It is that time of the year again, mainly that of the Winter Solstice, ghost riders, the wild hunt, Krampus, Belsnickel, Befana, Joulupukki, and, of course, Santa and baby Jesus.

Few have probably ever considered how much like Halloween the Christmas season really is: from ghosts and monsters to the contractual obligations set forward in both the trick-or-treat agreement and the Santa “clause,” otherwise known as the naughty-or-nice list. The lights, ornaments, gifts, botanicals, and evergreen vegetation serve many roles in decorating for the holiday, or holy day, season.

From real characters to mythological monsters; from folklore to modern religious celebrations; and from natural cyclical changes to interpretations of nature as the end-times apocalypse, it is certainly beginning to look a lot like Krampus.

Tonight, Ryan Gable fills in for Clyde Lewis and talks with Andrew Cox, owner of Nexus Occult Books, and Chad Lewis, paranormal investigator and author.

Listen to Ground Zero, M-F, 7-10pm, pacific on groundzeroplus.com. Call in to the LIVE show at 503-225-0860.