The Krampus Kalendar: K is for KRAMPUS

In the twenty-first century, we have become so used to the idea of Santa bringing gifts to good little boys and girls on Christmas Eve it is easy to forget that not so long ago, bad little boys and girls were likewise punished.

In the wild heartlands of Europe such legends are not so easily forgotten, and so it is that in countries such as Austria and Hungary, on 5 December, communities remember Krampus, a demonic anti-Santa who accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children.




In the Alpine regions, traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus and roam the streets, frightening children and women with rusty chains and clanging bells. In some rural areas the tradition goes so far as to include the birching of young girls!

Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back, used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell. The name Krampus itself originates from the Old High German word krampen, meaning ‘claw’.

So when the chubby, cheery fellow with the bulging sack of presents asks if you've been good or bad, you had better have been good, for goodness sake…

Krampus is the Big Bad of both the gamebook 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas and the roleplaying game 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas, which is currently funding on Kickstarter.

   

To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts today!

The book is also available in the United States as Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas.

      

Gruss vom Krampus!

Today is 5th December, which means that this evening is Krampusnacht, the night when the Christmas Devil stalks the streets of Austrian and German mountain settlements, searching for naughty children to whip with his birch switch and carry away to hell in his wicker basket.

Krampusnacht feels more like Halloween than Christmas. To mark this occasion in the winter calendar, men dressed as Krampus drink alcohol, run through the streets, and frighten children. Often, they chase delinquent children around and actually hit them with sticks! The Krampus costume itself traditionally consists of a hand-carved wooden mask and a suit made from sheep or goat skin. Cowbells are worn around the wearer’s hips.

Of course, Krampus is the villain of 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas (which is accepting reviews on Amazon now), but he is also the Big Bad of 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas, which needs some love on Kickstarter right now.

Don't forget to pledge your support before midnight, to benefit from the Early Bird rewards on offer.

And it's not too late to send some Krampus Kards this Christmas. If you need some more, they can be purchased from the ACE Gamebooks Etsy shop here.

'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas concludes on Kickstarter today!

Don't get left out in the cold! Today is your last chance to back 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas, written by Yours Truly and illustrated by my sometime partner-in-crime Tony Hough.

You have until 7:00pm GMT to place your pledge, so don't delay! Winter is already here!

'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas

I bring you glad tidings of great joy! 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter.

Of course, it's not too late to join the fun yourself, as there are still two weeks left to run and plenty of rewards on offer, including...

YOU ARE THE HERO has funded on Kickstarter!

At just after 3.00pm this afternoon, YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, funded on Kickstarter!

I have to say I am delighted and thank you to everyone who pledged and gave their support in so many ways.

I will post again in more detail, but for now I think I'm just going to collapse in a heap somewhere and wait for my heartrate to return to normal.

But the best news is that YOU ARE THE HERO is definitely going to happen!

Now I just have to write the thing... ;-)

YOU ARE THE HERO - 24 hours to go!

That's right, we're down to the last day of the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter, which means there's not long left in which to make sure you're a part of history. The History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks!

Tell all your friends, blog about it, post on Facebook and Twitter, and make sure you've pledged to receive one of the unique rewards on offer. Oh, and don't forget to add the correct amount of postage. ;-)

See you again at 3.00pm GMT tomorrow!

YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks - UPDATE!

YOU ARE THE HERO is now past the two-thirds mark and with ten days left to run is heading towards fully funding on 6 January.

Progress is going well, but we still need to raise on average £500 a day to make our £15,000 target.

So if you've not backed the project yet, but you've been meaning to, click this link and pledge your support today.

If you have already pledged, thank you - but please check that you've added the correct amount of postage. And then blog about it, post on Facebook and Tweet all your friends.

With YOUR support a copy of YOU ARE THE HERO could be in your hands by this time next year!

Thank you.

YOU ARE THE HERO - Halfway there!

The YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter is now passed the halfway mark (in terms of the time it has to run), has already raised over £9,000 and is well on the way to being two thirds funded.

If you've been thinking about backing but haven't committed yet, then watch the pitch video below and then click this link to pledge.



And if you're still not convinced after watching that, then watch this!