Happy Goat Horror

Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure of legend with a classic half-goat half-demonic appearance. The night of the 5^th December is Krampusnacht, when this hairy devil appears on the streets – on his own or accompanying St. Nicholas, but always carrying a bundle of birch twigs ready to punish those who have misbehaved. At least, that’s how the folk-festivals that take place across Europe go. The truth may be stranger still. This is a sharp and intelligently written horror story that delves deep into seasonal mythology and folk legend. An atmospheric and chilling tale of the dark side of the winter season.

Season’s bleatings, my sunset-stricken tribe. I’m not one for remembering that I should probably pay attention to holidays to promote seasonal content, but I DID remember to read this bad boy in time for Christmas this year! It’s a first-person narrative, a letter written from a husband to his wife, following the supposed mysterious disappearance of their baby.

I settled in for a stereotypical Krampus story, and I mean nothing negative by that because I love Krampus stories and haven’t read nearly enough of them. I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for with this tale…but, alas, I did not. This is like, 100 times more disturbing than I expected.

We don’t know if the narrator is reliable, you see. I mean, the narrative definitely does lean more one way than the other, but there are little hints and subtleties, and outright information, that could flip it either way.

Our daddy dearest is adamant that Krampus came for the kid. Naturally, no one else will believe this. And though we’re initially on side with this guy because this is his perspective after all, through his very own admissions, he gives us information that makes us start to wonder…was it REALLY the hooved one that swiped the baby? Believe it or not, the alternative is worse. It had me praying for Krampus.

I think this is an excellent story and it literally dropped my jaw 10 pages in. It is a little bit expositional but this is a first-person story and there was no other way around giving us certain bits of information, and the author did execute the writing style very well. Near the beginning, I did make a note that the language and descriptions are a bit fluffy for first-person story-telling (it wouldn’t have been an issue at all in regular prose). However, I completely changed my mind a few more pages in because it really set the atmosphere and perfectly crafts the picture that’s being painted.

I loved it. I’d definitely recommend it to horror fans (although I will say, this is probably going to be a hard read for parents!). If you’d like to check out the book, I’ve popped the link below for you.

HOW I LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT KRAMPUS

Bleeeeeat!