Legendary Pictures’ Krampus, presents a dark and twisted tale of the infamous creature of European pagan origin best known in the United States as the infernal sidekick of Saint Nicholas. Instead of greeting the holiday with the usual Christmas cheer, the movie presents a predictable plot where all hell breaks loose with a family punished for their dysfunction as Krampus stalks the nonbelievers and malcontents during a dark blizzard on Christmas Eve.

Krampus was co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty, known for another holiday-based horror film, Trick 'r Treat. Krampus begins with a portrayal of a normal family who is awaiting the arrival of extended family members to celebrate the holiday. Parents Tom (Adam Scott) and Sarah (Toni Collette), grandmother Omi (Krista Stadler), teenaged daughter Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen), and pre-teen Max (Emjay Anthony) anxiously await Sarah’s sister Linda (Alison Tolman) and her family, a rude and crude bunch who display irreverence for the holiday and disrespect for themselves and others.

Linda’s husband, Howard (David Koechner), is portrayed as a stereotypical redneck who loves guns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Linda’s family also includes a cranky aunt (Conchata Ferrell) and several obnoxious cousins. The ill-natured cousins taunt Max for still believing in Santa, and when they find and read the letter he wrote to Santa they further humiliate him, which results in one disillusioned little boy who turns his back on Christmas.

Max unknowingly casts a sort of spell on himself when he rips his letter up into tiny little pieces and scatters them to the winds. Consequently, a terrible storm arrives and the power for the entire town is lost. The remainder of the movie occurs fittingly in the darkness of a raging blizzard setting the stage for the arrival of the so-called demon Krampus who is ready to unleash his wrath on the family, forcing them to either unite or fall apart.

The film is not entirely serious; it is somewhat of a hybrid horror/comedy—sort of along the lines of Gremlins— which is what saves it, in my opinion. I have to admit I went into the movie already biased
by the trailers I had seen that portrayed Krampus as a purely evil creature. The usual misrepresentation
by the Big Screen regarding characters of pagan origin is beyond annoying. Nevertheless, I put that aside and watched the movie. I wanted to see how Krampus looked. I was also interested in any backstory—I wanted to see how they were going to present Krampus as a legendary figure. That the movie failed to achieve full horror or full comedic results did not bother me. I was, however, disappointed that most of the scenes with Krampus and the monsters occurred close-up or in suggestive ways, as opposed to giving the audience a good look at them so we could marvel at the creative handiwork. Sigh.

Still, Krampus does have some good moments. A series of strange events begin to occur, but no one seems to know what is going on. No one, that is, except for the German grandma, Omi, who in the beginning keeps to herself what she knows. Later, she recounts her childhood memories of Krampus in a hauntingly beautiful scene that explains just how Krampus found the American family. Omi calls Krampus the “Shadow of Saint Nicolas” and shares how growing up in poverty made her dislike the holidays to the point that she summoned Krampus as a result. He, in turn, drug her parents into hell but spared her, leaving behind a brass bell as a reminder of the consequences for losing one’s Christmas spirit.

Of course, hell is a Christian concept and has nothing to do with the actual pagan creature. I guess if Krampus is likened to the devil though, then hell has to figure in the rewritten mythology somewhere. I have lost all hope for Hollywood ever getting anything pagan correctly depicted.

Meanwhile, Krampus lurks about outside of the family home and upstairs in the attic a number of surprises await. Some presents that had been delivered earlier (by Krampus) start shaking, getting the family’s attention who predictably go upstairs to investigate. There, they find der Klown-in-the-box who decides to eat one of Max’s cousins. If that’s not scary enough, they are taunted and attacked by Lumpy, Dumpy, and Clumpy, three evil gingerbread men. No, I’m not making this up.
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But wait, there’s more.
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​After fighting off the gingerbread demons, the family is attacked by three of Krampus’ evil elf minions who end up kidnapping Dorothy, Howard, and the baby. The rest of the family make a run for it in the blizzard which proves to be a bad move as they are eaten by a snow monster. There are a few side plots of various family members being terrorized by the devilish Krampus crew but ultimately, the only one left alive is Max, who has to confront the Christmas demon alone. Krampus gives Max a bell like the one his grandmother was given, only this one was wrapped in a piece of Max’s torn letter. Max apologizes to Krampus for losing his Christmas spirit and pleads for the return of his family, and though Krampus considers the request as he dangles Max over the pits of Hell, he drops him anyway.
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​Instead of landing in fire and brimstone, Max wakes up in his bed on Christmas morning as if it all was nothing but a dream. He gets out of bed and joins his family who are downstairs opening presents. Then, he opens a present that contains the Krampus bell and everyone suddenly remembers what had happened. They all sit dumbfounded while the camera pulls back and shows Krampus watching them from inside a snow globe on a shelf in his creepy lair.

​There’s no deep meaning behind the obvious in the movie: karma’s a bitch when Krampus is watching.
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As an artist, I would have loved to have seen more of the Krampus character. I particularly loved the (far too short) scene where the group of Krampuses waere walking in the snow. I also totally loved the little Krampus bell and would love to purchase one just because, if only the manufacturer wetanz.com would get them back in stock. Folks selling them on Ebay are selling them at nauseatingly inflated prices. For example, the actual cost from the manufacturer is $11.99 whereas Ebay sellers are pricing them at $79.00.

All in all, Krampus is not a bad movie, but it’s not especially good either. It falls short in a number of areas and does not give enough visual effect to satisfy the artist or pagan in me. It left me hungry for more than a huge, refillable $7.50 bag of buttered popcorn could compensate for. Still, Krampus lovers should check it out for themselves. I’ve made that easy for you by providing the QR code that goes to the directly to the movie on Amazon.com where you can watch it for just a couple of bucks.
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* This article appears in Gumbo Ya Ya's Holiday Edition Krampus-Santa issue.

​* Check out this article for some cool Krampus videos.
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Just as there are deliberate attempts to avoid ghosts and haints, there are also those individuals who invite interaction with the dead. People who seek to communicate with  spirits and specters actively do so in séances, candle magic and occult entertainment, such as using a Ouija board. These individuals often open doors to the Spirit world and neglect to close them due to carelessness and/or a lack of experience. As a result, all kinds of spirits are believed to be given access to the place where the door is opened. Spirits who pass through the opened door can attach themselves to participants, follow them around and wreak havoc in their lives and in the lives of those close to them. Finally, there are those individuals who go a step further and intentionally conjure up spirits,  calling forth specific entities for very specific reasons.

SIGNS OF SPIRITS    
According to lore, if there are paths newly-made in the morning through the grass which do not show any footprints, it is a sign that a ghost has walked there in the night. In Virginia, they say that if a ghost is present, there is a feeling of heat as it approaches you. If at the same time you notice a peculiar kind of smell, it will warn you that you will be a ghost within a year (Daniels & Stevens, 1908).
 
AVOIDING GHOSTS
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” can easily be applied to practices and traditions for avoiding ghosts, haints, specters and boo hags. For example, placing cobalt blue bottles in a tree in the front yard, much like painting a porch ceiling, door or window frame haint blue,  is believed to keep evil spirits out of the home. These bottle trees have their roots in the Congo region of Africa. The practice was brought over by slaves who hung blue bottles from trees and huts as talismans to ward off evil spirits. It is believed that the spirits become mesmerized by the colors of the bottles in the sun and unwittingly go inside the bottles. Once they enter the bottles, they can't find their way out—sort of like roach motels—and are stuck there for as long as the bottles remain intact.
    
In the past, bottle trees littered the Southern landscape with their spectacular colors and creative arrangements; however, over time, the practice has become much less common. There appears to be somewhat of a recent resurgence, however, as they can be seen cropping up in people’s yards again. For many folks, the meaning of the practice is  either unknown or of little consequence; rather, it is the beauty, color and quirkiness that gives them an aesthetic appeal that is hard to resist.
    
There are also behaviors and taboos observed that are said to ensure a life free of meddlin’ spirits. For example, one must not mention before morning whether one has seen a specter, or one will be pressed and spit blood. And, to keep off haints, fill an old sock with salt, mullein, sage, tansy, and any other spirit repelling herbs you can get, combine with a dried cow patty and bury it under the front steps as an effective ward. If that doesn’t work or as added insurance,  boiling prickly-pear roots in stump water and sprinkling the yard with the water is said to stop wandering spirits and hauntings.
 
Haints Be Gone! products are designed to assist you with restoring peace in the home when restless spirits abound. From conjure oils to room sprays, incenses and powerful witch's salt and witch bottles, Creole Moon has an array of cultural heritage items to assist those who believe in ridding their homes and lives of unwanted spiritual entities and negative energies.

The above article is excerpted from Hoodoo Almanac 2013 Gazette, "Southern Folk Beliefs about Ghosts, Specters, Haints, & Boo Hags" by Denise Alvarado, copyright 2013, All rights reserved worldwide.

JULY GARDENING TIPS July is a good time to plant pumpkins, eggplants, corn, cabbage and cilantro. Plant more basil. Thin seedlings. Dead head faded flowers unless you will be collecting seeds. Cut and dry lavender flowers and cornflower. Harvest peas, lemon balm, summer savory, hyssop, tarragon, thyme, lavender, marjoram and most other herbs. Begin gathering angelica and caraway seeds.

Find a green pea pod with exactly nine peas in it and hang it over the door of a room or entryway without letting any person know you have done so. You must then watch the door sand see who goes through it first: if it is a bachelor or an unmarried young man, you will positively be married before the current crop of peas in disposed of; if it is a woman, you will have to sigh in single blessedness another year; is a married man be careful and not allow your lover too much liberty in his attentions.

On the first night of the new moon in July, take a red rose, a white rose, a yellow flower, a blue one, a sprig of rue and rosemary, and nine blades of long grass; bind all together with a lock of your own hair; sprinkle the nosegay with rosewater and some common salt; wrap the flowers in a white handkerchief and lay it under your head on the pillow when you go to rest. Before morning you will see your fate as clear as if you had your nativity cast by the best astrologer in the world, not only in respect to love, lovers or marriage, but in the other most important affairs of your life. Storms, in this dream foretell great trouble; and graves or churchyards are fatal tokens and so is climbing steep and dangerous places.

This month is the perfect time to use those fresh herbs to make a wonderful Angel Spiritual Oil. Dry your lavender, hyssop, thyme and angelica and add some of each to olive oil.

If it rains on July 10th, it will rain for 7 weeks. If you sit between 2 fires in July you will be purified (Daniels & Stevans, 1903). If ants increase the size of their mounds at the beginning of July, they are enlarging the tunnels of their nests in expectation of an early and severe winter (Hyatt, 2002).

*The above article is excerpted from the Hoodoo Almanac 2014-2015.