Krampus

Krampus is a half goat, half demon monster belived in central Europe. He punishes children that are misbehaving. Krampus is the evil and devilish companion of St Nicholas. Krampus originated in German and his name comes from the German word Krampen, which means claw. 

Krampus is part of pagan rituals for the winter solstice and his the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld. With the growth and spread of Christianity, Krampus was linked to Christmas, even though the Catholic church tried to ban him and the belive in him. 

Krampus and St Nicholas arrive on the evening of 5th December and while St Nicholas would leave presents for good children, Krampus beatsa those that were bad with branches and sticks. if the children were really badly behaved Krampus would eat them and take them to hell. 

There is a tradition involving Krampus called Krampuslauf, Krampus run,. In this activity people dress up as Krampus in ther streets and chase and scare the crowd. this started in the late 20th century, Now countries like Germany, Austria and Czech Republic celebrate Krampus. Due to Krampus growth he has appered and been mention in a number of horror films.