In American terms, Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus, according to Amanda Boyd, who teaches in the UND German department.

Santa is in charge of the naughty and nice children, bringing gifts to the good and coal in lieu of gifts to the bad. But according to St. Nicholas Day tradition, Nicholas brings well-behaved children gifts and treats, while misbehaved children are punished, whipped and kidnapped by Krampus.

While Krampus isn’t a prominent tradition in the U.S., he has seen a recent resurgence in American pop culture on TV, such as on the “Colbert Report” and “Grimm.” And Friday, the menacing creature will make his way to theaters in the movie “Krampus.”

p class=’subhead’Who is Krampus?

Krampus is portrayed with dark colors, either gray or brown, and has a goat-like appearance with “huge, ominous horns and a serpentine tail,” according to Boyd. He carries a whip or a switch, typically made of birch or willow trees, and rusty chains.

“You have that noise,” Boyd said. “You can hear him coming. The sound of the chain is a warning.”

He always carries a large sack to kidnap naughty children to take to his lair, “where you can be sure that nothing good is going to happen to you,” Boyd said.

On Dec. 6, St. Nicholas brings children treats and gifts for St. Nicholas Day. But on Dec. 5, Krampus roams around, punishing and collecting misbehaved children.

Krampus predates Christianity, belonging to Germanic and Norse traditions. Depending on the region, Krampus has various incarnations and names.

Krampus is prominent in Austria, Bavaria and eastern countries that were formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, according to Boyd, and places associated with the Catholic church.

But in Germany, Krampus is referred to as Knecht Ruprecht, “knecht” meaning servant, as in St. Nicholas’ servant. While Krampus is the common name in Catholic regions, Knecht Ruprecht tends to be used in Protestant regions.

Krampus is also associated with Paganism, which centers on balance and “harmony between things,” according to Boyd.

“It only makes sense that if you have a benevolent character of St. Nick, or some type of yule figure, that you’ll also have his counterpart, his nemesis,” Boyd said about Krampus.

p class=’subhead’Growing up with Krampus

Jessica Heller grew up in Bavaria and was terrified of Krampus as a child. She’s now 25 years old and studying abroad at UND, helping to teach culture portions of German 101, which include Krampus.

“All of the kids in Bavaria are just so afraid of Krampus,” Heller said.

Heller’s parents and kindergarten instructors taught her about Krampus from a young age.

“Your parents always tell you if you’re a naughty child and do not behave, (Krampus) will put you in his sack, and he will kidnap you and you’ll never come back home,” Heller said.

Heller’s grandmother told her stories that kids disappeared with Krampus when her grandmother was child, “and you can still hear them crying in the woods.”

Children don’t just worry about Krampus in the beginning of December around St. Nicholas Day, Heller said. Parents warn children throughout the year they will report any bad behavior to St. Nicholas, who will send Krampus after them.

Heller remembers St. Nicholas and Krampus visiting her school Dec. 6 each year. Nicholas entered the classroom in red robes and a bishop-style hat, she said. He brought bags of treats for the well-behaved children, filled with fruits and candy.

“Nicholas and the kids sing songs, but Krampus is always lurking behind with his whip,” Heller said.

Krampus carried bells and chains as he lurked around the classroom, playfully whipping the misbehaved children, Heller said.

Krampus was usually a neighbor or an uncle dressed up in a costume, she said, and there’s even a hotline in her hometown where people can hire students to dress up as Krampus to visit their homes.

Currently, Heller is studying to become a teacher, and she plans on passing on the Krampus tradition to her future students. She feels “it’s a nice tradition,” that’s fun for children, in addition to teaching them about respect and how to behave.

p class=’subhead’U.S. resurgence

Krampus has seen a resurgence in the U.S. in recent years, but Boyd isn’t exactly sure why.

Boyd teaches a freshman seminar called “Our monsters, ourselves,” which explores why monsters were created at a certain time by certain people, and the purpose the monsters serve.

“Monsters always fulfill a purpose, and they always tell us something about ourselves,” Boyd said.

Krampus doesn’t fit that description, though, because he’s not modern, Boyd said.

However, she thinks Krampus has an entertainment value in the U.S. since people “love to be frightened” and “explore conflict.”

“We also look for scapegoats, embodiments of evil,” Boyd said. “Something to blame our misfortune on.”

Perhaps American culture “sees a need right now to create an anti-Santa Claus,” to “identify and punish bad behavior,” Boyd said.

The American Santa Claus is a much softer version of its roots, Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, Boyd said. Santa gives lumps of coal to naughty children, but he doesn’t whip or kidnap children like Krampus does. U.S. culture turned Santa Claus “into compassionate and understanding and forgiving,” she said.

“It’s interesting there’s no real retribution involved there,” Boyd said. “There’s no punishment, you’re just not going to get gifts. You’re not going to get beaten with a stick or kidnapped.”

p class=’subhead’Krampus in pop culture

While Krampus has been featured on various TV shows over the year, he will soon appear on the big screen with the tagline, “You better watch out.” “Krampus” premieres Friday, starring Adam Scott of “Parks and Recreation,” Allison Tolman of “Fargo” and David Koechner of “Anchorman.”

In the movie’s trailer, a family gets together for the Christmas holidays as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays.

The trailer cuts to a boy tearing up a letter to Santa. The power goes out, and the family hears something on the roof. Only it’s not Santa. It’s Krampus.

The rest of the trailer shows the family terrorized by Krampus in between shots of an elderly woman by a fireplace warning about Krampus.

“St. Nicholas is not coming this year,” she says. “Instead, a much darker ancient spirit. His name is Krampus.”

Heller finds it interesting how the trailer portrays Krampus.

“We always thought he’s just a helper of Santa,” Heller said about growing up in Bavaria. Boyd described Krampus as Santa’s “minion,” or assistant.

“It’s interesting to see it just like this, that he’s the dark side of Santa,” Heller said.

Before the upcoming film, Krampus terrorized Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report” in 2009.

“Nation, we need to bring Krampus to America and help us fight the war on Christmas,” Colbert told his audience as Krampus appeared.

He appeared as an all-red creature on “American Dad” in the 2013 episode “Minstrel Krampus,” where he sang a song about being sad.

The “Scooby-Doo” gang chased after Krampus, who had green, glowing eyes, in a 2012 episode of “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” called “Wrath of the Krampus.”

He is a character on NBC’s “Grimm,” a show that highlights different folklore. In “Grimm,” Krampus has an Americanized appearance, wearing red Santa Claus robes.

He was in the 2007 “Supernatural” episode “A Very Supernatural Christmas,” where he scared a boy after taking someone away in his sack.

Krampus has even made his way into festivals and events in the U.S.

A toy drive featuring a Krampus theme and costumes is being held Saturday in Kingston N.Y. There’s also a Los Angeles Krampusfest that runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13, featuring a Krampus Run and Krampus Ball.

And in November, Krampus was included in a young adult book series written by an author from North Dakota.

p class=’subhead”The Krampus Chronicles’

Sonia Halbach became interested in Krampus when researching Christmas folklore for a young adult fantasy series she’s writing.

Halbach was born in St. Paul and raised in Devils Lake. She now lives in New York City, and she released the first book in her series “The Krampus Chronicles” Nov. 2.

In the first book, “The Three Sisters,” 14-year-old Maggie explores a hidden village under New York City in 1854 and encounters a menacing creature called Krampus.

Halbach heard about Krampus in bits and pieces through pop culture before writing her series, but she really started to learn his history when she started her book in 2012.

“Because his origins aren’t as known, there’s a lot more to play with, creating your own history and the legends around Krampus,” Halbach said.

While she did not plan for her book to come out right before the “Krampus” movie, she does remember hearing about the movie about a year ago.

Halbach works in advertising for AOL. She said Scott, one of the stars of “Krampus,” came to their offices. He mentioned something about going to film a movie in New Zealand soon, according to Halbach. Halbach researched this online and figured out he was going to film “Krampus.” According to IMDB, “Krampus” was filmed in New Zealand.

Halbach understands the intrigue of Krampus, including the upcoming movie and past TV appearances. Although he’s an “ancient legend,” according to the “Krampus” trailer, each pop culture representation presents Krampus slightly different.

“There’s something fresh and new about him,” Halbach said.