Why not take a peek at the darker things Christmas has to offer? It's not all ugly sweaters and sweet eggnog. Here are some of the Dark Christmas Legends from around the world, featuring the spooky stories and traditions we miss this Christmas season.
When most people think of Christmas, they imagine a cozy campfire, cheerful carols and the heated glow of twinkling lights. But behind the tinsel and cheers in many cultures lie age-old, obscure traditions that paint a much bleaker picture of the holiday season. While characters like Santa Claus reward the good guys, these otherworldly beings make sure the wicked get what they deserve – often in spine-chilling ways. From evil monsters to spooky guests, here are some of the scariest Christmas legends that have survived the centuries.
Krampus – Christmas Devil (Austria, Germany, Alpine Europe)
Perhaps the most infamous obscure Christmas character is Krampus, a horned demon with cloven hooves who punishes naughty children. While Santa Claus rewards the good, Krampus beats, chains, and even kidnaps the wicked, stuffing them into his sack and dragging them to Hell. Traditionally, in Krampuslauf (“Krampus Run”), locals don scary masks and costumes as they chase people through the icy streets.
Read the full story: The Dark Side of Christmas: The Haunting Legend of Krampus and Krampusnacht
Frau Perchta – Belly Slicer (Austria and Bavaria)
Frau Perchta, a witch-like figure from Alpine folklore, rewards hardworking children and punishes the lethargic and disobedient. Legend has it that if he finds someone idle or disrespectful, he will cut open their belly, remove their entrails, and fill the pit with straw and stones. Perchta wanders during the Twelve Days of Christmas, especially on Twelfth Night.
Read the full article: The Dark Side of Christmas: The Legend of Frau Perchta
Père Fouettard – The Christmas Butcher (France, especially Lorraine)
In Lorraine, France, Père Fouettard, or “Father Whipper”, is Santa's sinister companion. According to legend, he was a butcher who in the Middle Ages lured three lost children to his shop, murdered them, and salted their bodies in a barrel. When Santa discovered the crime, he resurrected the children and condemned the butcher to spend eternity as his obscure helper.
Every year on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6), Père Fouettard travels with the saint, brandishing a whip or a bundle of sticks. While Santa Claus rewards good children with sweets, Père Fouettard beats the disobedient ones. Dressed in obscure robes, with a scraggly beard and a soot-covered face, he embodies the vengeful side of the holiday season.
Read the full article: The Dark Side of Christmas: The Terrifying Legend of Père Fouettard of Lorraine
The Yule Lads – Icelandic mischief-makers
In Iceland, thirteen malicious trolls known as the Christmas Boys attack villages in the days leading up to Christmas. While up-to-date versions have softened them into pranksters leaving miniature gifts, vintage stories portrayed them as sinister figures who stole children or terrorized villagers. It is said that their mother, Grýla, a fearsome ogress, kidnaps naughty children and boils them alive in a cauldron.
Mari Lwyd – Gray Mare (Wales)
In a disturbing tradition, groups parade through Welsh villages with a horse's skull suspended from a pole, wrapped in white cloth and decorated with ribbons. Known as Mari Lwyd, an uncanny figure travels from house to house, challenging residents to a rhyming battle of wits. Though entertaining today, its ghastly, skeletal appearance still sends shivers down the spine of the unwary.
La Befana – The Christmas Witch (Italy)
In Italian folklore, La Befana is an vintage woman who visits houses on a broomstick on Epiphany Eve. While she leaves candy for the good kids, the bad kids may find pieces of coal – or worse. Some versions claim that he kidnaps misbehaving children and carries them off into the night.
Read the full article: The Dark Side of Christmas: La Befana – the Italian Christmas Witch
The Tomte/Nisse – mischievous Christmas ghosts (Scandinavia)
Although usually kind, Santa Claus Or Elf In Scandinavian folklore, they are household spirits that protect farms and families – but require respect. During Christmas they must be propitiated with offerings oatmeal and butter. Forget to skip a meal or insult them in any way, and they will become vengeful, sabotage farm animals, break tools, and even harm locals.
While charming in appearance, their darker traits reveal that even seemingly good spirits can become perilous in the vintage folk traditions of Nordic Christmas.
Hans Trapp – Christmas Cannibal Scarecrow (France)
In Alsace and Lorraine, Hans Trapp is a terrifying Christmas figure. Once a wealthy, cruel man obsessed with obscure magic, he was excommunicated and lived in the forest disguised as a scarecrow. Legend has it that he caught and ate children. After being struck by lightning, it is said that his vengeful spirit continues to haunt misbehaving newborn people during the Christmas season.
Read the full article: The Dark Side of Christmas: Hans Trapp – A Child Eating a Scarecrow
Kallikantzaroi – Greek Christmas goblins
According to Greek legend, from Christmas to Twelfth Night, Kallikantzaroi, mischievous goblins, rise from the underworld to wreak havoc. They sneak into houses at night, spoiling food, destroying things and causing chaos. Protected only by protective spells, blessed fire, or ritual practices, these creatures embody the darker, messy side of the holiday season.
Legend of the Christmas spider (Ukraine)
Although less scary, the story of the Ukrainian Christmas spider has some amazing roots. The legend tells of a indigent widow whose children decorated the Christmas tree with cobwebs because they could not afford decorations. On Christmas morning, the nets turned into silver and gold. Although it is now a symbol of happiness, it refers to the vintage European belief in fortune telling and restless spirits during Christmas.
Shadow season
For most of history, Christmas has been as much a time of ghost stories and sinister folklore as it has been a time of joy and kindness. Before up-to-date lights dispelled the darkness of winter, people gathered together, sharing chilling tales and paying respect to archaic, unseen forces. These darker traditions remind us that the holiday season was once an uncertain time, when ghosts roamed and monsters lurked just beyond the snow-covered hills.
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Dark legends and holiday traditions from around the world
Why not take a peek at the darker things Christmas has to offer? It's not all ugly sweaters and sweet eggnog. Here are some of the Dark Christmas Legends from around the world, featuring the spooky stories and traditions we miss this Christmas season.
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E. Nesbit's shadow mark
The action of “The Shadowbringer” or simply “The Shadow” takes place during a Christmas gathering of friends. One guest tells of a terrifying, supernatural encounter with an otherworldly shadow that leads to madness and death. Classic Edwardian Christmas spirituality.
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The ruins of the White Lady's castle in Rouelbeau appear on Christmas Day
The ghost of the Lady in White is said to appear in the ruins of the former Rouelbeau Castle in Switzerland during the Christmas season. As one of the Weiße Frau of Germanic folklore, she is believed to have been the lady of the castle until she was thrown out for failing to give birth to a son.
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A story of disappearance and reappearance by Mr. James
One of James's lesser-known but fascinating stories – set at Christmas and told in the form of a series of letters about a disturbing Punch and Judy show, a mysterious disappearance and a ghostly visit on Christmas Eve. It first appeared in print in the Cambridge Review of June 4, 1913. It was republished in 1919 as part of the anthology A Thin Ghost and Others.
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The ghostly soldiers of Rapperswil ring the bell of St. John
It was said that in the middle of the night the bells of St. Peter's Church began to ring. John in Rapperswil, Switzerland. When the church overseer went to investigate, he reportedly saw the headless spirits of fallen soldiers from the Battle of Näfels celebrating midnight mass.
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Christmas Eve – Nikolai Gogol
Set in snowy Ukraine on Christmas Eve, this folkloric tale tells the story of a trickster devil who wreaks havoc on a village while a newborn man tries to win his beloved's heart through supernatural influence.
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Ghosts of the Holy Season: Christmas Visits to Bern
Every year in December, when the nights get longer and the spirit of Christmas fills the air, the holiday ghosts of Bern wake up. These stories based on tradition and legend remind us that even during celebrations, the ghosts of bygone eras remain.
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Jerry Bundler by W. W. Jacobs
On Christmas Eve, guests exchange scary stories at a cozy inn – until a real, bloody intruder named “Jerry Bundler” shows up and turns the Christmas warmth into real fear.
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The Ludington Haunted House: A Christmas Ghost Story
Throughout the year, the residents of the Ludington House seem to be haunted by a ghost that wakes them from their sleep and watches them from a rocking chair. It is said that during the Christmas season, a ghost places a Christmas angel on the tree.
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Dead Sexton by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
In this chilling tale by JS Le Fanu, the death of a corrupt sexton on Christmas Eve triggers supernatural events in his graveyard – as if his ghost lingered, disturbing the peace. First published in 1871
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Vampire Gorbals: Glasgow Night of Terror
One night, the Southern Necropolis in Glasgow is filled with children. They think they are not having fun, but they are hunting a terrible vampire who is said to have taken the life of more than one child. The absolute Vampire Gorbals mania ended with several up-to-date laws being passed.
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A cursed butcher's apprentice haunting the Rathausgasse in Bern
Said to have been cursed after torturing a calf, the butcher's apprentice is now cursed to haunt the vintage butcher's street forever. For centuries, people have claimed to hear the horrible sound of his hooves hitting the ground as he transformed into the very thing he was torturing for fun.
Image Source: Pixabay.com
