Date: Monday, December 16, 2024
Time: 7 pm EST
Admission: $8

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The Krampus, a folkloric devil associated with St. Nicholas in Alpine Austria and Germany, has lately been embraced outside his homeland as a sort of icon of a countercultural Christmas. Get behind the contemporary spin and encounter the authentic figure with Al Ridenour, author of The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas.

The old Alpine Christmas was a season haunted by ghosts, witches, devilish horsemen, and even murderous incarnations of Catholic saints. Central to this folklore are the Perchten, Alpine spirits on which the Krampus is based. In Austria, these creatures were connected to Frau Perchta, a witch-like being said to threaten naughty children with disemboweling. In Germany, her peer was Frau Holle, ruler of a fabulous realm hidden beneath a mountain deep within the Thuringian Forest.

Over the course of this richly illustrated talk, Ridenour will walk us through the folklore in a whirlwind presentation employing archival film footage, contemporary clips, and over 100 images, some rarely seen.

Al Ridenour’s book, now in its second printing, is the only in-depth English-language study of the Krampus and has been praised by Los Angeles Times critic Elizabeth Hart as “gleefully erudite,” a work that “deserves to become a classic.” Since 2013, he’s also crafted Krampus masks and suits for purchase and organized Krampus events and parades in his hometown of Los Angeles. He also writes and hosts the lavishly produced folk-horror/history podcast Bone and Sickle, now in its sixth year. In early 2025, his Feral House publication—A Season of Madness: Fools, Monsters, and Marvels of the Old-World Carnivals—will extend Ridenour’s focus to include a European-wide array of surprising, sometimes monstrous, folk festival figures and their historic backgrounds.