Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Here comes Krampus



google image Krampus and you'll see some very strange pictures from long ago. I know about this from postcard collecting.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

this kid has the devil on his back...but why? who would send/ receive the card?

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Is this guy some kind of anti-santa for the naughty kids? He looks a bit like the Hindu goddess Kali.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what purpose Krampus serves psychically....

Sally said...

I've seen images of him because of postcard collecting, but never really invesigated him. According to wikipedia he was one of a group of Saint Nicholas' companions, especially in Germany and Hungary.
The wiki article has too much info without a clear pov. Don't forget, Germany is the country where Slovenly Peter originated. ( a very scary children's book of 19th century.)

Linda Davick said...

I just googled him. It sounds like he's the dark side of Santa––very Jungian!!––that parents would warn their kids that if they were bad, they might have a visit from Krampus instead of Santa. Yikes!!

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

I saw an English copy of Slovenly Peter a few years ago. I thought the most freaky part was the tailor(?) with giant shears who cut off the thumbs of kids who sucked them. Glad I was an adult before I discovered those stories!

Sally said...

Namowal, I have a copy in English of Slovenly Peter, which was given to Dinah as a baby present! I'll see if I can scan a page. It's nuts, and guarantees Sigmund Freud was going to be headed down the timeline.

Anonymous said...

Geez, when I was little and got my photo with Santa Claus, I cried because HE scared me!!