Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The great American Krampus Kraze of 2013

It's official, the beastly St. Nick/Santa sidekick Krampus is focusing on the United States in 2013.

We have seen Krampus themed episodes of Grimm, American Dad, and other TV shows and we were wondering if it was just an expression of our view from Europe or a different phenomenon. Krampus watchers are vigilant, as befits the dangers posed by the creature, and have already updated the Wikipedia page with the latest TV sightings of the horned critter.

Confirmation from friends in the U.S. just arrived: Krampus is performing highly public shenanigans in the U.S. this year!

In Los Angeles alone, there was a Krampus Fest with 20+ Krampus clones, leaving us to further wonder what the correct plural of Krampus is? Such numbers are usually reserved to hordes of jolly Santas!

Krampuses? Krampi?

The scary monster, out to flog naughty children, or even put them into a big burlap sack, must have good reasons to haunt the U.S. this year. Is it, as American Dad claims, the naughty sense of entitlement of our children? Or is it the eternal story of the dark and the light, as Grimm appears to suggest?

Could it be that Krampus has been emboldened by perceived headway made by the human forces of darkness in recent years? Is the resurgence of coal related to the Krampus phenomenon? Does the rise of metal music have anything to do with the Krampus revival?

We need the BBC to investigate this, unless the government has issued a Krampus D-notice, of course. Maybe the softball BBC Hardtalk could tackle the Krampus question to give us confused onlookers some real value for money for once.   

The writers of Grimm know a lot more about Krampus than they let on. What does Krampus do during the rest of the year? Is he a small time photographer from Salt Lake City, or is he changing his incarnations? One year, he may take over the persona of a prime minister going after naught adults, the next, he becomes a bulky mayor showing the world that you too can smoke crack and be a mayor.

Look around, find the Krampus during the 330 odd days when he is not out as his horned self.

And let us know.

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