I was walking along Alpenstrasse on the phone with Katarina, I was on the way to pick her up after she got lost and it was dark outside. Some hundred meters in front of me I see two people in the middle of the walkway, I don’t pay much attention but I register that one of the silhouettes pull something over their head. The mask was large and hairy with long horns and protruding tongue, the thing was swishing a whip back and forth. I could tell they weren't going to move out of my way... . . . I don't know what you've heard about the Germanic tradition of Saint Nicholas and his evil counterpart Krampus…St. Nicholas rewards well behaved children with gifts, and lets Krampus, a demonic shaggy creature with cloven hooves and big horns take care of the naughty ones. They come on the 6th of December during what is called Krampuslauf, Krampus “run.” They usually wear big bells or chains and a basket to carry children off into the dark night, supposedly to eat or bring to Hell. But the craziest part of this is that he also carries a bundle of birch twigs or a whip to swat children with. Anthropologist John Honigmann wrote in his essay, The Masked Face, that noisy, violent beasts have been participating in St. Nicholas Festival since the 16th century and a century later these were an established part of Christmas traditions. Honigmann’s essay addresses the interesting fact that some- |
“...masked Krampuses get carried away by their role to the point of becoming troublesome and in need of external control...”
He compares it to other similar masked tradition and explores the psychology of humans portraying beasts. It was published online in 2009 by ETHOS- Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology.
From what I heard the week before the event, Krampuslaufs had gotten out of hand in the past with unlucky onlookers’ arms being broken etc. The city sometimes force participants in the lauf to wear identification numbers so they can be held responsible for the harm they may cause. People had told me that you can’t be afraid of them, if you get scared and especially if you run, they will chase you and beat you more.
From what I heard the week before the event, Krampuslaufs had gotten out of hand in the past with unlucky onlookers’ arms being broken etc. The city sometimes force participants in the lauf to wear identification numbers so they can be held responsible for the harm they may cause. People had told me that you can’t be afraid of them, if you get scared and especially if you run, they will chase you and beat you more.
Still on the phone, when I got close to them I took one BIG step and put my face right up to the grotesque mask, held down my phone and yelled- “WAAAHH!" I walked off briskly, feeling pretty satisfied at the way they both jumped and screamed. Behind me I could hear them giggling hysterically. |
Even the Swedish “news” magazine Aftonbladet picked up on that Krampuslauf here in Austria sometimes unfurl uncontrollably. It’s a notoriously bad source of news, but if this is true, it’s both pretty funny and a little worrying:
“So many have been traumatized by Krampus that psychologists in Austria now offer therapy for people with severe Krampus-fright. In Anifer outside of Salzburg, a Krampus fear workshop is being held for the third time in a row to prepare for upcoming events. In the previous years the workshops have been fully booked. “ –Aftonbladet (translated) |
The first thing you noticed, standing in front of the church along the street that police had closed off, was the sound of many bells. Not pretty little bells, mind you, clunky, worrying metal bells that ring ominously to the rhythm of hasty footsteps. Then people started pointing and standing on their toes to look over the crowd. The atmosphere was excited but tense. Then they came running down the street. People were scared, some screamed some laughed. Krampuses of all shapes and sizes were running around getting in people’ faces and swatting peoples’ legs. The birch twigs hurt the most and left marks on our legs for some days.
If you are spending winter somewhere in the dark and cold Alps I sincerely recommend you to attend a Krampuslauf. The experience was thrilling, I was living on a sort of adrenaline high the rest of the day.