It’s the holiday season, a time when we hear a lot about warmth, charity and joy. If you’re good, maybe Saint Nick will bring you something from your wish list. But there’s also something darker that lives in the shadow of the season for anyone who misbehaves. It’s a half-goat, half-demon creature known as Krampus.
LPM’s Ayisha Jaffer speaks with Steve Vessell, the founder of the Louisville Krampus Celebration, about the roots of Krampus and how Louisville has turned this darker holiday icon into a celebration blending art, music, costumes.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Ayisha Jaffer: For listeners who may not know the story, who is Krampus, and what can you tell us about where this tradition comes from?
Steve Vessell: Krampus is not the Christmas devil as people like to portray. Way back in the day, even back in the 16th century, people have been talking about Krampus. But in short, Krampus is an anthropomorphic monster that follows St. Nicholas on Krampusnacht.
St. Nicholas brings gifts for the children and drops gifts in their boots and their shoes all over the Alps. And then Krampus is the naughty guy. He's the one who seeks out the naughty [children] in the household. He will scare the crap out of them or snatch them and put them in his cage and take them to the underworld. And sometimes, depending on what you believe — eat them.
It just depends on what part of the Alps we are talking about and what they believe. And how they've celebrated it. At one point it was even demonized.
AJ: Krampus is centuries old, but the popularity of this tale has surged in the U.S. in recent years. What do you think is behind this renewed fascination?
SV: From my perspective, in 2015 I went to the theater and saw a movie called “Krampus,” and I was like, “Oh, I love Yule. This is my thing.” And it actually pissed me off to the point where this is not celebrating what Krampus is. But for the masses that saw that movie, they just saw an iconic monster for the holidays that’s not an ax-wielding Santa Claus.
AJ: Is this what first drew you to Krampus then?
SV: No, I love Germanic lore. I love history. I love all that stuff. Since I was a child, I’d just grasp upon anything that's iconic. And I could see that as a child.
It’s called a Krampuskarten. The first thing I ever saw was a postcard with a demonic monster with a hoof and a humanoid foot, and he's snatching up children. I was like, “What is this?” And my dad's like, “Well, let me tell you, son.“ That started when I was pretty young, and ever since then, I've just been enthralled. I love it.
AJ: After doing so many celebrations, what have you observed people connect with the most with the Krampus tradition? Is it the folklore, the artistry, the fun?
SV: The artistry. The vendors that we get for our events, they just put so much into it, and they just love it even if they don't really know what they're making. Louisville is just full of art, and that's the best thing about this city, period.
AJ: But Louisville isn't the first place people think of when they think of Krampus. So how did this tradition take root here? And was there something that partially grew out of local heritage, or did it come from somewhere else?
SV: No. As far as I know, there were two people that started doing Krampus events here. That was me and a Halloween haunt called the Haunted Hotel. We did it around the same time, so I’m hoping that we were both kind of inspired by what I explained earlier, which was watching something on the big screen finally, that represents something that I love, and we’re like, “I want to do that.” As far as I know, that’s how it started.
AJ: Do you have anything planned for the future?
SV: We've been invited to be a part of the Light Up Louisville parade starting next year, and that's a big deal for us. And it's a celebration of Santa. So it's going to be really interesting.
Some people might even look at us as the Christmas devils. It's going to be interesting to try to push that forward and get people to understand what Krampus is. But to be on that kind of stage in this city is going to be exciting for us.
AJ: For anyone who wants to learn more or get involved in the Krampus community here in Louisville, where should they go?
SV: So we have the Louisville Krampus page on Facebook, we have the Louisville Gore Club page on Facebook, and we have the Gore Club page on Instagram. That's where you can find all the information about what we do and how we do it and when we do it.
AJ: I know Krampusnacht has passed now, but do you have any advice for those to stay on Krampus' good side as they look into next year?
SV: No, I want all the naughty kids. What are you talking about? No, be as naughty as you can.
