25 Days of Creepy Christmas - True Christmas Ghost Experiences

We found some good ghost stories that took place during the holiday season while perusing the Internet and we thought we would share them:

MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS PRESENT 
-Arthur H.

My mother, to whom I was very close, passed away in 1964 when I was 17 years old. I left home that year and moved to Ontario from Nova Scotia. In 1969 I met a girl whom I will call Karen and we got married in March of 1970.

In December of 1971 we were expecting our first child. We were living in a small 1-1/2 bedroom bungalow. There was a fireplace in the living room. My wife and I loved the fireplace and we had it lit every night.

It was Christmas Eve, 1971, and we had just finished putting the gifts under the tree and a nice fire gave off a beautiful glow. On the tree, one string of lights, which was supposed to flash, had stopped several days before.

It was five minutes to midnight when the fireplace suddenly just about went out, and the string of lights started to flash - and the other lights stopped flashing! My wife and I were sitting on the floor and it had become very chilly in the room.

I looked over to my recliner chair...

and a figure was sitting there -- my mother with a big beautiful smile on her face! My wife, who had never met my mother, said she could see the same thing. This "ghost" never spoke, but just kept looking at me and my wife and smiling.

At 12 midnight, the fire in the fireplace started up again and the lights on the tree stopped flashing and the others started flashing again.

I looked over in the chair and the ghost was gone. No matter what I did to those Christmas lights, they never flashed again.

SEASIDE GHOST
-Mike B.

This happened on Christmas Eve, 1961. I had returned from college in London to spend Christmas in my hometown of Scarborough, on the north-east coast of England. In the afternoon, I went into the centre of town to buy Christmas presents. At about 4 p.m., I was ready to return home. Scarborough has two bays divided by a headland on which stands a ruined castle. A road, the Marine Drive, runs round the bottom of the headland from one bay to the other.

As I had not seen the sea for some time, I decided to walk this way home to where I lived in the North Bay. In those days the Marine Drive was unlit and very dark. I had gone about two hundred yards when a car came toward me round the bend of the drive. It was traveling quite slowly and for some time the beam of the headlamps fell on the railings on the seaward side of the road.

About 20 yards in front of me was a ghost standing at the railings looking down into the sea. The form was of someone dressed in a monk's cowl, hooded, drooping sleeves, a complete form, but clearly insubstantial -- the kind of figure most people accept as a stereotypical ghost. I was very afraid and stood rooted to the spot.

The ghost then turned toward me and, as if it was as frightened of me as I was of it, it began to retreat backward. There were no discernible limbs, but the bottom of the figure appeared to writhe about. It then disappeared out of the beam of the headlamp into the darkness. I decided to go no further round the drive, but turned around to return to the South Bay and catch a bus.

My right leg went. I found it very difficult to walk, but managed to hobble to the bus stop where I eventually caught a bus home. My leg was better by the time I got off the bus. This infirmity had never happened to me before, nor has it since.

I later made enquiries and found someone had committed suicide from somewhere near the position of the ghost. They had removed their clothes and left them neatly folded on the drive before leaping into the sea. That said, there can be no incontrovertible connection between this and the ghost I saw.

THE LOST GHOST
-Alle G.

Around Christmas time, 2001, I had a few weird experiences involving a spirit that must still live in our house. One of the past owners, a lady, died in our house. Around Christmas time, I felt the presence more and a lot stronger than I usually did.

One night, I decided to draw whatever my hand felt like drawing. I drew a bottle with ribbons exploding out of it, then a yacht... then it felt like someone was moving my hand for me. My hand drew a circular shape that at first looked like a peach. My hand lifted and dropped and made a mark inside the circle. My hand lifted again and dropped and it made a weird curve. My hand drew another dot. I regained full control over my hand again and I looked at what I had a drawn: a weird smiley face.

I told my mum about it and she said to try it again the next night, and so I did. I was painting some landscapes in water colours when I felt the presence again. My mum had said that she thought her name was Faye, so that name was stuck in my mind.

I asked, "What is your name?" and I let my hand be controlled. I wrote what looked like the name Faye. I asked what the last name was. I wrote something that looked like "Edith." This was all confusing. I asked why it was here, and the reply looked like "I'm lost." I asked why it was here with me, and the reply looked kind of like "crussby," but was still very hard to read. I asked, "What?" and the answer cleared up a bit, but still not a real word. I asked again, and the final reply came what looked like "crusty." I am still puzzled, but the spirit may have meant the house was crusty since it is falling to bits in some areas.

Later on, my mum confirmed that the lady's name was Edith. This freaked me out big time, and I still felt the presence strongly for a while until a few days after Christmas.

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Legend of the Christmas Spider

Some of you may have heard of the legend of the Christmas Spider. It's a pretty heartwarming story. Here is a synopsis:

Mother and children are very poor, but they manage to find a beautiful tree in the woods to cut down and bring home for Christmas. They get it set up and the wonderful pine smell wafts through the house. It really is a gorgeous tree, bit it's missing something: Christmas ornaments. The family is so poor that they cannot afford to decorate the tree and they go to bed sad. What they didn't know is that a little spider had come along for the ride. It had been hiding up in one of the branches. It heard what the family had said and it thought to itself, I wonder if perhaps I could wrap my web all around the tree and give the tree a little decoration. So the spider worked all night, wrapping itself around and around the tree, leaving webbing behind it. The family woke up the next day to find a Christmas miracle. The spider's cobwebs had turned to silver and gold tinsel and the tree was beautiful.

But we're into creepy around here, so this story needs some adjusting. This is more like it when it comes to the legend of the Christmas Spider:

A poor family decided to venture out into the woods to find a tree to put up for Christmas. The entered the canopy of trees that all but shut out the daylight. Twisted and gnarled branches hung all around them and brambles pulled at the rags they wore for clothes. Something in the distance made a hideous noise and branches snapped under the feet of a creature unseen. The family pulled up their courage and walked deeper into the murky darkness of the forest. They finally came upon a clearing with a gorgeous tree in the center. It stood seven feet tall and had full branches. It was the perfect tree. The family quickly chopped it down, sneaking peaks over their shoulders as they felt as though something was watching them. They dragged the tree back to their house, relieved to have exited the forest alive.

They put the tree up and it was very nice, but it was missing ornaments. They went to bed sad that they had nothing to with which to decorate the tree. In the middle of the night came a horrible crashing. The family flew down the stairs to see what had made the noise. Their front door was hanging off its hinges and was nearly snapped in two. What had the strength to break a solid wooden door? They quickly found out when a hulking beast appeared in the doorway. Eight black eyes peered out at them as one fuzzy long leg slipped through the opening and then another. Before long, an enormous spider, straight out of Lord of the Rings, was standing in their front room next to the tree. "You stole my tree," the spider roared. And then he ate the whole family in one gulp!

Wouldn't the Grimm Brothers be pleased with our version?

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Christmas Sasquatch

Christmas Sasquatch

Wait a minute! There's a Bigfoot for Christmas?! And this isn't a tradition floating around from the damp Northwest of the United States. Bigfoot doesn't just hang out in old growth forests, he hangs out in the Balkans too. In countries like Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and even Turkey, the character of Karakoncolos can be found and he usually only comes around during the holidays...kinda like the scary in-laws. He's a lurker and this isn't behind trees. He just hangs out on street corners. No, that isn't the local creepy pedophile leaning on the lightpost, it's the Christmas Sasquatch!

The Karakoncolos waits around until his victim arrives and then he pounces...with a riddle. We know, you thought he used his big gaping teeth to eat some poor naughty kid like all the rest of these Christmas baddies. Well, when we use the term "victim," we really do mean victim. If you screw up answering this riddle, you get the death blow from this fiend! How do you keep from screwing up the answer? Just make sure you incorporate the word "black" in your answer somehow. Apparently, that is some kind of magical word. What's black and white and red all over? Just make sure to say, "A runover zebra in the road, with BLACK stripes!" We know the answer is newspaper, but go with it, okay?

Now you probably think you are clever and have the perfect solution: just avoid street corners. Not so fast Mr. Smartypants! The Karakoncolos can visit houses too and he likes to do so at night. He pretends to be one of your relatives, calling out in distress, "Yoo Whoo, I'm out her on the landing with a broken leg my little brother." Sometimes he dresses up like a little girl - this is a whole nother level of terrifying- and then when the hapless victim comes out of the house - BAM! He puts them into a trance! That causes them to freeze like a night terror/sleep paralysis thing and then that person freezes to death in the cold.

Serbia adds in the unholy, unbaptized twelve days of Christmas and demons and ghosts run rampant. The Karakoncolos can't resist joining them and he uses this opportunity to jump on backs and demand rides. He's heavy, so it's grueling and the rooster's crow in the morning is welcome relief. After the holiday season, the Christmas Sasquatch has to retreat back into the shadows...until the next Creepy Christmas!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Mari Lwyd

Mari Lwyd

The holiday season includes the turn of the year. On New Years Eve, revelers celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another. This evening is also the night of Mari Lwyd in Welsh tradition. The traditions that surround the celebration of Mari Lwyd are straight out of Halloween. There is going door to door for treats while wearing costumes and there are skeletons! One skeleton in particular and that is Mari herself. But this is not a human skeleton, this is the skeleton of a mare. Imagine opening your door and finding a skeletal horse holding a bag and singing. Yes, singing!

The song she sings is in Welsh and she is usually surrounded by other revelers joining her in chorus. The song is basically asking the person who answers the door to let her inside. But we all know what that means when it comes to Black Eyed Kids. Could the same be true for Mari? We're not sure if in the end you die, but it sounds like fun getting to the place where Mari and her party are invited to enter. A battle of wits known as pwnco is entered into after Mari sings her song. This is a battle full of insults, riddles and challenges. These are exchanged back and forth in rhyme.

Nevermind that Mari and her group are a bunch of fiends risen from the dead. If she wins, they get to come in. The ancient practice also incorporates the festival of lights representing rebirth and hope at the new year. So its not all bad. In the areas that celebrate Mari Lwyd, they make a puppet from the skull of a horse, either the real thing or something fabricated, using a stick and a white cloth to conceal the puppeteer taking the figure around. She is occasionally decorated with colorful ribbons and winter vegetation like pine branches and holly.

It seems rather macabre, but really no worse than watching your sister-in-law barf into the kitchen sink!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Gryla

Gryla

We're thinking that Iceland for Christmas is NOT a good idea. What with the Yule Lads running around and a child eating Christmas Cat, the place is not safe for anybody whose actions throughout the past year could be interpreted as "bad." And just what you think it couldn't get worse, you find out about the woman who predates all this, Gryla. We are using the term "woman" here loosely because we're not really sure an ogress is actually a woman. We suppose Shrek has an opinion on that, but that is beside the point since ogres in that movie don't eat children.

Gryla is sometimes referred to as a giantess, which may be an attempt to soften her image. her description in most tellings of the legend is pretty scary. She is described as having hooves for feet and thirteen tails. She has the face of a woman, but is very ugly. She lives in the mountains and at Christmas she comes to town to get all the bad children.

She was not originally associated with Christmas. She first came on the scene in ancient Pagan times, but by the 17th century she was part of the visiting tales told at Christmas. Her name is thought to mean threatening and she certainly is that.  She doesn't come to town bearing rocks for gifts and other such unpleasantries. She comes to gather the bad children and when she gets them, she puts them in her sack and takes them back to her cave. And while other Christmas baddies like to whip and beat children, Gryla likes to eat them. She typically boils them alive to make her favorite stew. She places them in a sack and drags them back to her cave where she boils them alive for her favorite stew.

Adults aren't safe either, especially if you are a man and happen to marry this catch of the Icelandic mountains. She's already killed three husbands. Maybe you might like to be hubby number four? Apparently she made some babies with these men. The thirteen Yule Lads are said to be her sons. And as we already know, they add to all the Christmas nightmare fun!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Creepy Nativities

Nativity plays and nativity sets are a key part of the Christmas season. Denise's mother was an avid collector of nativity sets and she kept them up all year long. We eventually inherited several of them. Most Christian homes and even secular homes put up at least one set during the holidays. But sometimes, something goes horribly wrong in the design of a nativity set. These rather, um...unique, sets are perfect for Creepy Christmas!

So here we have something out of Planet of the Apes:

When food and nativities combine, well, things get bizarre! We heave two meat nativities here. The second one is made from Spam, if you could call that meat.

We have no idea what this is suppose to mimic. Something from a Mars star base?

We like chickens and everything, but really...the chicken angels are a nice touch (mmmphhh)

Apparently, this one features Mary, drowning? Maybe she's in a spacesuit? Does that mean baby Jesus can breathe in space? And if you shake this up, are those sprinkles of brain from Mary's head? Should one shake the Virgin Mary violently?

What would Christmas be without zombies? Now these are admittedly less gruesome than the typical zombie. The X eyes remind me of the shootout scene in "A Christmas Story."

This is our favorite one and we definitely need this for our house!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Changelings and Christmas

Changelings and Christmas?

Many of the traditions of Christmas are rooted in Pagan practices. The Winter Solstice is the darkest and longest night of the year. The myths of the Norse goddess Freya feature her weaving the fates of mankind at her spinning wheel. The Norse word for wheel is Jul or more commonly, Yule. The Christmas wreath is round to signify this same wheel of Fate. Because of her seer powers, Freya could see the future of her soon to be born son, Baldur. He was going to die. She went round to everyone and everything to secure pledges that they would play no part in his death. However, she missed the mistletoe.

Loki, the Norse trickster god, saw this and he crafted a dart with the mistletoe's poison. Then he challenged Baldur's blind brother to a game of darts and as you probably already guessed, he helped guide the brother's hand to throw the dart at Baldur. The mistletoe became a part of the Yule season from that time. Rome used mistletoe during Saturnalia as well. It was eaten during fertility rites.

The Christmas tree was brought inside to help keep the wood spirits warm. Food and treats were put on the trees for the spirits. The Winter Solstice is a time of visions. The Celtic Mare Goddess known as Rhiannon, rides through the dreams of people at night and transports them to a place where they can create their own visions.

This is all interesting, but not very creepy, right? If we look to the Viking Goddess of winter, we find some pretty spooky stuff. Her name is Skadi and that word means shadow or shade. Shadow people would find comfort in her presence. She is a dark magician. Venomous snakes, wolves and the sythe are sacred to her. Priestesses of Skadi were said to have bathed in blood to prepare themselves. Skadi isn't the only creepy goddess from the Winter Solstice. There is also Perchta who was also known as Holda. People would leave out food for her during the Christmas period, so that they would have prosperity in the New Year. Holda was the goddess of death and destiny. She shared much in common with the Norse Freya. Witches claimed to ride with Holda in the hunt. She was ambivalent towards children and she was used as a bogey person to keep kids on the straight and narrow. She rewarded good kids at Christmas. Naughty kids were severely punished and this usually entailed her carrying them off into the woods. She would keep the children in wells and eventually turn them into Faery changelings.

Changelings were substitutes left for human children. Faeries would steal babies and replace them with a lesser creature. The faery magic would fool the human parents into thinking that the replacement was actually their child. In reality, the substitute was usually a faery child. They usually have deformities and are temperamental. The faery folk would keep the human babies as their own or use them as slaves. There are some who believe changelings are children of the Devil and have no souls.

So as you can see, Christmas traditions and lore can be woven in such a way that one can end up in the creepy place of changelings. Who would've thought that changelings and Christmas could go hand in hand? See, HGB can use pretty much anything to add a little creepy to Christmas!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Creepy Santas

Whether he is called Father Christmas, St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, most people would agree that he is a holly, jolly man. But sometimes, Santa can be downright creepy. It really depends on who is wearing the suit and what that suit looks like. Some of you may have seen this picture before. It is creepy as heck and we are left to wonder what is up with the number. Is this how many souls he has in his bag?

This little girl looks like she is squirming to get away and who could blame her? Did Santa have one too many drinks before this picture?

Same with this Santa:

Pictures of old Halloween costumes reveal that costumes decades ago are scarier than most anything we can come up with today. The same is true for Santa costumes. Just look at this gem:

Is it just the lighting or the size of this Santa that makes him so ominous?

And I'm sure this little Santa is suppose to be a cute animatronic character that you could put by the front door, but he looks like some kind of alien creature with those blue eyes. Or is this really a black eyed kid that ended up with the wrong colored eyes?

It seems our really creepy Santa managed to sneak into another picture. There is the little donkey again. And you can't miss those dead eyes:

And we really just don't know what to say about this. We love our Mickey and Minnie, but what the heck is this?

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Horrifying Christmas Cards

HORRIFYING CHRISTMAS CARDS

The custom of exchanging Christmas cards started in the United Kingdom during the 1800s. Sir Henry Cole was a civil servant that helped set up the post office in the UK and he enlisted the help of an artist friend to make colorful cards that they could sell for people to mail to each other. Most Christmas cards feature winter landscapes or festive items that pertain to Christmas like trees, presents, Santa, elves, snowmen and other such symbols. It was during this Victorian period when cards were just first getting started, that some pretty creepy designs emerged and they cause one to think of anything, but a "merry" Christmas.

We've discussed Krampus previously and he was very popular on Christmas cards during the Victorian period. We wonder how many people opened the envelope to see the following and wondered what their friend or family member was trying to convey:

The robin has been a traditional Christmas symbol in the United Kingdom for a very long time. Robins are used to decorate the Christmas tree, cakes and cards. They are depicted just as they are in life: small, colorful and alive. Usually. But sometimes, well, the robin is:

The dead robin was actually seen as a good luck symbol. It was tradition to kill a robin or wren for the New Year. The dead bird looks rather peaceful and that is also another thing it was meant to symbolize. It makes some sense, although it is unnerving. But we have no idea what this is suppose to represent:



The card reads, "A Christmas Greeting with Love," but this agonized child inside a teapot doesn't immediately make us think of love. Is he boiling in some tea? Does the other side of that card read, "Krampus is coming for you?" And then there is this card, which just has to be the result of a bad acid trip:

Now, the frog on the above card seems like a jovial guy. He's dancing with a bug after all, rather than eating it. But what the heck is going on with this frog below? Did he really just stab that other frog to death and then rob him? What kind of a Christmas are we wishing the person who receives this card:

So um, yeah, Merry Christmas to you all. I'm going to make some creepy cards!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Frosty and Buckout Road

A snowman coming to life is spooky when you think about it! The original story of Frosty the Snowman is as follows:

Frosty The Snow Man

Frosty the Snow Man came to town one bright, cold winter's day. The first real snow of the winter had fallen the night before. In the morning, out came the children, and they started to roll snowballs. Round and round the snowy yard they rolled the snowballs. Soon they had two fine big ones. Round and round the yard again-there was a little snowball just the right size for a snow man's head. Billy ran home and brought two bits of coal to use for the snow man's eyes. Sally have him a button nose and a funny corncob pipe. Tommy brought floppy galoshes and a scarf for the snow man. And Joe brought him a pair of old red mittens to wear.

"Now we need a hat ," said Sally and Joe. So they all began to look around. Sally found an old cap. But it didn't look just right. Billy found a battered felt hat. But it still didn't seem right. Just then, down the street came the whistling wind. And it blew to their feet a shiny top hat.

"Just what we need!" cried Sally and Joe.

"It's like magic!" said Billy and Tommy.

It was Tommy who picked up the shiny top hat and put it on the snow man's head. Zing! Tommy's hand sprang back with a shock. "It's magic" gasped Tommy.

"So it is," said a voice, a deep, chuckly voice they had never heard before. "And a pleasant sort of magic, if I do say so myself."

 "It's the snow man!" whispered Sally. And so it was.

 "Frosty the Snow Man, at your service," said he. That's how Frosty the Snow Man came alive.

 If you have never had a snow man for a friend, you can scarcely imagine all the fun those children had. For Frosty took them coasting-and never had their sleds slid so swiftly and far. Frosty helped them build a snow house- and never had blocks packed so firmly and well.

They all went ice skating- and the magical part was that while they were with Frosty, then children could stay out and play in the snow and never get shivery cold. Was it Frosty's warm heart, or his magical smile? Whatever it was, they thought it was fine. Each morning when the children came out to play, Frosty had a wonderful plan all set.

 One morning he said, "Let's go shopping today. I've never seen a store, you know."

So they all joined hands and away they skipped, off towards town where the shops stood in rows. It was fun showing Frosty around! For he thought every window was wonderful. All around the town they led Frosty that day, while the warm wintry sun shone down. Soon they came to a corner and around the corner came a warm, gusty wind. Off went Frosty's hat. And away went Frosty after it.

 Then Tweet! sang the traffic cop's loud whistle. And the children could not follow Frosty, because
 traffic streamed by--buses and trucks and family cars. Tweet! went the traffic cop's whistle again.
 The crossing stood empty before them now, but there was not a sign of Frosty to be seen.

 Only down the street his top hat rolled, all by itself in the melting snow.

"Mr. Policeman!" the children cried. "Where has Frosty the Snow Man gone?"
 "Oh," said the policeman. "Frosty the Snow Man has gone away. Where all snow men go on a sunny day. But he'll be back at your bidding and call. Whenever great heaps of snowflakes fall."

And he will.

THE END

There is a little story behind the story here. Two towns in New York claim to be the setting of the story: White Plains and Armonk. Armonk takes the claim so seriously that they have an annual parade for Frosty. For this reason, we thought it would be interesting to add a little more creep to the story than what is already involved. After all, a snowman coming to life is just a tad creepy don't you think? But what Armonk? Are there hauntings in or around this town? We found a pretty interesting place to share with you!

Harrison is about five miles from Armonk and it is home to Buckout Road, a road just oozing with urban legend. When reading the story, the legend of Bloody Mary comes to mind. Apparently, you drive down Buckout Road until you see a red house or a house marked with a bunch of Xs. You are suppose to stop your vehicle and honk your horn three times. After you do this, the real fun begins! Flesh-eating cannibal albinos come streaming out of the house and well, you better just hope the door locks hold. The way this legend got started is with a story about teenagers driving to a house to taunt albinos living there. One day, they decided to put a prank in the mailbox. When they opened the mailbox, a child's head rolled out and they started calling the road "Head Road."

Others claim that the legend involves witches. Three women were accused of practicing witchcraft  and they were burned at the stake on Buckout Road. Nevermind that no witches were ever burned at the stake in America. And then there is the story of the man for whom the road was named, Isaac Buckout. The story is that he shot his wife and a neighbor and the neighbor's son with a shotgun. He suspected his wife was cheating on him, but not with the neighbor. Nobody knows why he did it, but he was convicted and put to death for the crime. Or is the road named for Mary Buckout who hung herself near the road? She is reputedly our Lady in White here!

So now when you sing "Frosty the Snowman," think twice!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Krampus Nacht

Krampus Nacht

December 5th is Krampus Nacht! It is more commonly known as St. Nicholas Eve, but we know this evening is all about Krampus, the horned demon, and his visit to come carry off all children. Ok, not all kids, just the bad ones. He will take them off tonight to his dwelling deep within the Earth. There, he will torture them. All the good kids will have little goodies left in their shoes and escape a beating with the switch.

Krampus is a pagan fertility god covered in long hair and wrapped in rattling chains. He has a long tail and carries a birch switch and a bag big enough to carry children. In parts of the world that observe this "festive" occasion, a man will dress as Krampus and the village will gather in the square to throw snowballs at him. Bread is baked in the shape of St. Nicholas or Krampus.

Gizmodo has some suggestions for ways to get in the mood that include drinking Absinthe and wearing a Krampus costume! Colonel Tiki has a drink suggestion:

Krampus Swizzle
2 oz goslings 151
1 oz Opal Nera
½ oz Herbsaint or absinthe
½ oz pineapple juice
½ oz Falernum
¼-½ oz simple syrup to taste
dash bitters (Fees old fashioned)

Shake all vigourously with cracked ice and pour into a chimney glass. Swizzle with a swizzle stick until the glass frosts. Garnish with a licorice whip.

There is a song by the Krampus Collaborative called The Krampus Comes Tonight:

The Krampus Comes Tonight

There is something important that you must hear.
Now, St. Nick has a list of good girls and boys
And he rewards them all with candy, pennies and toys.
But there's another list that gets carried around
This one by a creature from deep underground.
He has horns and fangs and a crusty mane
And handling naughty children is his domain.
So you had better hope with all of your might
That his list doesn't have your name on it tonight...
With hooven feet, he
Walks through the street, he
Is lookin' for a treat.
He's got a little list of boys and girls
That he is planning to eat.
Oh, bells will ring, and
Chains will swing, and
There'll be screams of fright.
Bum, bum, bum, bum
Just wanna' let all the naughty kids know,
The Krampus comes tonight.
With a birch stub, he
Looks for his grub, he
Is gonna whip them good.
You better look out your window tonight
Cuz' he's in the neighborhood.
Oh, bells will ring, and
Chains will swing, and
There'll be screams of fright.
Bum, bum, bum, bum
Just wanna' let all the naughty kids know,
The Krampus comes tonight.
With some spice,
He boils them nice.
He gives his lips a smack.
Cuz' all the wicked children out there are gonna be his snack.
Oh, bells will ring, and
Chains will swing, and
There'll be screams of fright.
Bum, bum, bum, bum
Just wanna' let all the naughty kids know,
The Krampus comes tonight.
With the scrawny ones
He has some fun.
He likes to hear them yell.
He'll tie them up by their hands and feet
And drag them back to Hell.
Oh, bells will ring, and
Chains will swing, and
There'll be screams of fright.
Bum, bum, bum, bum
Just wanna' let all the naughty kids know,
The Krampus comes tonight.
But if you're nice,
He will think twice.
He will leave you alone.
So you can sleep the whole night through in the comfort of your home.
Oh, bells will ring, and
Chains will swing, and
There'll be screams of fright.
Bum, bum, bum, bum
Just wanna' let all the naughty kids know,
The Krampus comes tonight.
He does.
The Krampus comes tonight.
Oh yeah.
The Krampus comes tonight.
Here he comes.
The Krampus comes tonight!
The Krampus Comes Tonight by The Krampus Collaborative is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Additional information at http://TheKrampusComesTonight.com

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Zombie Christmas Cookies

ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Christmas is the time of the year for baking Christmas cookies, but who says they all have to be cute snowmen, Santa Clauses and Christmas trees? Zombies are what is in for Creepy Christmas! And you can make two different kinds! We have a recipe here for Molasses Gingerbread Cookies and Cut-out Sugar Cookies. You use a gingerbread man cookie cutter for the basic shape. Then cut off legs with a jagged flare, nip off bits of head and crank the limbs and heads at odd angles. After baking, use the icing to add details like torn clothes, exposed ribs, blood, pus...brains!

Decorating Icing

 ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
    6¾ cups confectioner’s sugar, whisked before measuring (plus extra as needed)
    ⅓ cup whole milk (plus extra as needed)
    1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add remaining sugar, milk and vanilla and beat on high speed until silky smooth. If the frosting is too thin, add a bit more confectioners sugar, if too thick, thin with a little milk.  Frosting is now ready to use and is best if used immediately, although it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 days. (Bring to room temperature and re-beat after storing).

Molasses Gingerbread Cookies

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    4 teaspoons ground ginger
    4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
    1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
    1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 1/2 cups unsulfured molasses

Directions:  

1.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.

2.  Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Divide dough into 3 portions, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

4.  Cut out desired shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

5.  Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove sheets from oven, and tap them firmly on counter to flatten cookies. Return to oven, rotating sheets, and bake until crisp but not darkened, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

6. Decorate with icing using a plain tip like Ateco #0 or #1. Or you can use the pre-made decorators icing in the tubes at the grocery store. Pipe designs on cookies. Let cookies stand at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
    1½ c. sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 tsp. vanilla extract
    3 c. all-purpose flour
    ½ tsp. baking powder
    ½ tsp. salt

Directions:

1.  In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In separate large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low; beat in egs and vanilla until mixed, then beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove1 piece of dough from refrigerator. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll dough until slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. With floured 3-inch to 4-inch cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible; reserve trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on two ungreased large cookie sheets.

3.  Bake until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

4.  Decorate with icing!

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Nightmare Before Christmas

The fabulous blog Obsessed with Skulls, wrote a scary version of the Night Before Christmas in 2013 that we thought we would share with you all. It makes good reading by the crackling fire on Christmas Eve as we await the arrival of Krampus.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Twas the nightmare ‘fore Christmas, and in the graveyard
Not a zombie was stirring, and the front gate was barred.
Severed legs were a-hanging, not a crypt was left bare,
In hopes that Skull Santa soon would be there.

Zombie children were nestled all snug in their tombs,
While overhead witches flew ’round on their brooms.
Momma zombie with death shroud, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our skulls for a long winter’s nap.

When out by the tombstones there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my coffin to see what was the matter.
Up out of my grave I flew like a bat,
And startled poor Percy, our ancient black cat.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of death to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight skeletal reindeer.

With a bony old driver, aglow with arcana,
I knew in a moment it must be Skull Santa.
More rapid than death his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Slasher! now, Cancer! now, Panzer and Fatigue!
On, Coma! On, Putrid!, on Donner Party and Blitzkrieg!
To the top of the mausoleum! to the top of the wall!
Now slash away! Slash away! Slash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the mausoleum the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of skulls, and Skull Santa too.

And then, much like thunder, I heard on the roof
The clinking and clanking of each skeletal hoof.
As I drew in my skull, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Skull Santa came with a bound.

He was dressed in black leather, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with grave ash and soot.
A bundle of skulls he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a demon, prepared to attack.

His eye sockets were hollow! his skull like a bowl!
His cheek bones were sharp, and his nose just a hole!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in a grin,
And a beard on his jaw did conceal his chin.

He was skinny and bony, a damned scary sight,
And when first I saw him, I shivered with fright!
A red glow in his eye and a clicking of teeth,
Like cold hands of death reaching up from beneath.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Skulls and bones he laid out, then turned with a jerk.
A long bony finger he pointed at me,
And cackling madly, rose up the chimney!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Scary Christmas to all, and to all a good-fright!”

25 Days of Creepy Christmas - Creepy Carols

Many people have fun putting together a song list to get them in the mood for a holiday. We thought it would be fun to put together a Creepy Carol list. Some Christmas Carols are pretty scary without having to add any spooky music in the background. "The Christmas Song" has Jack Frost nipping at your nose and we're not even going to get into how icky tasting roasted chestnuts are in our opinion. The carol, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" talks about telling scary ghost stories. But we really want some creep factor here.

1. Night of the Krampus - Midnight Syndicate
   

2. Carol of the Bells - American Horror Story version by Myuuji



3. A Mad Russian's Christmas - Trans Siberian Orchestra

 

4. Making Christmas from Nightmare Before Christmas

5. What's This from Nightmare Before Christmas

 

 6. Winter's Knight - Nox Arcana

 

7. Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas from Tales From the Crypt

 

8. Merry Monster Christmas - Len Maxwell

Please add your suggestions in the comments!