Have Yourself a Scary Little Krampus

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2021

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The imagery of Christmas in most Western countries is of pure wholesomeness with Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, presents, candy, lights, etc. But in central Europe, there is another figure in the mix, the horned devilish-looking character called Krampus, who doles out punishment if you’re naughty instead of nice. I talk with Jules Linner and Christina Albert about why it was important for them as children to believe in St Nick’s dark companion. Krampus event organizer and author Al Ridenour, along with cultural anthropologist Matthäus Rest, explain the history of Krampus, and why he’s still an important part of German and Austrian culture today. Here's the link to Al’s book “The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil,” and Al’s podcast Bone and Sickle episode on Krampus. This episode is sponsored by Walker Books and BetterHelp. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Tab for a cause is a browser extension that lets you raise money for charity while doing
0:04.9	your thing online.
0:06.6	Whenever you open a new tab, you'll see a beautiful background photo and a small ad.
0:11.6	And part of that ad money goes towards a charity of your choice.
0:15.6	It's free and incredibly easy.
0:18.1	Transform your tabs into a force for good in just 30 seconds.
0:22.4	Find up at tabforacause.org slash imaginary worlds.
0:30.9	Before we begin, we're doing another call out to listeners.
0:33.8	Have you ever been a fan of a TV show, a movie, or a book series?
0:37.4	And the writers are setting up a mystery, dropping clues along the way.
0:41.4	And you come up with your own theory as to what's going on.
0:44.1	But when the answer is revealed, you're disappointed.
0:47.6	You believe the version you came up with in your head, otherwise known as head cannon,
0:52.4	is better than what is now officially cannon.
0:56.3	Has that happened to you?
0:57.9	Let us know.
0:58.9	You can email us at contact at imaginary worldspodcast.org.
1:03.3	The email is on the show's website as well.
1:06.1	Thanks.
1:09.6	You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend
1:13.6	our disbelief.
1:14.6	I'm Eric Polinsky.
	...

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