Why keep the holiday season merry and bright when it can be scary and filled with fright?
December blog posts are part of the 13 Days of Creepmas.
Okay, so maybe scary and filled with fright is a bit dramatic, but there are plenty of ways to make the holiday season feel a bit more like our favorite time of year.
So far this holiday season, I’ve shared a series of gift guides with you, my favorite cookie recipe and even a super simple DIY.
Today I’m sharing six traditions with your family to have yourself a spooky little Christmas…and even a few you might already do and didn’t realize have creepy origins. (If you subscribe to Treats Not Tricks, you’ve read a few of these already!)

Krampus
We’ve talked quite a bit about Krampus on the blog already here and here, and a little visit from him might be just the thing to keep kiddos in line.
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.

Perchta
Haven’t heard of Perchta before? If Krampus is the holiday season’s devil, then Perchta is the Christmas witch.
Her legend comes from southern Germany and Austria: on January 6, the Feast of Epiphany or Twelfth Night, she would roam the countryside and visit houses along the way. Much like Krampus and good ol’ Saint Nicholas, she would know whether children had been naughty or nice during the year.
She would also check to see if the girls of the house had completed their spinning of flax or wool as well as the cleanliness of the house. If she was unhappy with any, she’d take the knife she carries out from under her skit, slit the stomachs of those she was displeased with and replace their guts with pebbles and straw.
So, uh, moral of the story? Go clean your room.

Hide Brooms on Christmas Eve
At one time, Christmas Eve was thought of much like Halloween – a time when the veil between the spirit or supernatural world was at its thinnest, and many traditions spoke to this belief.
In Norway, it was believed that witches and evil spirits would descend on homes on Christmas Eve. If brooms were left out, these beings would swipe them to make their travels more efficient, so many Norwegians hid them.
Guess I better hide that one outside my back door…

The Christmas Spider
My friend Chelsea introduced this story to me last year with her gorgeous Christmas card! The legend comes from eastern Europe, namely Ukraine. One summer day a pinecone found its way into the house of a poor widow with several children. The pinecone took root in the dirt floor, and a tree began to grow. The children cared for the tree, excited to have their very own Christmas tree despite their hardships.
The tree grew, but the family couldn’t afford to decorate it. On Christmas morning, the children and widow woke to discover the tree covered in spider webs, and when they opened the windows and the sunlight hit the webs it instantly turned to silver and gold. The family never lived in poverty again.
These days some decorate their trees with spider and spider web ornaments, as they are said to bring good luck.

Yule Cat
Here’s one for all you cat lovers who name sounds a lot nicer than the legend. In Icelandic folklore, the Yule Cat was a monster who traveled the countryside on Christmas Eve devouring anyone who had not received new clothing for the holiday. This tale was often used by farmers to incentivize their workers to finish spinning wool collected in autumn.
Moral of this story? Never complain about that new sweater from Grandma again, no matter how much it itches…

Ghost Stories
If you read my blog post on ghost stories to tell this Christmas, you might already know this tradition! Through the Victorian era, Christmas wasn’t terribly different from Halloween because many believed it was a time the veil between the natural and spirit worlds was at its thinnest. And because the days were long and cold, it was a time of year for families to gather around the fire and, inevitably, tell stories. Ghost stories.
While the time of year (i.e. the abundance darkness and season of death in the natural world) certainly speaks to telling ghost stories, historians also cite the celebrations of Yule and the Winter Solstice as reasons English society, in particular, took on the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition celebrated in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.
Not many of us may tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve these days, but it’s a fun tradition to resurrect and celebrate with your friends and family!
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Does your family have a Spooky Christmas tradition?
Share it in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!
Happy haunting,




Chelsea Celaya
Ah! thanks for the shout out! I love the rendition of the story you found for the Christmas spider! It’s so beautiful. Next year, I’m definitely playing more with that whole story. Obviously the Christmas spiders are my favorites, but I also love the idea of the Yule Cat. Who doesn’t need an excuse to receive new Halloween-themed clothes? ;)
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Thanks for introducing me to such a fun tradition! :)