It’s the night of December 5th in Germany and not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse, for tomorrow, December 6th, is St Nicholas Day. If you were good, you might wake up to presents tucked lovingly in your boots, given to you by St Nicholas himself. But if you were bad you might wake up to bruises covering your body, courtesy of the black, hairy monster with horns and a snake-like tongue, otherwise known as Krampus. According to Britannica, Krampus is described as a “half-goat, half-demon monster that punishes misbehaving children at Christmas time.”

December 5th is when all the children in Germany will leave their shoes outside in hopes that they’ll awake on St Nicholas day to get treats such as chocolates, candies, nuts, money, and many other things that hold an equal value. Those goodies are only for good children though; if you were naughty, you may get a visit from Krampus who will beat you with bundles of sticks, and may even possibly kidnap you in a burlap sack and drown you, eat you, or take you to the underworld to spend the rest of your days with his mother!

Krampus is a German tradition, believed to have originated in the 12th century (1101-1200). He’s a Norse mythology figure, a half man-half goat creature who is the son of Hel, the goddess of the Underworld. Hel is the daughter of the trickster God Loki, so it only makes sense that Krampus is his grandson.

Even though his upbringing is from the Underworld and he kidnaps children, some argue that he’s not as bad as he seems. History.com describes him as “not so much a bad figure as one who brings retribution and just punishment for bad behavior.” The legend is passed down from parents to their kids to coerce good behavior and foster well-mannered children.

There are several beliefs about how Krampus and St Nicholas became companions, one coming from the Underworld and the other being guided by Odin, the Norse god of wisdom, death, and battle magic. The two most popular theories are that Krampus and St Nicholas are just companions that work side by side. The second belief is that Krampus actually belongs to St Nicholas and the chains he drags around are to represent his soul forever being property of St Nicholas.

As the popularity of these legends of Krampus and the rise of Christianity developed in the twelfth century, Krampus soon started becoming associated with Christmas. Obviously, the Church did not want this demon that was worshiped by many being associated with one of their purest holidays, the day Jesus Christ was born. The Catholic Church made attempts to ban Krampus, and despite their efforts, many people just loved the tale too much and saw him as such a holiday staple that their work meant nothing.

Krampus is just as iconic in Germany today as snowmen and elves are to Americans. They hold events in his name such as “Krampuslauf” which in English translates to “Krampus run.” It’s where participants will dress up as Krampus, will often consume lots of alcohol, and parade through the streets and scare spectators, often even chasing them. They are very popular in Germany and Austria and you can still go and watch them to this day.

If you aren’t traveling to Germany or Austria anytime soon to go see a Krampus run, don’t fret! They are held in the US in select states as well. Some of the most noticeable parades take place in New York City (which occurred on December 1st), Los Angeles (scheduled to occur on December 7th and 8th), and New Orleans which is where the biggest run in the US will take place (scheduled to occur on December 7th).

Nearly a thousand years later, we can still see his popularity today, even in the US. In 2015 this holiday horror really started to gain some fame due to a well-known movie produced by Universal Pictures called Krampus. This wasn’t the first of its kind, there had been many low-budget films before then. The only difference is this time they got everything they needed to make a high-quality production with a budget of fifteen million USD. They got many big names such as Adam Scott (plays Tom, the father) and Toni Collette (plays Sarah, the mother) to star in the horror-Christmas film and it really took off.

Just remember to behave yourself with the upcoming holiday season or you might just get a visit from Krampus instead of Jolly Ol’ St Nick.