THE TERRIFYING TALES OF: Dark Christmas — Old World Origins & Winter Folklore
Christmas has another history...
Before Santa, the season was shaped by pagan winter traditions and folklore filled with punishment and fear.
From belly-slitting witches said to roam during the winter solstice to a demonic beast who dragged sinners to hell, the season was once ruled by things far less holy.
So get cozy and settle in because because we're going back.. To the Darker version of Christmas past.
Episode Source Material
Modern Analyses, News Coverage & Media Reporting
BBC News. “Austria Krampus: The Devil of Christmas.” December 5, 2010. Accessed November 1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17405422.
IMDb. Krampus. Directed by Michael Dougherty. Legendary Pictures, 2015. Accessed November 1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3850590/.
Books, Documentaries & Podcasts
Breckin, Edmund. Frau Perchta: The Christmas Belly-Slitter—A Concise History of the Legend. Independent publication, n.d.
Hawkins, Paul. Bad Santas and Other Creepy Christmas Characters. London: Pavilion Books, 2015.
Miles, Clement A. Christmas Customs and Traditions: Their History and Significance. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1912.
Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.
Ridenour, Al. The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House, 2016. Accessed November 1. https://www.perlego.com/book/4234697/the-krampus-and-the-old-dark-christmas-roots-and-rebirth-of-the-folkloric-devil-pdf.
Ridenour, Al. The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas. Perlego eBook edition. Accessed November 1. https://ereader.perlego.com/1/book/4234697/0.
Shults, Sylvia. The Spirits of Christmas. Minneapolis: Llewellyn Publications, 2017.
Shults, Sylvia. The Fright Before Christmas: Surviving Krampus and Other Yuletide Monsters, Witches, and Ghosts. Minneapolis: Llewellyn Publications, 2023. Accessed November 1. https://www.perlego.com/book/3853339/the-fright-before-christmas-surviving-krampus-and-other-yuletide-monsters-witches-and-ghosts-pdf.
Sfetcu, Nicolae. About Christmas. Bucharest: MultiMedia Publishing, 2014.
Websites & Online Databases
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Zwarte Piet.” Accessed November 1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zwarte-Piet.
The Paleothea Project. “Attis.” Accessed November 1. https://paleothea.com/Myths/Attis.html.
Saint Nicholas Center. “Who Was Saint Nicholas?” Archived webpage. Accessed November 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20101010104847/http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38.
SpringerLink. “The Netherlands in the Nineteenth Century.” In Economic and Social History of the Netherlands. Accessed November 1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-76696-6_7.
