ITO PALA ANG MGA NAKAKATAKOT NA NILALANG NA LUMALABAS TUWING MAGPAPASKO AT TALAGANG MATATAKOT KAYO SA PANGATLO!

We have all heard of Santa Claus, the jolly old man who supposedly arrives every Christmas to give us gifts if we have been nice the entire year. Based on the real-life St. Nicholas, Santa Claus is someone whom we grew to love since we were kids. He had become a personification of Christmas for children and adults worldwide. However, unbeknownst to many, folk tales all over the world tell of monsters who also come out during the holidays. They come for those who have been naughty to cause trouble, very much opposite to what good old Santa Claus does. Here is a list of some of these scary, bloody, monsters:

Krampus – known as the evil counterpart of Santa Claus, Krampus is a half-goat, half-demon, horrific beast who literally beats people into being nice and not naughty. Krampus Night is usually celebrated on the eve of December 5, St. Nicholas’s day, in Austria and other parts of Europe.



Gryla – originating from Iceland, Gryla is a female giant who comes out during the Christmas season and hunts down children who have misbehaved to eat them.



The Tomten – similar to gnomes, this Scandinavian creature serves as the caretaker of homes. However, he demands an offering of food or other tokens on Christmas Eve, otherwise he turns nasty.



Belsnickel – German tales tell of a man named Belsnickel who wears tattered clothes and carries a whip. He shows up before Christmas to punish misbehaving kids.

Pere Fouettard – this man and his wife supposedly lured three young boys into their butcher shop to rob them, but ended up killing them. St. Nicholas discovered their crime and brought the boys back to life. However, as punishment for Pere, St. Nichols made him his servant for life who is tasked to dole out punishment for misbehaving kids.

Frau Perchta – this witch comes from German and Austrian folk tales. She terrorizes people during the 12 days of Christmas by ripping out the internal organs of bad people and stuffing their bodies with garbage.

Christmas Cat – not a cat that you will love, the Christmas cat is actually an evil cat who eats lazy kids who do not finish their chores during Christmas.

Mari Lwyd – Welsh folk lore tells us that Mari is the skeleton of a dead horse that rises from the grave on New Year’s Eve and attempts to break into houses. Perhaps its purpose is to keep everyone awake on New Year.

Hans Trapp – French folk tales tell of a man who used to be a greedy person, worshipped Satan and got excommunicated by the Church. He ended up in the forest and preyed on young kids. When he was about to eat one of them, he got struck by lightning. Cursed, he came back to life in a scarecrow figure and visits kids every Christmas to scare them into being good.

The Yule Lads – though they sound jolly, this Icelandic folk lore group consists of 13 trolls who cause different kinds of mischief. Their mission is to terrorize kids who misbehaved during the last 13 nights before Christmas.

Most of these monsters, as can be noticed, are on a mission to encourage good behavior among kids, albeit in very scary ways. Some, however, are there merely to cause terror (looking at you, Frau Perchta). Given these scary mythical creatures, it’s not too late to be nice this Christmas.