Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" of Austrian and Bavarian folklore, has entered the popular culture of North America; Christian Jacobs notes that "thanks to the Internet and YouTube, [Krampus] is now very much on America's Christmas radar." Tanya Basu interprets this as part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations": a "bah, humbug" rejection of – or novel alternative to – mainstream festivities. Brian Joines of Image Comics suspects that the reason Krampus (specifically, as well as dark aspects of Christmas in general) has not been historically popularized in America is a social artifact resulting from "the nature of how we view Christmas in this country, both as a big day for kids and as the birth of a big religious figurehead". In some North American depictions, Krampus is an antihero who seeks to prevent children from becoming spoiled by rampant consumerism flowing from the economics of Christmas.
Krampus is often mentioned in media related to Christmas, but the following lists instances where the character is featured significantly.
Krampus celebrations
Krampus-related events are held in cities across North America. Each may have a theme or cause, be it a simple bar crawl, toy drive, or a charity fundraiser. Below are a few:
Krampusnacht Washington DC. Toronto Krampus Ball. Chicago Krampus Fest. LA Krampusfest. San Francisco Krampus Krawl. Dallas Krampus Society. Krampuslauf Philadelphia. Krampusnacht St. Louis, MO.
Costumes
Costumed characters are a central part of all Krampus celebrations. These characters include: Krampus, Saint Nikolaus, the woodsman, angels, and the old woman. As Krampus is half-goat and half-demon, the costume normally shares certain primary elements such as: a fur suit, horns, demon mask, and hooves. Props commonly used are; bells, a birch switch, basket worn on the back, chains, walking staff, and a horse hair or hemp flogger. The most traditional Krampus costumes are made from goat/sheep skins, animal horns, and hand carved masks. More often they are made with modern and less costly materials, such as: fake fur and latex masks. Several Krampus costume instructional YouTube videos are available.
Film
Krampus: The Christmas Devil: a direct-to-video horror film (2013). vom Krampus: zwischen Latexhaut und Schaffell: video-documentary film (2013). Krampus: The Reckoning: a direct-to-video horror film (2015). A Christmas Horror Story: an anthology horror film (2015), where Krampus is played by Rob Archer in his monster form, while Amy Forsyth and Julian Richings appear as human characters who transform into him. Krampus: a horror comedy (2015) from Universal Pictures, where Krampus is physically portrayed by Luke Hawker and voiced by Gideon Emery. Krampus: The Devil Returns: a direct-to-video horror sequel to Krampus: The Christmas Devil (2016). Krampus Unleashed: a direct-to-video horror film (2016). Mother Krampus: a direct-to-video horror film (2017). Mother Krampus 2: a direct-to-video horror film (2018). Krampus origins: a direct-to-video horror film (2018). Slay Belles: a direct-to-video horror film (2018).
In production
Anti-Claus (initially titled Comes the Krampus), from Kevin Smith. Happy Krampus!, from Walden Media and The Jim Henson Company.
Television
G4 commercial (2003). Christmas carolers outside a house sing a dirge about Krampus, who has entered to punish the naughty children inside. The Colbert Report segment "The Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude - Hallmark & Krampus" (2009), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'. "The Devil of Christmas" (2016), an episode of Inside No. 9 features the figure.