Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas of Folklore w/ Al Ridenour
The Parallax Views holiday series concludes with an exploration of Santa Claus's dark counterpart, Krampus. Although the figure of Krampus has become embedded in the popular consciousness in the last decade, especially since the release of the Hollywood horror-comedy Krampus, the folklore of the Krampus reaches much farther back and into the most isolated part of the European Alps. Joining us to unravel this history, and explain how remote parts of Europe still celebrate the winter season with rituals related to St. Nicholas and his dark companion Krampus, is Al Ridenour, a former member of the avant-provocateur Cacophony Society and author of The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil (Feral House; 2016).
We begin by discussing Al's involvement in the Cacophony Society, which once boasted the involvement of transgressive author extraordinaire Chuck Palahniuk, and it's most famous avant-garde provocation: SantaCon. From there we delve into how the winter season has always had a dark side within the popular imagination and discuss the popularity of Christmas horror movies with Al recommending 1980's unusual Christmas Evil and discussing Michael Dougherty's Krampus and whether it is true to the folklore.
We then take a deep dive into the history of the lore around Krampus and how the figure is used in festive rituals during the month of December in the Alps of Europe like Gastein in Austria. What is the function of the Krampus? His relationship to St. Nicholas? Do these rituals have an erotic and courtship element? Is there subversive, anarchic element beyond to the Krampus beyond his being used to scare children into following social norms and rules? Who are the people behind the Krampus troupes and how do they approach these events? What's the connection the the gore theatre of the Grand Guignol and these Krampus events (known as a Krampus Run or Krampuslauf)? And what can we learn from it all? All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.