My Childhood Christmas Nightmare... / 我童年的圣诞节噩梦...

When back in China, Christmas for me was a similar fare as in London (albeit, a much larger one given the size of my family there!) meaning friends, family and presents being spread liberally throughout our household. As a few of my relatives followed the Christian faith and China does not count it as a holiday like here, we would always celebrate Christmas day and Boxing Day over a weekend when everybody would be able to come round!

But one particular recollection I have is of my aunt who also used to engage in the same festivities but had a tall tale to add especially for the children. I remember how she used to explain the reasons for having Christmas and how warm-hearted and giving Santa actually was. Our ages were all only in single digits at the time.

She would go on to say that as loving as Santa was, he was defenceless against the power of Krampus. I recall our first reaction to this weird sounding name and laughed it off at first , until our aunt continued. She went on to explain that he was in fact the devil incarnate. He would surface from his lair every Christmas day without fail, waiting in the shadows to pick off naughty little children who had been troublesome and disobedient throughout the year.

As you can imagine, it struck a chord instantly with all the children gathered round, listening in. Makes me wonder if behind our backs, a group of amused parents weren’t silently chuckling to themselves at seeing our frightened little faces.
Anyways, I can vaguely recite a certain memorable line from the story she conveyed to us, which still sends shivers up and down my spine to this day. It went something like this…

“…so when you’re all tucked in tonight, cosy and warm, pretending to be asleep but secretly listening out for Father Christmas, be warned. For if through the howling wind outside, you hear the clack of a pair of hooves on the ground, the lashes of a long forked tongue and see an image of two giant horns painted across your bedroom walls. You’ll know it is Krampus who has come to greet you on this cold winter’s night…”

Quite a full-on tale, I’m sure you’d agree! And as you can imagine, none of us got much sleep that night in fear of Krampus prowling around outside, choosing who to snatch up and whisk off into the night. Even though most of us lived high up in some tall building, the perceived dangers to us were very real and very scary indeed!

Well, Boxing Day would always kick off in the same manner. The kids would arrive at our house and one by one, we would start retelling our very own stories to each other. We’d hear about how a few of us narrowly escaped a visitation by hiding under the duvet as the sound of heavy breath sounded from behind the door. How they heard scratching at the window but dare not look up over the sheets for fear of Krampus looming over them, ready and waiting.

Now being an adult, those memories still hold a fascination for me. The fear of the unknown back then, the absolutely “need “ to be as good as possible in the knowledge that Krampus could be watching and taking down all the necessary notes. Was it just a harmless and fun children’s game or more akin to mental torture for us?

I must admit, there was also a hidden excitement about this evil presence that existed out there in this world. I would get a thrill when Christmas time would be arriving just around the corner, but not merely for the festivities, but at the thought of the reminder of Krampus from my aunt. Will this be the night I get snagged, leaving my parents forlorn and destitute at my sudden disappearance?

For a small child, this was seen as a very real threat. I mean, in this UK, most children of a certain age are convinced with Santa and all the lore that comes with it. So imagine how a child would conceptualise something as horrific as Krampus! Well, looking back and talking to those same friends who are now all grown up, we see it as somewhat of a roller coaster ride. The expectation of our aunt reeling off the terrifying tale to us, the way we would try to be as well behaved as possible (even in front of her as if she knew Krampus personally or something!) and the fun it was discussing in important detail our plans to avoid being captured by him on that very same night.

When all’s said and done though, I look back with fond recollections. The innocence of the young and the adventures their minds take them on! As even to this day, whenever I hear the name Krampus at Christmas time, I can’t help but peek over my shoulder to make sure a set of red, leering eyes aren’t watching me through frosted glass. Finally, ready to come calling for the misbehaviour's and insubordination's from my childhood!

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

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回想在国内，我们的圣诞节与伦敦有点儿相似（当然在那儿，我有一个更大的家庭！），也就意味着家人及朋友互相庆祝交换礼物等等。我家族内有几个成员信奉基督教，我们总会庆祝圣诞节。但由于国内没有放圣诞假期，我们会在那个周末庆祝，所以大家都能来参加！

记忆中我的阿姨总爱给所有的小孩子讲故事。至今我还记忆犹新，她会向我们解释大家庆祝圣诞的缘由以及圣诞老人的爱心。当时我们所有的小孩子都才几岁。

即使圣诞老人有多好，他仍然无法抵抗“克兰普斯”的魔力。我记得当我听到这个古怪的名字时，我的第一反应是觉得很可笑。阿姨继续给我们讲述，他其实是魔鬼的化身。每年圣诞他总会在阴影中等待着并挑选那些顽皮不听话的小孩子。
你可以想象，这对所有聚精会神地聆听着的小孩有多恐怖！我想，如果此时此刻父母们聚集在我们身后，看到所有害怕的小脸蛋一定会觉得非常好笑。

多年过去了，在我记忆里很多事情都渐渐模糊，唯有阿姨故事里的一段情节让我很难忘怀，至今想起来我还能感觉到背脊冷飕飕的！

“...所以，今晚当你躺在舒适温暖的被窝里假装睡觉却秘密地聆听等待圣诞老人的时候，要提高警惕哦。如果你听到外面嚎嚎大叫的风，如果你听到地上的一对蹄子的声音，如果你看到长岔的舌头和两个巨大长角的影子映在你卧室的墙壁上，你就会知道在这个寒冷的冬天夜晚“克兰普斯”来找你了...”

我相信你会和我一样，觉得这是一个有血有肉的传说！你可以想象，由于担心“克兰普斯”在门外徘徊挑选要带走哪家小孩，这个晚上我们当中没有几个能睡得安稳。虽然我们都住在高楼大厦里，当时我们感觉到危险是非常真实，非常可怕的！

圣诞节的第二天，小孩子和父母们会陆续来到我家，我们一群孩子会开始述说自己的故事。我会听到我们中有几个小孩当听到门外沉重呼吸声，立马藏在被窝下从而躲过了劫难。他们述说着如何听到有人抓刮着窗户，但不敢抬头看，因为害怕“克兰普斯”在那儿等候着。

虽然现在已经是成年人了，但这些记忆犹新。对未知的恐惧以及害怕“克兰普斯”会在旁观察并做下笔记，我会尽可能听话做个乖小孩。这只是有趣的儿童游戏，或更像是对我们的精神折磨？

老实说，对于世界上存在的这种邪恶会给我带来小小的兴奋感。当圣诞节即将来临的时候，我会感到刺激，但不只是因为各种庆祝活动，而是想到“克兰普斯”的故事。这将会是一个我被带走而父母由于我的失踪而心碎的夜晚吗？

对于一个小孩子，这种威胁与恐惧来得非常真实。通常孩子们相信圣诞老人与他的爱心，所以像“克兰普斯”这样的怪兽对于小孩子来说有多可怕！现在与儿时同伴一起回想这段过去，我们都认为它像是坐过山车一样刺激，呵呵。阿姨期望着通过这个可怕的故事，我们会尽可能听话做个好孩子，这过程中我们讨论所有细节要如何避免晚上被抓也算是成长中的一种乐趣吧！

现在我回想起来，总能感受到到我们年少时的无知以及这些故事为我们头脑所带来的冒险经历。即使在今天，每当我在圣诞节时候听到“克兰普斯”的名字，我还会不自觉地查看四周，确保没有一对红色的眼睛通过磨砂玻璃注视着我，准备着惩罚我童年时候的顽皮与叛逆！