Krampus Doll

Horned, hairy and fanged, the anti-St Nicholas beats naughty children with birch switches and drags them off to the underworld. Crafted by hand in Durham, North Carolina using re-purposed sweaters and cotton fill.  The legend of Krampus is a centuries-old German Christmas tradition. As far back as the 16th century, boisterous masked devils were incorporated into Christian winter celebrations and by the 17th century, the figure began to be paired with St. Nicolas. Krampus, whose name is derived from the German word krampen meaning claw, is said to be the son of Hel in Norse mythology. He is dark and hairy with cloven hooves, the horns of a goat, and a long phallic tongue. He lashes chains and bells about as he beats naughty children savagely with birch branches and drags them off to hell (a somewhat more effective deterrent to bad behavior than a lump of coal in our opinion).  According to folklore, Krampus shows up in towns the night before December 6, Krampusnacht or Krampus Night b