Krampus in North American popular culture
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Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" of Austrian and Bavarian folklore, has entered the popular culture of North America;[1] Christian Jacobs notes that "thanks to the Internet and YouTube[note 2] [Krampus] is now very much on America's Christmas radar".[2] Tanya Basu interprets this as part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations": a "bah, humbug" rejection of – or novel alternative to – mainstream festivities.[1] Brian Joines of Image Comics suspects that the reason Krampus (specifically, as well as dark aspects of Christmas in general) has not been historically popularized in America is a social artifact resulting from "the nature of how we view Christmas in this country, both as a big day for kids and as the birth of a big religious figurehead".[3] In some North American depictions, Krampus is an antihero who seeks to prevent children from becoming spoiled by rampant consumerism flowing from the economics of Christmas.
While tangential mentions of Krampus sometimes appear in media related to Christmas,[note 3] notable instances where the character played a significant role in North American media include:
Contents
Film
- A Christmas Horror Story anthology horror film (2015).
- Krampus (film) horror comedy (2015) from Universal Pictures. Produced for $15 million USD, as of 14 December 2015 it is estimated to have grossed $61 million worldwide.[4] Its director, Michael Dougherty, commented: "The dark ancient origins of our holidays have always fascinated me."[5]
In production
- Anti-Claus (initially titled Comes the Krampus), from Kevin Smith.[6]
- Happy Krampus!, from Walden Media and The Jim Henson Company.[7]
Television
- G4 (TV channel) commercial (2003).[8] Christmas carolers outside a house sing a dirge about Krampus, who has entered to punish the naughty children inside.
- The Colbert Report segment "The Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude - Hallmark & Krampus" (2009), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'.[9]
Animation
- The Venture Bros.[3] episode "A Very Venture Christmas" (2004).
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated[3] episode "Wrath of the Krampus" (2012). Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
- American Dad! episode "Minstrel Krampus" (2013).[1] Voiced by Danny Glover and Charles Bradley.
Live action
- The League[3] episode "A Krampus Carol" (2012).
- The Aquabats! Super Show! episode "Christmas with The Aquabats!" (2013).[2] Voiced by Robert Smigel.
- Grimm episode "Twelve Days of Krampus" (2013). Depicted as a man who annually transforms into Krampus (Derek Mears) to kidnap and eat "naughty" children on Christmas.[10]
- Lost Girl episode "Groundhog Fae" (2013).[11]
Print media
- Chickenhare graphic novel (2006), had a Krampus named Banjo as one of the main characters.[12]
- Krampus: The Yule Lord novel (2012), by Gerald Brom set in Boone County, West Virginia.[13][note 4]
Other
- CarnEvil arcade game (1998), has a "freakishly evil St. Nick" boss named Krampus.[14][15]
- Random Spirit Lover album (2007), by the Canadian indie band Sunset Rubdown, features a picture of Krampus on the back cover. Spencer Krug stated that it was placed there because "he represents the sort of duality that's a theme on the record, the two sides of every thing."[16]
See also
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a Finnish thriller film about finding the source of the original Santa Claus myth; a supernatural being who, rather than rewarding good children, punishes the naughty.
Apart from evil versions of normally good Christmas characters (i.e. Santa, Frosty, etc.), or Jack Frost who is usually depicted as just mischievous, malevolent monsters associated with Christmas in North American popular culture other than Krampus include, in chronological order:
- Bogeymen from Babes in Toyland (1934)
- The Grinch (1957)
- "Bumble", the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
…and villains from cult films:
- Santa Claus (1959) from Mexico features a demon who ineptly attempts to ruin Christmas.
- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Notes
- ↑ cf. Kilroy was here
- ↑ A short film called A Krampus Carol was produced in 2011 for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations but never aired, as the Travel Channel considered it inappropriate; "Luckily, the special lives on on YouTube". Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Krampus is briefly mentioned in the Supernatural (U.S. TV series) episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (2007) as being one of the anti-Clauses in folklore.
- ↑ ISBN 978-0-06-209565-7. Brom's Krampus page.
References
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- ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-kevin-smiths-anti-claus-708447
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ G4 Winter 2003 Commercials (Krampus commercial begins ~4:21)
- ↑ [2] from The Colbert Report's December 9, 2009 episode
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- ↑ Video of gameplay: CarnEvil- Rickety Town boss
- ↑ Interview with Pitchfork Media: Interviews: Sunset Rubdown
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