Yuletide monsters

The season of Yule is filled with scary legendary creatures. I already mentioned Krampus, Belsnickel and Hans Trapp in the previous post "Three Scary Companions of Santa." Here are some more nightmares for the season of peace and joy. May all feel merry!

Mari Lwyd is a Christmas tradition in Wales that features a zombie horse. Full of greed, this entity wants to visit people's houses and eat everything. Some refuse to open the door, while others are tricked by the singing voice of Mari Lwyd who think it must be carol singers. The Mari Lwyd expects you to sing back to it, be let inside by the householder and given something to eat. However, if let inside, the Mari Lwyd can devour so much food that there won't be anything left.

Yule Cat is a giant black predatory feline of Icelandic folklore. It prowls the landscape on Christmas Eve, hunting for any person travelling in old clothes. This monster of a cat spares the lives of those who wear atleast one piece of new clothing that was given to them on Christmas. This Yule Cat is feared so much that people are desperate to get any new items of clothes including socks, gloves and scarves. Yule Cat is mainly believed to be the huge pet of a giantess named Grylla. By the way Grylla is also another Chrstmas monster. She lives in a cave inside a volcano, but leaves during Yuletide to seek out naughty kids. When she finds them, she pops them in a sack, takes them home and eats them. The story of this vile giantess traumatised children for so long. Grylla is the mother of thirteen mischievous sons named the Yule Lads, who steal things, spread germs and make loud noises during the night to wake everyone up. They visit the towns to create havoc throughout the entire season of Yule.

Frau Perchta is a strange one, from Bavarian and Austrian folklore. She either looks like an ancient hag or a snow queen. In some versions, she's a goddess, while in others, she's a terrible witch. Many people have been scared of her for generations. She expects homes to be completed of tasks especially done all its weaving and spinning by Christmas. She also wants you to eat fish and gruel on her feast day, otherwise she'll be angry. If people haven't done weaving by Christmas or eaten fish and gruel on her feast day, she'll be cross and punish those who failed her. This means she'll cut people open and stuff them with straw! Her bodyguards are known as the Straggele, who assist Frau Perchta. These are demons who go around during the twelve nights of Christmas, hoping to find left overs from dinner. If people don't leave them anything to eat, they turn violent and eat people, especially children. 

Enjoy the season!

She Wolf Night