"Krampus'll pick you up": the 6 most terrifying Christmas legend

Traditionally Christmas and New year we associate good characters that carry happiness to people. However, there is also the reverse side of the coin — talk about spooky legends of Christmas that will surprise you (and maybe scared).

The belsnickel, La Befana, the Grill — "heroes" of this material is not known, such as Santa Claus or Santa Claus, however, their participation in the major winter holidays, according to some of the world's peoples, is no less important than the kind of "colleagues". Remember the six legends of creepy Christmas characters, able to spoil the holiday.

Krampus is one of the most famous dark heroes of the Nativity, which scared all the children in Germany and Austria. According to legend, the demon Krampus, the brother of Santa Claus, which, however, is not similar to its closest relative.

Thick black wool, red face, horns and hooves — the appearance of the evil demon of Christmas really intimidating, but its main asset is the power over the naughty children.

Every year on the night from the fifth to the sixth of December, Krampus appears in those homes where there is a naughty kid. At the clang of chains the demon sneaks into the room, pulls out a whip and punishes the guilty for his misdeeds, and particularly naughty children he takes with him is in the bag, and then throws it in the water.

Of course, this story is just an urban legend, but the European parents love to scare careless offspring appearance of Krampus, and the people of Germany and Austria on the eve of its appearance traditionally dress up in this creature roam the streets to appease the demon.

The legend of the Belsnickel was born in German folklore — according to numerous stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, this creature came to naughty children some time after Christmas, clad in animal skins, and priporova a huge whip, warned the little inhabitants of the house on the responsibility for their mischief.

It is noteworthy that, in contrast to the Krampus, belsnickel is not the practice of the corporal punishment and not kidnaps misbehaving children, but only gives you a year to fix errors. Besides, this creature always carry a bag of candy to encourage those whose behavior was perfect.

In the modern world, this legend is still popular in Germany and the United States, particularly in Pennsylvania, the indigenous people who are the Dutch, who brought this story from your folklore.

Giantess Grills, born in Icelandic mythology, is the main anti-hero of the Christmas "Ice" and appears in several tales, poems and songs.

According to legend, evil creature that looks like a tall, slender woman, or, according to another version, on Fox tails with fifteen, lives in the high mountains, along with his thirteen children (Iliskisi boys) and her husband, a lazy Lapalud and Christmas descends to the people and goes hunting.

The grill is one of the most violent mythological characters — she's not just intimidates naughty kids who eat poorly and was capricious in the last year, but taking them, and then eats.

In those years when all the kids are doing well, the giantess suffer from hunger and causing all sorts of natural disasters — so, her name is associated with eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, and one of the geysers, located in Iceland, bears her name.

Residents of Italy are also in my Christmas dark hero who does evil deeds after the main winter holiday. The witch La Befana is a home where there are children, and, depending on how they behaved in the past year, gives gifts or presents unpleasant surprises.

It is believed that the witch appears in the image of a skinny woman on a broom and leaves candy obedient kids, and those who behaved badly, La Befana presents Zola, and sometimes even spreading it throughout your home.

It is believed that when the three wise men headed to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, they offered the old a single woman to join them, but she refused. She later changed her mind and rushed after them, but got lost and couldn't find neither the wise men, nor the way home. After the death of La Befana has transformed into a Ghost that wanders around the world and is looking for a part of the child Jesus, hoping to atone for bestowing gifts.

Insidious creature of Germanic folklore is a danger not only for children but also for adults. Frau Perchta is in the image of the bony old woman in rags, every year comes in the house in the evening of the Epiphany and ensures that spent the last twelve months of his life.

Obedient children receive from her a silver coin, naughty — corporal punishment, however, the most terrible fate awaits adults, whose actions were far from ideal.

According to the legend of Frau Perchta, finding people who are too lazy, angry, jealous and strongly sinned in the past year, rips them abdomen long, sharp sword and takes out his internal organs, putting in their place the stones or straw.

This creature is one of the most dangerous and violent, but because the people of Western Europe is always carefully prepared for her appearance and try not to anger Frau Perchta misconduct.

Yule cat, according to Icelandic folklore, is the closest neighbor cruel giant's Grill — it is living in the cave and down to people only once a year.

Wandering through the streets, the huge size of the black cat with sharp claws and teeth looking passers-by, in which not a single new piece of clothing made of wool. Finding the victim, the creature attacks her and eaten alive.

That is why the inhabitants of Iceland on the eve of Yule, the celebration of mid-winter, the Germanic peoples are out on the streets only in woolen garments, purchased specifically for this purpose — it is believed that even a sock or some other minor detail of the wardrobe can protect us from the attack of the terrible beast.

It is noteworthy that the basis of this legend lies a noble goal in the nineteenth century, the peoples of "Ice country" was invented by the Yule cat to encourage more people to work.

And, oddly enough, this worked — even today, the inhabitants of Iceland are considered to be extremely hardworking and never miss a chance to earn some money before the holidays in order not to be considered lazy and not become a victim of a cruel beast.