled by rampant consumerism flowing from the economics of Christmas.

While tangential mentions of Krampus sometimes appear in media related to Christmas,^{[note 3]} notable instances where the character played a significant role in North American media include:

Film

• A Christmas Horror Story anthology horror film (2015).
• Krampus (film) horror comedy (2015) from Universal Pictures. Produced for $15 million USD, as of 14 December 2015 it is estimated to have grossed $38 million worldwide.^[4] Its director, Michael Dougherty, commented: "The dark ancient origins of our holidays have always fascinated me."^[5]

In production

• Anti-Claus (initially titled Comes the Krampus), from Kevin Smith.^[6]
• Happy Krampus!, from Walden Media and The Jim Henson Company.^[7]

Television

• G4 (TV channel) commercial (2003).^[8] Christmas carolers outside a house sing a dirge about Krampus, who has entered to punish the naughty children inside.
• The Colbert Report segment "The Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude - Hallmark & Krampus" (2009), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'.^[9]

Animation

• The Venture Bros.^[3] episode "A Very Venture Christmas" (2004).
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated^[3] episode "Wrath of the Krampus" (2012). Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
• American Dad! episode "Minstrel Krampus" (2013).^[1] Voiced by Danny Glover and Charles Bradley.

Live action

• The League^[3] episode "A Krampus Carol" (2012).
• The Aquabats! Super Show! episode "Christmas with The Aquabats!" (2013).^[2] Voiced by Robert Smigel.
• Grimm episode "Twelve Days of Krampus" (2013). Depicted as a man who annually transforms into Krampus (Derek Mears) to kidnap and eat "naughty" children on Christmas.^[10]
• Lost Girl episode "Groundhog Fae" (2013).^[11]

Print media

• Chickenhare graphic novel (2006), had a Krampus named Banjo as one of the main characters.^[12]
• Krampus: The Yule Lord novel (2012), by Gerald Brom set in Boone County, West Virginia.^{[13][note 4]}

Other

• CarnEvil arcade game (1998), has a "freakishly evil St. Nick" boss named Krampus.^[14][15]

• Random Spirit Lover album (2007), by the Canadian indie band Sunset Rubdown, features a picture of Krampus on the back cover. Spencer Krug stated that it was placed there because "he represents the sort of duality that's a theme on the record, the two sides of every thing."^[16]

See also

• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a Finnish thriller film about finding the source of the original Santa Claus myth; a supernatural being who, rather than rewarding good children, punishes the naughty.

Jack Frost in Harper's Weekly (1861)

Krampus is not the only 'nightmare before Christmas'.

Apart from evil versions of normally good Christmas characters (i.e. Santa, Frosty, etc.), or Jack Frost who is usually depicted as just mischievous, malevolent monsters associated with Christmas in North American popular culture other than Krampus include, in chronological order:

• Bogeymen from Babes in Toyland (1934 film)
• The Grinch (1957)
• "Bumble", the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) (1964)
• Gremlins (1984)
• Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

…and villains from cult films:

• Santa Claus (1959 film) from Mexico features a demon who ineptly attempts to ruin Christmas.
• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

Notes

1. cf. Kilroy was here
2. A short film called A Krampus Carol was produced in 2011 for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations but never aired, as the Travel Channel considered it inappropriate; "Luckily, the special lives on on YouTube". Seth Abramovitch (12 December 2011). "Travel Channel Pulls Touching Christmas Special About a Child-Licking Demon". Gawker. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
3. Krampus is briefly mentioned in the Supernatural (U.S. TV series) episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (2007) as being one of the anti-Clauses in folklore.
4. ISBN 978-0-06-209565-7. Brom's Krampus page.

References

1. Tanya Basu (17 December 2013). "Who Is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
2. Hill, Jim (December 20, 2013). "Watch Santa Give Krampus a Seasonal Smackdown on The Aquabats! Super Show! Holiday Special". The Huffington Post.
3. "Joines & Kotz's "Krampus!" Terrorizes Christmas at Image". Comic Book Resources. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
4. "Krampus (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
5. Mike Fleming Jr (9 May 2014). "Legendary Taps Michael Dougherty To Helm Horror Comedy ‘Krampus’". Deadline.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
6. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-kevin-smiths-anti-claus-708447
8. G4 Winter 2003 Commercials (Krampus commercial begins ~4:21)
9. from The Colbert Report's December 9, 2009 episode
10. Josh Zyber (17 December 2013). "‘Grimm’ 3.07 & 3.08 Recap: "We’re Dealing with One Sick Santa"". The Bonus View. High-Def Digest. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
11. Dorothy Snarker (2 January 2014). "“Lost Girl” Recap (4.08): Soylent green is candy". AfterEllen. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
12. Kevin Melrose (21 July 2011). "Dark Horse’s Chickenhare Getting Animated By Sony". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
13. Barbara Hoffert (3 May 2012). "Fiction Previews, November 2012, Pt. 1: McCall Smith, Mayle, Munro, and More". Library Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
14. Ashley Reed and David Houghton (19 December 2014). "12 games where you beat the everloving cheer out of Santa Claus". GamesRadar. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
15. Video of gameplay: CarnEvil- Rickety Town boss
16. Interview with Pitchfork Media: Interviews: Sunset Rubdown