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While parents have been increasingly depending on the slightly creepy Elf On The Shelf to keep the kiddos in line before the big present haul, more and more people are hearkening back to a darker time in Christmas intimidation: the days of Krampus.

As National Geographic explains:

Bearing horns, dark hair, and fangs, the anti-St. Nicholas comes with a chain and bells that he lashes about, along with a bundle of birch sticks meant to swat naughty children. He then hauls the bad kids down to the underworld.

Hmmmm, intriguing.

Sounds like Krampus eating the elf is the perfect explanation for why one didn’t spend thirty bucks on a footless doll with a shifty expression.

Full story at National Geographic.

The dark side of the holidays.

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