5 December: Krampus Night

Tonight is Krampus Night in parts of Austria and Germany. 10 things you might not know about Krampus.

1. Who is Krampus? He's an associate of St Nicholas, whose feast day is tomorrow. You could say he's the saint's dark side – where Nicholas appears as a bishop in a mitre giving gifts to good children, Krampus is a devilish character who punishes the bad ones.
2. Krampus is described as "half-goat, half-demon". He is hairy, usually Brown or Black, and has horns like a Goat. Sometimes he's shown with cloven hooves, sometimes with one hoof and one human foot. Nobody knows why. He has a long tongue which is usually hanging out of his mouth. His appearance has changed over time. The older versions of him were much scarier.
3. He carries chains, a rod and a sack. The chains are said to represent the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church; the rod is to beat the naughty children with (sometimes the rod is replaced with Birch branches or a whip) and the sack is to carry the really evil children away to hell.
4. His name is derived from the German word krampen, meaning claw.
5. His origins are mostly lost in the murky depths of time. His origins are certainly pre-Christian. Some say he is the son of the Norse god Hel; others equate him with the Horned God of the Witches, since birch is connected with Wiccan initiation rites.
6. Europeans have been exchanging greeting cards featuring Krampus, or Krampuskarten, since the 1800s. A typical card will feature Krampus looming over children, and have a funny rhyme inside.
7. Krampus is said to visit homes and businesses on the evening of December 5. It is customary to offer him Krampus schnapps, a strong distilled fruit brandy.
8. Young men in Alpine villages have traditionally used the occasion to have a bit of fun. They dress up as him and hold parades and parties and something called a Krampuslauf (Krampus run). The masks they were are usually made of wood and hand carved. There are museums in Austria dedicated to Krampus and his costumes, where antique masks are on display.
9. In the 1920s and 30s Krampus was banned by the Dollfuss regime and the Christian Social Party. In the 1950s, the government distributed pamphlets titled "Krampus Is an Evil Man".
10. Towards the end of the 20^th century, however, Krampus tradition started to make a comeback and has spread to North America as well. In 2015 there was a film released featuring him, an American dark comedy horror written and directed by Michael Dougherty.

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle