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Gryla

In day 3 of the 12 Days of Frightmass, we will be looking at the Icelandic giantess Grýla.

Stemming from Icelandic folklore, Grýla lives in the Icelandic Hinterlands with her family. She lives in a cave with her husband Leppalúði, her sons The Yule Lads and their pet The Yule Cat which we will look into later in the series.

Stories describe her as being a giant, an ugly ogre, having back nails, goat like horns and having hooves. Some stories describe her as a Christmas witch, with 13 tales and eyes in the back of her head. Whatever her appearance she is deemed repulsive.

Grýla has been associated with Christmas since around the 19th Century, however there is some evidence that this association may have been earlier in 17th century.

She is used as a way to encourage bad children to behave.

Her story goes that on an evening she wanders out of her cave and down the mountains entering nearby towns looking for a meal. She sniffs around the town in search of misbehaving children. When she finds one she asks the childs parents for their child. After she takes the child, she places them in a sack she carries taking them away to her cave where she cooks them in a cauldren to make naughty children stew. Her favourite food.

Modern tales give a way to thwart her plans, which is simply to give her food or chase her away. Today she is seen all over Reykjavík, where you can even climb into her cauldron for a quick photo. Let’s just hope the cauldron’s not lit.

Belsnickel

In day 3 of my 12 Days of Frightmass, we will be looking at Belsnickel.

Belsnickel comes from Southwestern Germany, particularly regions along the Rhine, Saarland and Odenworld areas of Baden (Würtemberg).

The name Belsnickel stems from two words, ‘Bels’ meaning fur and ‘nickel’ for St Nicholas. There is another word referenced by some which is ‘belzen’ which means to wallop. There are of course other names Beslnickel goes by including:

  1. Kristinkle
  2. Beltznickle
  3. Pelsnichol

But the most common used word seems to be Belsnickel.

Belsnickel is described as loud, with long tangled hair, scraggy beard, wearing torn and tattered clothing, and carrying birch switches. Some stories state he wears a fur cloak and hat, while others say he wears foliage and antlers (as well as other natural based decorations). Other tales state he wears a mask, is dressed in black and carries a black bag, arguably reflecting his dark side.

Belsnickel is a mix of both St Nicholas and Krampus and is argued by some to be the first Christmas character to distinguish between good and bad children. He is both a gift giver and a punisher, causing children to either love or fear him.

The story of Belsnickel goes that he appears to children on the night before Christmas, asking children whether they have been good or bad over the past year. If you are good you would receive nice gifts such as sweets, cakes, nuts and toys. However, if you were bad he would hit you with the birch switches he carries.

In older stories, he is seen to be more similar to Krampus in that he would drag bad children away into a forest to pay for their bad behaviour. Basically, he would take children away never to be seen again.

More modern tales depict him as having a nicer side, where children are able to redeem themselves by doing a dance, tricks, singing or simply tell poetry to appease him.

Today stories around Belsnickel are meant to be humourous and to scare misbehaving children, they’re not designed to be terrifying to the listener.

Frau Perchta

In day 2 of the 12 Days of Frightmass I introduce you to Frau Perchta.

She is another Christmas being from Germany and Austria, but while she has similarities to Krampus she sparks fear in her own unique way.

Frau Perchta is described as a terrifying witch who issues punishment to children who have been bad throughout the year. She is tall with a beaked nose, often dressed in rags carrying a cane. Stories have depicted her as having two faces, which seems to reflect her differing behaviours.

While she is seen overall as a punisher, stories go that if you have been good a piece of silver would be placed in your shoe on the Epiphany. However, she was not known for her generosity. If you had been bad throughout the year as punishment for your bad deeds, she would split open your belly removing your organs and replace them with pebbles and straw.

Like Krampus she is not someone you would want to meet.

12 Days of Frightmas!

IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes it’s that time of year again where Santa Clause has checked his list to see who’s been naughty or nice, but while Santa simply brings coal to the bad children did you know there are other beings famous this time of year some of which are really nasty?

Well there are. As we have now entered the 12 Days of Christmas I’ve decided to write about 12 Christmas creatures, some of which have a rather horrible side to them.

Let’s start with one you might already be familiar with: Krampus.

Krampus tales come from the German speaking Alpine regions, such as Germany and Austria. Krampus is discussed as being a sort of demon, almost devil like in appearance.

Descriptions depict Krampus as having dark hair, long horns, fangs, a tongue so large it goes down to his chest, with a goat like beard. Some stories depict him as having one human foot and one cloven foot.

But while descriptions of Krampus vary, one trend stays the same. That is, he is an Anti-Santa or Santa’s evil brother if you will.

In a nutshell, while Santa brings good children gifts Krampus issues the punishments to bad children. Krampus would either lay bundles of sticks for the bad child instead of presents if he was feeling a little nice, or he would toss the bad child into a sack and carry them away.

It is for the this reason why Krampus is feared. While he could take the children away he would then do one of four things. He would either:

  1. Throw the child into a stream.
  2. Take the child to hell.
  3. Take the child to his lair.
  4. Eat the child.

The Krampus stories that exist were so bad that Krampus was once banned in Austria.

Today there are ‘Krampusnacht’ celebrations were people dress up as Krampus wandering through villages and playfully beat passersby. It’s all meant as fun rather than a night to be feared.

Welcome to Paranormal Archives!

Hello, and welcome to Paranormal Archives. I’m Bethany Rose a 20 something year old women from Northumberland (England).

I come from a part of England steeped in history and covered in castles. I think it’s due to this that I really enjoy learning about history and ghost tales. I think if you live near any old castle you tend to hear a few creepy tales.

Because of this fascination, I wanted to write about some local ghost tales and legends but also look further a field at stories from across the world.

So if you like reading about ghosts and things, then this is the place to be!

Thanks for reading.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.