The Krampus and the old, dark Christmas : roots and rebirth of the folkloric devil
(Book)

Map of significant towns & landmarks -- Introduction : the dead of winter -- 1. Gruss vom Krampus, the dark companions -- From Alps to Internet -- The Krampus arrives in America -- American misconceptions -- Krampuskarten -- The Krampus by any other name -- Knecht Ruprecht -- The Christkind and the Weihnachtsmann -- Père Fouettard, Hans Trapp, and Schmutzli -- Zwarte Piet -- Frightful stories for better children -- Roots of the Kinderschreckfigur -- 2. The devil at the door -- Meeting the Krampus -- The Rempler -- Gastein and the Krampus -- Where the Krampus runs -- The run versus the house visit -- Traditional figures of the Krampus troupe -- The house visit -- Troupe life -- Suiting up -- Masks -- That furry suit -- Switches, bells, basket, and chain -- Modern trends in mask and costume -- 3. The beast pursues his game -- A cruel sport -- The prey -- Injuries and aggression -- Under the influence -- Show and spectacle -- "True to the good old ways" -- Women and the tradition -- Krampus unchained -- Rite of passage -- Regional variations -- 4. The Church breeds a monster -- A not-so-jolly St. Nicholas -- Unseemly holy legends -- The devil in medieval Christmas plays -- King Herod, earthly devil -- The devil's stagecraft -- Nicholas in paradise plays -- Jesuit pedagogy and Nicholas -- Nicholas meets the Perchten -- Nicholas play or Nicholas parade? -- St Nicholas gets rowdy -- Strange company for a saint -- Carnival influences -- Early Tyrolean diffusion -- Scenes from a Nicholas play -- Existing Nicholas plays and parades -- The boy bishops -- The feast of fools -- The old ways : Kalends and Saturnalia --

5. Frau Perchta, witches, and ghosts

Witch and goddess, benevolent monster

Who are the Perchten?

Perchta and Epiphany

Celtic or Germanic goddesses?

From Perchta to Perchten

Domestic oversight and female Perchten

The Belly Slitter and her dreadful way

A Mother Goose tale

Foods for Perchta

Perchta and the Heimchen

Holda-Holle

Frau Holle tales

Frau Holle country

Enchantress in the mountain

Holda becomes a witch

Herodias, Perchta, and a hissing head

Loyal Eckhart, ghosts, a jug of beer

The inexhaustible sacrifice

Magic in the Venusberg

Witchcraft born in the Alps

Witch hunting and hauntings in Tyrol

Witch fires

La Befana

Perchta by any other name

Ghostly company

6. The haunted season

Unholy nights

Companies of ghosts

Wuotan and the wild hunt

The Night Folk

Wild hunters

The Wild Hunter Tü̈rst

The Twelve Nights, the Rauhnächte

Rauhnacht superstitions

Ausräuchern (Censing)

Knocking Nights

The Glöcklern

Pelzmärtel, the St. Martin Monster

Release the wolves!

Winter comes early

Halloween leans toward Christmas

The St. Barbara creatures

A dark St. Lucy

Bloody Thomas

Bavarian Forest Rauhnacht celebrations

The world of the Krampus

7. The Perchten

A parade in Gastein

Finding a pagan Percht

The Habergeiss

a spirit of the fields

Cave of the Habergeiss

Goats everywhere

A Scandinavian connection

Origins of the Habergeiss

Disciplined by a goat

Magic rite or playful celebration?

The wild hunt of Untersberg

The Kirchseeon Perchtenlauf

The Pinzgau Tresterer

Perchten in the Tyrolean Unterland

The Gastein Perchtenlauf

Schiachperchten, witches, and Perchta

8. Pagan roots and final questions

Too bright to see

A devil's cross

The Beautiful Ones arrive

The Swiss version

How Perchta grew a second face

Influences from Venice

Between carnival amusements and folk ritual

Where Perchta lived on

Healthy skepticism

Lucky strikes

"Life Switches" and "Smacking Easter"

Battles in the clouds

A Swiss connection?

Flying leaps

The monsters between the years

Conclusion : why the Krampus must come.