Seasons Greetings, or rather Season’s Screamings because today we’re talking about the ghouls, monsters, and creepy creatures of Christmas covered in the new book The Fright Before Christmas: Surviving Krampus an other Yuletide Monsters, by Jeff Belanger.
According to the book synopsis:
"Christmas time is truly the darkest and creepiest time of the year filled with devilish creatures lurking in the shadows waiting to get us. Best known is the Krampus who has been the subject of films and songs. There was a time in the late 1800s when people sent Krampus cards, not holiday greetings. There are other violent and dangerous monsters from all over northern climes who have been hunting naughty children for centuries. From shapeshifters to mountain trolls, to elves, to heavy-handed cohorts of Saint Nicholas, the Christmas holiday has been filled with ghosts and monsters ready to dole out punishment to those who need it. The Fright Before Christmas will delve into the folklore of Krampus and his friends with the elf-like tomten and the goblinesque Karakoncolas. The Belsnickel is ready to hit us with his switch of sticks and Gryla may drag you back to her mountain lair. And watch out for the Yule Cat ready to pounce!"
Jeff Belanger is one of the most visible and prolific researchers of folklore and legends today. A natural storyteller, he’s the award-winning, Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series on PBS and Amazon Prime, and is the author of over a dozen books (published in six languages). He also hosts the award-winning New England Legends weekly podcast, which has garnered over 4.5 million downloads since its launch, and ranks in the top 1/2 percent of all podcasts as far as popularity according to Listen Notes. His books include the best sellers: The World’s Most Haunted Places, Weird Massachusetts, Our Haunted Lives, The Call of Kilimanjaro, and Who’s Haunting the White House? He founded Ghostvillage.com in 1999—one of the Web’s most popular paranormal destinations—and he’s a noted speaker and media personality.
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Talking Strange Paranormal Podcast with Aaron Sagers is a weekly paranormal pop culture show featuring celebrity and author interviews, with a weekly "Small Talk" mini-sode with reader submitted letters and spooky tales. Sagers is a paranormal journalist and researcher who appears as host of 28 Days Haunted on Netflix, and on Paranormal Caught On Camera on Travel Channel/Discovery+, and Talking Strange is part of the Den of Geek Network.
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