Holiday Mythical Creatures

holiday mythical creatures

Santa Clause isn’t the only magical being running around on Christmas, rewarding good children. He seems to be nicest. Naughty children only get coal from Saint Nick. In other places, bad children get kidnapped and eaten around the holiday season. Here are a few interesting holiday mythical creatures.

Krampus

I mostly include this one because I liked the movie. He’s the anti-Clause. Kramp looks like a demonic-goat and punishes bad little girls and boys on Christmas. He’s sometimes seen carrying a basket or sack to cart off children of his choosing to eat later. This one seems to be the most popular Christmas monster.

Gryla

Like Krumpas, Gryla has a taste for children. She’s a troll who lives in the mountains in Iceland and craves children all the time, which means she’s always in a bad mood. Every Christmas, she comes down the mountain to kidnap bad children and take them away to her home to munch on later.

The Icelandic Yule Cat

Those who finish their work on time received new clothes for Christmas, at least according to Icelandic tradition. The Yule Cat would eat children who didn’t receive any new clothes for Christmas. This monster was used to get children to do their chores.

Frau Perchta

She appears 12 days before Christmas to hand out punishment to those who anger her. This German witch is known for ripping out people’s organs and replacing them with garbage, some stories say straw or sandpaper. According to stories, she’d leave you alone if you follow the proper rituals, traditions, during the 12 days of Christmas. She would appear beautiful or ugly depending on whether or not you performed the rituals.

Belsnickel

This monster appears to before children wearing tattered clothing and beats those who’ve been naughty. Some stories say he simply hands bad children a stick.

I write dark stories but what’s with all the Christmas monsters that like to beat people.

The Zombie Horse- Mari Lwyd

It’s winter. You hear singing outside your house. You peek out your window. A horse’s skeleton is at your door. It wants to get inside your house. The only way to keep it out is to battle it with poetry.


More Resources

The Monsters of Christmas

Dark Christmas: Seven seasonal monsters from myth and legend

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