Deep South Austria

‘There’s Chaos Again’ – read the poster advertising a local Krampus event.

Little did the organisers know how true that statement would become. When two friends invited us to join them, my heavily pregnant wife declined, citing childhood trauma born of these marauding hell-beasts.

Our friends thought this a little farfetched, but as the night of the Thörl-Maglern 2024 Krampuslauf unfolded, my wife’s fears turned out to be well founded.

Santa’s Little Hell-per: Austria’s Krampus Tradition

Whereas most countries incentivise good behaviour of children with the promise of gifts from Santa, in Austria, Saint Nicholas rolls with a monstrous side kick: Krampus; a half-goat, half hell-demon beast.

Krampus is thought to have originated from pagan tradition but was (eventually) incorporated into the Christian calendar (after initial efforts by the Catholic church to ban him).

This dark folk tradition is found in Austria as well as other alpine regions in central Europe, including Slovenia, northern Italy and Bavaria.

Local Krampus clubs make the costumes and terrifying masks (carved from wood, with animal horns attached, which is a whole art form in itself) and organise Krampus gatherings.

So in Austria, bad kids don’t just go on the naughty list. They get terrorised by this devil-goat, beaten with a whip of sticks, stuffed into a sack and dragged through the snow.

Is this the reason that Austrians tend to stick to the rules? Certainly, if Krampus had been around during my childhood, my behaviour would likely have been much better.

Krampuslauf

Krampusnacht  – Krampus night – is officially the 5^th of December, but there are various Krampus events all around Carinthia and other parts of Austira, beginning early November and running through mid-December.

The most popular way to petrify your children is to take them to a Krampuslauf which means ‘Krampus Run’. These are not Krampus half-marathons, but parades, where packs of the goat-devils rampage through the streets, shaking their chains, shoving spectators, and beating them with their whips and sticks.

Anyone who attends a Krampuslauf is fair game for Krampus attack. And Krampus is not just child’s play. Even outside of sanctioned Krampus events, if you happen to cross paths with a Krampus in the wild, you may fall prey to a thrashing.

Indeed, my mother-in-law was so traumatised by a childhood Krampus attack, sustaining visible injuries, that she subsequently refused to walk anywhere alone during Krampus season, insisting her father drive her in the safety of his car.

My Austrian brother-in-law – now a man approaching 30 – will also go out of his way to avoid a roaming Krampus if he sees one, for the same reason.

When Krampus Crosses The Line

As those under the masks are usually young men, often loaded on schnapps and beer, and empowered by the terror they project, it’s perhaps not surprising that Krampuses (or is it one Krampus, two Krampi?) sometimes go too far.

There have been numerous incidents over the years when Krampi have attacked young women and teenagers with their sticks and whips, and crossed the line from folklore fun to physical assault. There are also accounts of spectators retaliating, taking revenge for the whippings they have received.

1-800 Call Krampus

The other way to ensure your child is traumatised enough to behave themselves is to invite Krampus to your home. We got a flyer in our post box advertising Krampus’ personal services; parents could book the horned devil to appear at their door.

We were even given the choice of whether Krampus would be allowed inside to chase the kids around the house, or if his terrorising was restricted to a doorstep appearance only, depending on the severity of mental scarring we preferred to inflict.

The Thörl-Maglern Krampus Rampage

At the 2024 Thörl-Maglern Krampuslauf, where some one hundred Krampuses and 2500 spectators had gathered, all hell broke loose when packs of Krampi went berserk and according to the local paper, ‘left a trail of destruction’.

It was at the afterparty in Thörl-Maglern’s fire station (in rural Austria, fire stations double as community centres, providing venues for social gatherings) that the Krampus chaos ensued.

The newspaper reported that ‘tables were knocked over, counters were ripped from their anchors, toilets were blocked, parking barriers were damaged and masks were stolen. There were also physical injuries.’

This must have been quite the scene. The police caught some of the offending beasts but it was too little too late for the organisers. The following day they announced that the 2024 Thörl-Maglern krampuslauf would be the last.

Though it’s certainly sad that a minority of bad Krampus have led to the permanent cancellation of the event, at least the children of Thörl-Maglern will finally be able to sleep soundly.