The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil

by Al Ridenour, Sean Tejaratchi (Designed by)

Overview

With the appearance of the demonic Christmas character Krampus in contemporary Hollywood movies, television shows, advertisements, and greeting cards, medieval folklore has now been revisited in American culture. Krampus-related events and parades occur both in North America and Europe, and they are an ever-growing phenomenon.

Though the Krampus figure has once again become iconic, not much can be found about its history and meaning, thus calling for a book like Al Ridenour's The Krampus: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil. With Krampus's wild, graphic history, Feral House has hired the awarded designer Sean Tejaratchi to take on Ridenour's book about this ever-so-curious figure.

Al Ridenour has lectured on Krampus at the Goethe Institutes in Los Angeles. He became somewhat of an internet phenomenon himself due to the hilarious hijinks he coordinated with the controversial Cacophony Societies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627310345
Publisher:	Feral House
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	120,278
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Al Ridenour: A native of Pasadena, California, Al Ridenour holds BA’s in German and English literature, has worked as an author, journalist, animator, and artist, and has been a fixture in the West Coast underground art community since the mid-1990s.

His Krampus research has taken him to the Austrian Alps and Munich, and brought him in contact with cultural anthropologists working in Salzburg and Vienna as well as dozens of members of contemporary European Krampus groups. In 2013, Ridenour co-founded Krampus Los Angeles, an organization that’s made the city ground zero for American Krampusmania.

Ridenour has translated and produced the only English-language version of 19th-century Krampus play, written articles, and lectured on the topic at the international Goethe-Institut and elsewhere, and exhibited his Krampus suits at the University of Southern California’s Doheny Museum

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction: The Dead of Winter
Christmas wasn’t always a time of peace and domestic coziness. In German-speaking lands, the Twelve Nights of Christmas were closer to Halloween.

Chapter 2: Gruß vom Krampus!
How America fell in love with the Krampus. Pop-culture Krampus. 19th-century Krampus postcards, featuring the iconic slogan, “Gruß vom Krampus,” (“Greetings from the Krampus.”) Similar figures in North Germany, Holland, France, etc.

Chapter 2: The Devil at the Door
Firsthand account of the Krampus in Austria. How the Krampus groups organize and conduct traditional house-visits with St. Nicholas. Details and history regarding masks and costumes.

Chapter 3: The Beast Pursues his Game
The Krampuslauf (“Krampus run”) and modernizing influences. Issues of traditionalism, violence, alcohol, and gender involved in runs.

Chapter 4: The Church Breeds a Monster
Evolution of the Krampus from devils in medieval mystery plays. The surprisingly unruly Alpine Nikolausspiele (“Nicholas plays”) and parades of 17th-18th century contribute to Krampus practice.

Chapter 5: Frau Perchta, Witches, Ghosts
The witch-goddess Frau Perchta or Frau Holda as folkloric leader of seasonal horde of lost souls, ghosts, or demons, sometimes called Perchten. Frau Perchta and her Perchten as forerunners of Krampus custom.

Chapter 6: The Haunted Season
The Krampus’ native habitat is the season between St. Martin’s Day and Epiphany haunted by the Nußmärtel (“Nut Martin”) a sooty-faced, bearded character with a whip, the Bärbele, moss- faced crone-like characters carrying switches on St. Barbara’s Day, a “Bloody” St. Thomas and sickle wielding St. Lucy.

Chapter 7: The Perchten, Ancient Spirits of the Alps?
Perchten are largely indistinguishable from the Krampus but appear during the Twelve Nights, particularly Epiphany Eve. Perchten runs described, including oldest in Bad Gastein dating to 1730. A few theories as to why Perchten do what they do.

Chapter 8: American Krampus: Return of the Old, Dark Christmas
Immigrant Krampus traditions in American backwoods. Krampus’ in German Brazil. American’s old, dangerous Christmas

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2016
Ridenour (Offbeat Food) serves up an immensely accessible, well-researched history mixed in with his own personal journey tracing the Krampus, a Christmas devil with roots in Austrian and German folklore. During “the old, dark Christmas” time, Northern Europeans created tales of supernatural mayhem to go along with stories of St. Nicholas visiting houses and praising good children: he delivered the bad ones into the basket of the Krampus, a furry horned demon wearing bells and chains, who beat them with a switch. In today’s Perchtenlauf (devil parades), characters dressed as St. Nicholas and the Krampus march through streets and hit spectators. The Perchtenlauf in Gastein, Austria, is the oldest celebration of its kind, dating to 1898. But Ridenour argues that the origins and influence of the Krampus go further back, with roots in church morality dramas called Nicholas plays; the Alpine pagan witch Frau Perchta, who rewards and punishes children; the march of the Nachtvolk (night folk); and the Perchten (devilish spirits). He shows how the Internet has revived and spread interest in Krampus, describing modern costuming, masks, and Krampus reenactments from Europe and North America. Ridenour concludes that today’s Perchtenlauf provide “the simple fun of dressing up and smacking people.” Those interested in folklore, anthropology, history, counter-culture, and cosplay will enjoy this thorough assessment and its plethora of illustrations. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Ridenour (Offbeat Food) serves up an immensely accessible, well-researched history mixed in with his own personal journey tracing the Krampus, a Christmas devil with roots in Austrian and German folklore...Those interested in folklore, anthropology, history, counter-culture, and cosplay will enjoy this thorough assessment and its plethora of illustrations.— Publisher's Weekly, October 2016

The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil is jam-packed with information on the history and meaning of the Krampus as well as scads of photos and art prints. The dozens of photos of celebrants of myriad regional-variant Yuletide festivals in bizarre and terrifying costumes is worth the price of admission alone. Award-winning designer Sean Tejaratchi has laid everything out gorgeously, augmenting Ridenour’s thoughtful analysis. I really can’t recommend this highly enough. If you have any interest in the subject, this book is simply a must-have.— Dangerous Minds

From the Publisher