In parts of Austria, Germany, and the Alpine regions, St Nicholas doesn’t work alone. On Dec 6, he is accompanied by Krampus, a half-goat, half-demon figure whose job is to punish naughty children. Think of him as the “bad cop” to St Nicholas’s “good cop”.

Long before Santa became the jolly gift-giver people know today, St Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop famous for generosity and secret acts of charity.

St Nicholas rewarded children for good behaviour, but punishment was never part of his saintly duties. That role fell to Krampus.

By the 17th century, the pair had become a folklore duo forming a moral double act where Nicholas rewarded virtue while Krampus enforced discipline.

In popular mythology, Krampus is described as a grotesque hybrid creature, half man, half goat, who emerges during the Christmas season.

While St Nicholas hands out sweets and presents, Krampus does quite the opposite, delivering beatings with sticks or birch branches to those deemed naughty.

Visually, Krampus is impossible to forget. Traditional carved Austrian masks depict him with shaggy dark fur, twisted horns, pointed ears and a disturbingly long red tongue hanging from a snarling, fanged mouth.

Folklore adds to the terror: he is said to drag heavy chains and ringing bells (symbols of binding evil) and carries bundles of birch twigs or a whip.

In many depictions, one foot is cloven like a goat’s, while the other remains human, reinforcing his half-demonic nature. It also ties into his name, which comes from the Old High German “krampen”, meaning claw or hook.

Krampus’s image was widely popularised through old festive postcards known as “Krampuskarten”.

These illustrations often show him hauling a wicker basket or sack on his back, with naughty children stuffed inside, sometimes with the grim suggestion that they were being carted off to Hell.

While the imagery may sound horrifying, Krampus has long been woven into festive traditions.

In Alpine towns, “Krampusnacht”, held on the night of Dec 5, is a major event. As night falls, costumed Krampuses and their companions, known as Perchten, spill into the streets.

Children leave a boot or shoe outside their doors, hoping to wake up to treats or small gifts if they have behaved, or a rod or lump of coal if they have not.

In some villages, families even leave out schnapps or a cigar for Krampus himself, a gesture meant to keep the demon appeased.

Like many old folk traditions, Krampus celebrations faded for a time. Suppressed by church authorities and governments, the custom nearly disappeared.

Yet by the late 20th century, it made a roaring comeback, particularly in Austria and Germany, where it was reclaimed as a symbol of regional heritage, and, for some, as a cheeky “anti-Christmas” counterculture.

Today, this revival is most visible in “Krampusläufe”, or Krampus runs.

During these events, villages transform into chaotic, theatrical spectacles. Men dressed in horned masks and heavy sheepskin coats charge through streets and alleyways, ringing bells, rattling chains and sometimes chasing onlookers. St Nicholas sometimes marches along, calm amid the chaos.

The atmosphere is deliberately unruly. Performers are known to drink, shout, chase spectators and generally embrace the chaos, blurring the line between tradition and wild street performance.

Some of these runs are massive in scale. In 2019, for instance, Salzburg’s Krampuslauf reportedly saw around 1,000 costumed “devils” parade through the city’s historic centre.

Of course, where chaos goes, controversy often follows. Krampus runs have occasionally turned violent, with spectators retaliating against performers.

One of the most notable incidents occurred in East Tyrol in 2013, where clashes during the festivities resulted in multiple injuries and hospitalisations.

Krampus isn’t confined to the Alps anymore. The tradition has spread internationally, with Krampus-themed pub crawls, and parades, appearing in North America, the UK, and beyond. He’s even made it into pop culture, from horror films to social media memes, as the ultimate horned anti-Santa.

Krampus proves that Christmas isn’t only about peppermint and presents. Sometimes, the holidays really do come with horns, all in the name of keeping children (and adults) on their best behaviour.