Krampus is Coming | A Holiday Playlist

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Krampus is coming! And I hope you haven’t been naughty this year because if you have…you’re in for a shock on the night of December 5!

While Krampus feels like a new holiday tradition catching on and growing in popularity in the United States, he’s actually one of the oldest folklore tales out there. Let’s start with the basics:

Krampus is a half-goat, half-demon being whose story originated in Austria and spread to other central European countries like Czech, Slovenia and Hungary, to name a few. If Saint Nicholas was Europe’s jolly good-doer of a saint rewarding well-behaved children…Krampus was his total and complete opposite – he was the holiday season’s devil.

The story goes that on December 5, the night before Saint Nicholas arrives (better known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night), Krampus would troll the villages for bad little boys and girls. Each one he caught would either be beaten with the birch branch he carries, taken back to his lair and tortured, drowned in a nearby river or, worst of all, taken straight to hell for the devil himself to deal with.

The origins of Krampus’ story, however, have little to do with Christmas. From pagan tradition, he was said to be the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld. Sometime during the 17th century, he was linked to Saint Nicholas and the two have been entwined ever since. Before that, however, he was so closely linked to the devil that Krampus was banished several times by churches and even governments.

Just the kind of guy you want to celebrate this holiday season, right? If so, you’re in luck because I have a 20-song playlist of Krampus tunes just for you!

 

Krampus is Coming | A Holiday Playlist

 

And just in case Spotify is not your preferred method for streaming music, here is the complete playlist so you can create it yourself:

 

 

So now I have to ask…

 

Which Krampus song is your favorite?

I’m partial to the Rusty Cage and Coral Bells tunes.

Happy haunting,

Krampus image source

Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween

Miranda is the Houston-based writer, blogger, and Halloween lover behind Spooky Little Halloween, the blog celebrating October 31st all year long. Her favorite Halloween things include pumpkin guts, chocolate bars in her trick-or-treat pail, real haunted houses (including the one she lives in!), and historic cemeteries.

7 Comments

  1. Reply

    Amber

    December 5, 2017

    I’m really digging the instrumental track by Idlehands! So good.

  2. Reply

    Jennifer

    December 15, 2017

    The Feast of a Krampus by S. J. Tucker, highly recommend this song.

  3. Reply

    Chelsea Celaya

    February 15, 2018

    I did not realize there were so many Krampus songs out there. @____@ This will come in handy this coming Christmas!

  4. Reply

    Candace Jedrowicz

    April 7, 2018

    I love #5,8,12 and 20! Spooky, spooky fun!

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