Why you need to be in the Alps on 5th December

If you thought Halloween was scary then make sure you’re not in The Alps on the 5th December otherwise, you’ll most certainly be caught up in Krampus.

What is Krampus?

Everyone knows Santa, he’s the lovely jolly guy that eats a ton of cookies and flies around on a sleigh. Well, Mr Krampus is the complete opposite of Santa. Instead of giving good children presents, Krampus whips and beats the bad from the not so good children. Quite literally the Christmas devil!

More traditional outfit

Krampus originates in Germany and children have been terrified of him for nearly a 1000 years. Now Krampus has his own night – the day before St Nicholas on the 5th December each year.

When we started our ski season we got talking to someone who worked in our resort, Zell am See, the year before. She was the first person to tell us the story of Krampus and I must admit I thought she was joking – I even remember speaking to Poi after and commenting this must be one of those made up stories just to see how gullible the new reps are… Little did I know that is completely true and, completely terrifying!

It seems Krampus has grown and grown in recent years. Lots of men put on amazing and intricate costumes, with humongous horns and really loud cow bells. They run around the streets scaring the shit out of adults and children alike – mainly by whipping the adults with birch twigs!

Spot the Devil…. 

Last year we were in our resort for Krampus – we were told that Zell is a really good place to experience the night and a lot of people get involved. First there was a parade which was pretty terrifying but I felt safe as there was a safety barrier – I kept hidden so only get whipped once, then someone told me what happened after:

“Wait until they drop the fence and it’s a free for all!”
“Wait, What – do you mean?”
“They just start grabbing anyone and whip the crap out of them and there’s no escape – they try and keep us all  in the square!”

Oh shit – So, I’m pretty much a prisoner and there will be 100’s of devils running towards me and some have horns bigger than my arms… this isn’t going to end well. I was petrified! If I was a child I would certainly remember this and try my very hardest to be good so I didn’t have to experience this terror next year!

The Krampus Zombie trying to get me! 

My worst nightmare came true as they dropped the fence, one of the Christmas Devils made a beeline for the person stood next to me. She grabbed me and tried to use me as a human shield I was afraid, very afraid! Luckily she was grabbed and dragged into the crowd and not me. This is about the time I decided I should probably leave the mayhem. I said my goodbyes to Poi but, as I tried to scuttle off I was spotted by a couple of other Krampus’ who tried to chase and whip me for leaving!

Just imagine this walking straight towards you – what would you do? 

I ran full pelt for one of my favourite bars and stayed there for a LONG TIME. all night I could hear cow bells clanging along the street and more and more people arrived telling stories of how they were whipped / chased by the Devils! A truly terrifying experience!

At the end of the night, I did meet a friendly Krampus who even gave me a hug and let me try on his very sweaty mask – but still I think I would be pretty weary of them!

 I never say no to dressing up! 

Just to let you know, I later found out that the guys dressed up usually only grab people they know (phew for only being in Austria for less than a week!) so if you are holiday there you can enjoy the experience without being too terrified… Maybe..

Still don’t believe me? Wondering if it can really be that bad? Take a look at the following videos – the first video explains how they make the masks and the second gives you a taste of what it is like on the night.

Are you getting your first taste of Krampus this year or have you experienced Krampus in Austria or anywhere else?