Christmas is a time of goodwill, joy, and cozy family gatherings… unless you’re a very naughty child, in which case you’ll be lucky if all you get is a lump of coal in your stocking come Christmas morning. Beware the Krampus! Is he a minion of St. Nicholas, an imp of Satan, or just your average child-abusing, girl-chasing goat man? Who knows?

We sure don’t, but we’ll chat about him anyway.

Show notes and links:

* “Krampus Is Coming to Town” by The Plastic Bastards; today’s special music.

* Greetings from Krampus , Some Krampus greeting cards.

* Santa’s Horned Helper: The Fearsome Legend of Krampus, Christmas Punisher | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)

* The Origin of Krampus, Europe’s Evil Twist on Santa (smithsonianmag.com)

* Krampuslauf Graz 2010, A typical Austrian Krampusnacht parade (youtube.com)

* Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010):  (amazon.com) Darkly wonderful Finnish film.

* Half in the Bag Episode 99: Krampus , Red Letter Media’s review of the 2015 film.

* @history_files (twitter.com)

* CSICONauts Chat