Bad Santas: and other creepy Christmas characters

by Paul Hawkins

A gleefully dark and well-researched exploration of the history and customs of European Yuletide folklore. How did St Nicholas save children from cannibalism? Who were the Yule Lads and why would they steal your sausages? Why was the Alpine Father Christmas accompanied by a demonic figure called the Krampus who bundled children into sacks and dragged them off to Hell? And why do Spanish nativity scenes often feature a defecating peasant?Over the course of the 20th Century, a universal image developed around the world of Santa Claus as a kindly Christmas visitor but, prior to that, each country, town and community would have Christmas visitors of their own - sometimes human, sometimes animal, sometimes something else entirely - with their own curious set of mythology and customs. The Finns were visited by a pagan goat named Joulupukki that was said to eat anyone who misbehaved. In Iceland, it was said that any child who did not receive an item of new clothing for Christmas would be caught and consumed by the monstrous Christmas Cat!Bad Santas celebrates some of the most imaginative, terrifying and outright curious Christmas figures from across Europe - looking closely at its legacy of disquieting fairy stories. With beautiful black and white line drawings in each chapter, this unusual, entertaining and gleefully dark exploration of seasonal folklore will make an ideal Christmas gift and the perfect book for reading around the fireside.

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction, Holiday

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2013

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Near 5 sometimes

Bad Santas turned out to be a much better book than I had imagined. There are now so many bad Santa books and films out there that you may be deceived by the official blurb for the book. It suited me just fine with its themes of folklore and history supported by a mass of research and information. Accurate feel most of the time, not particularly judgmental with some speculation that may or may not be taken 100% seriously.

It’s both chronological and by location focus. Hawkins gets going with St. Nicholas lore dating back to Roman/Greek times in Myra (now in Turkey). The man, if he really existed, was a bishop there and associated with charity and children, and threats too. His relics ended up in Bari, Italy minus a hand here and there in other places in Italy. Part of the times. And that’s supposedly where it all began.


You’ll get to pagan winter celebrations evolving and merging with Christmas. Everything from Krampus, Scandinavian Wild Rides, peculiar imps, how children learned their lessons often by scares and birch twigs, to Christmas in the Reformation, Victorian middle class values and eventually American input and Coca-cola Santa’s. The book has it all including a great bibliography.

The early chronology was important but I liked the social history in the later part of the book even more. There is a humorous touch to Hawkins writing and even some really weird scatalogical (look up on Amazon—you can get a Caga Tio log for family bonding still). Information on scaring the bejeezes out of children in times past is very hair raising.

Winter may not be as threatening and dark as it once was and remains contentious but I think the author backs up his claim that there’s still some magic in however you wish to celebrate. I’m digging out my DVD of the Finnish movie of a few years ago, Rare Exports. Reasonably child friendly with some bad apples but it ends well. Go for Saturnalia fest if you want!

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The days of creepy Christmas characters may not yet have passed and the dark wintery figures that once stalked European forests at Christmas time may once again return to displace Santa."

Oooh how I loved this collection of dark holiday folklore!! From the weird, creepy, and somewhat disturbing, this book deeply dives into the 1,600 year old, ever evolving tradition of Yuletide celebrations. I absolutely loved the sections on Perchta, The Christmas Cat, and naughty ol' Krampus.

[Missy (myweereads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Santas by Paul Hawkins is a very well researched look into the dark and interesting world of Yultide folklore. After the first couple of pages I was instantly hooked. I have a huge love for mythology and this takes a magnifying glass to the history behind Santa Clause from the different regions within Europe and beyond.

The chapters include a variety of references to some interesting characters such as:

St Nicholas - how he came to save children.

Yule Lads - from Icelandic folklore that ranged from a prankster to a monster.

Krampus - he gathered children in sacks to take them to hell.

Julemanden, Joulupukki, Sinterklaas, Zwarte Piet, Christmas Cat and so much more.

What this book does well is to bring a detailed look at all these folklore tales and tracks back to how Santa Clause came to be over the years and what he means to the different cultures. I enjoyed learning the interesting and quite disturbing facts and imagery of how each of the mentioned versions of Santa affected the people. This is an ideal book for the curious. With varying tales that are deeply routed to the same mythology, the author presents these in a way which is easy to read through and devour within a matter of hours. Another addition to my Christmas reads.

[Claire-Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to prepare for Christmas than to read a book on demonic folkloric Christmas traditions. Yay!

I love folklore and have a fascination with the development of our traditions so book was perfect for me.

The only ones I knew before going into the book were Krampus, The Wild Hunt and Feast of Fools, so it was such a good read and education for me.

I just wish wish wish there was more on Scotland. I know it’s hard to find sources for a people that’s history is tangled so closely with Ireland and Scandinavia and then England, but it did feel like Scotland was treated as very ‘other’ having been tacked on occasionally as an afterthought.

I work in a very international work place so I have my colleagues the chapters that related to their countries and had them verify it on a basic level. This caused lots of laughs and it was nice to see them reading the stories they haven’t heard since they were children.

I also found the book to be very funny and nicely written, it’s one of the first non-fiction books I’ve read since finishing uni so I was apprehensive I would try and criticise it too much and my brain would ruin but it was a lot of fun to read and it was an easy read.

[Ionarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's well researched and open about the fact some of that research came from unusual sources. It covers a lot of interesting ground, and while I learnt a lot the author never tries sacrifices truth for the sake of a neat conclusion; he's happy to include uncertainty and blurred edges. It's funny in that irreverent, terribly English way, gently mocking itself while never trying to hard, just funny enough to make it a joy to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas and wants to know more about how it grew into the festival it is today; hates the festive season and wants to counter proclamations of peace and goodwill with illusions to the child eating Christmas cat; is interested in history, sociology or the spooky side of life and wants an interesting and easy read; or anyone who just fancies a Christmassy book this time of year.

[Barbara (I can only comment 10 times!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars:

One of the most engaging nonfiction examinations of Christmas traditions is Bill Bryson’s Christmas Book. Employing his characteristic wit and narrative clarity, Bryson investigates the historical origins of many familiar customs—figgy pudding, Boxing Day, and the emergence of Christmas cards—placing them within broader social and cultural contexts. While the book is written for a general audience, it succeeds in demystifying long-standing traditions through accessible historical inquiry. The audiobook format is particularly effective, as the narration enhances Bryson’s conversational yet informative style.

In deliberate contrast, Bad Santas explores the far darker origins of Yuletide mythology. Hawkins examines a corpus of European winter folklore rooted primarily in medieval belief systems, revealing that many festive traditions emerged from fear, moral discipline, and supernatural punishment rather than joy or benevolence. The term disquieting is apt, as the narratives she presents are often violent, disturbing, and intended to instill obedience—particularly in children.

Hawkins’s work underscores an important historical reality: the moral framework surrounding Christmas in medieval Europe was frequently enforced through terror. The modern concept of a whimsical “naughty list” has its origins in genuinely punitive systems of behavioral control, in which supernatural retribution was expected rather than metaphorical.

Figures such as KRAMPUS were not anomalies but part of a broader tradition in which Saint Nicholas was accompanied by threatening entities meant to discipline children. These practices varied regionally, both in form and in calendar observance. In Scandinavia, December 13 is now celebrated as St. Lucia’s Day, yet in parts of Norway, the preceding night—known as Lucy Night—was historically believed to be a liminal period during which malevolent spirits roamed freely, causing harm to people and property.

Dutch folklore provides another striking example. Saint Nicholas was traditionally accompanied by Black Peter, now known as Zwarte Piet, whose role was to punish disobedient children. During the Dutch Middle Ages, Sinterklaas visited homes on the night of December 5 to test children on their knowledge of Christian scripture. Failure could result in corporal punishment or, symbolically, eternal damnation—reflecting the deeply religious and disciplinary nature of medieval society.

Greek folklore introduces the Kallikantzaroi, malevolent beings who spend most of the year sawing through the roots of the Tree of Life, which supports the world. Christmas interrupts their labor, forcing them to retreat and allowing the tree to regenerate. This cyclical narrative reflects broader themes of chaos, renewal, and cosmic balance commonly found in pre-modern mythological systems.

Perhaps the most unsettling figure Hawkins documents is Frau Perchta, a folkloric witch from Central Europe. According to legend, she entered homes during the winter months and killed her victims while they slept, disemboweling them and replacing their organs with straw and stones. Such stories functioned as cautionary tales, reinforcing moral behavior through fear of violent supernatural punishment.

Hawkins supports her analysis with extensive footnotes and primary sources, grounding these myths in historical scholarship rather than sensationalism. At 266 pages, Bad Santas is best approached as a reference-style work rather than a continuous narrative. Together, these two books—Bryson’s light yet informative cultural history and Hawkins’s rigorous exploration of folklore—offer a compelling, complementary examination of Christmas as both a celebration and a site of historical anxiety, discipline, and belief.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, but at times repetitive due to folklore overlapping in certain parts.

[Rachael Eyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to write a collection of macabre Christmas stories, so this was an invaluable resource. My favourite of Santa's hangers on (and the author's too, I suspect) has to be the demonic Krampus, but the other personalities deserve a closer acquaintance. What about idiosyncratic hoodlums the Yule Lads, the fearsome Christmas Cat (who will only let you go undevoured if you've received new clothes - you'll never moan about getting socks or a lumpy jumper again!) or Pere Fouettard, a former child murderer turned St Nicholas's grudging serf? If these guys are anything to go by, we Brits got off lightly in terms of Christmas terror!

It also touches upon potty traditions, such as why Victorians apparently had a dead bird fetish, or why Spanish Nativities commonly feature a defecating peasant, and the less cosy facets of St Nick himself. A quick, funny, informative read, and definitely a source of inspiration!

[Edward Janes · Rating 4 out of 5]

NYR2016 #49.

I really enjoyed this non-fiction book of the different myths around Christmas around Europe and the wider world. It begins with the tales of rather dark figures from the Middle Ages and pagan times including the Krampus, Sinterklass and the Christmas Cat, when the colder winters and poverty could kill and the main aim was to keep children at home and well behaved. Through the Puritan crackdown on the season to the resurgence of Christmas and how we have merged towards a single figure with a red coat and white beard. No spoilers on which ones are real though...

[Frances Kapherr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting enough, a good tour of Christmas characters. Whilst some areas of the book positively skipped along as light, witty & informative but others parts plodded & I felt I was being hit over the head with the fact I was meant to be absorbing. Sound but not amazing.