A
Bestiary of Winter and Christmas Monsters
It’s getting to be that time of year again. The skies are
grayer, the days are colder, and the nights are longer. You don’t need to be Ned Stark to know that
winter is coming. Our modern minds associate Winter with crowded stores,
holiday travel and WHAM’s Last Christmas being played every hour on the hour
for 6 straight weeks. But in the not so
distant past, Winter was a grim time when death was close at hand.
The
crops were gone and whatever food you had stored up would have to last until
Spring, supplemented only by what you could kill. Likewise, hungry predators
would be on the prowl as well and anyone caught out alone might find themselves
becoming a meal to a mountain lion or a pack of wolves. Cold weather could be
lethal and without the modern convenience of weather forecasts and GPS,
venturing out was gambling with life and death.
Every
people in every culture have imagined fantastic creatures that filled the world
around them. Most of these were evil monsters that represented their anxieties
and fears. Some were helpful creatures that could be prayed to or believed in
as a source of hope during the grim season. As cultures, and religions became
amalgamated, some of these creatures took on dual identities symbolizing hope
and fear.
What
follows is a bestiary of Winter monsters, and a few deities, from around the
world. At the end is a special section devoted to those entities associated
with Christmas, a holiday which is itself an amalgamation of cultures and
religions.
Japan
Yuki-onna ((雪女, "snow woman")
The
legend of the Snow Woman goes back at least to 14th century Japan. A Yuki-onna
is strikingly beautiful woman with pale skin, dressed in white. She can freeze
people with icy breath. She is often encountered on the road on snowy nights.
Sometimes those traveling through the snow may hear her calling out to them.
Answering her call could be deadly as she is likely to freeze them or throw
them down into a snowy ravine. Sometimes she is encountered holding a child,
entreating travelers to warm her child by holding it. If a traveler agrees,
they find that the child suddenly becomes very heavy, pulling them down into
the snow (weirdly similar to the St. Christopher story). If however, one were
strong enough to hold the child and bear its weight, Yuki-onna might reward
them, or at least not kill them.
She has
the qualities of a succubus and a vampire, seducing men and stealing people’s
vital essences while they sleep. One can imagine that a lonely man huddled next
to a fire on a cold, dark night, would be easy prey for a beautiful woman who
suddenly appeared at his door.
Yuki-onna
could have a softer side though, or at least a less lethal one. There are
stories of her sparing a young man that she found particularly attractive,
perhaps even occasionally marrying one and having children together, though
since she is immortal, the couple never grows old together.
Though
most Yuki-onna are independent, some are servants of local mountain gods. Her
one weakness is, not surprisingly, heat, especially hot water. If splashed with
hot water or thrown into a hot bath, she will disappear, leaving only icicles
behind.
In popular culture- Yuki-onna has shown up in several
Japanese comics, games and movies. There was a well done movie , The Snow Woman
(1968). Yuki-onna is also the subject of
one of the ghost stories in the 1964 film, Kwaidan.
Tsurara-onna (つらら女,
"icicle woman")
The
Tsuara-onna is similar to the Yuki-onna though not dangerous (unless angered).
She is an ice spirit given human form by a man’s loneliness in winter. When a
lonely man, while looking at an icicle, reflects upon his desire for
companionship he may be visited by a Tsuara-onna. She is likely to appear as a
traveler looking for shelter. She is beautiful and seems like a normal human,
the men never realizing her true nature. She is likely to fall in love and stay
with the man indefinitely. However, Tsuara-onna seems to be a bit naive about
her own vulnerability to heat. There are numerous stories of her disappearing
after sitting next to a stove or after taking a hot bath.
Though she is not evil, her ephemeral nature can create a
perilous situation for any man who professes his love to her. Even if she
avoids fire all winter long, she will eventually disappear with the coming
spring. The following winter she will reappear to the man and their love can
renew. However, if he has forgotten her and found a new woman, Tsuara-onna can
become very jealous. More than a few men have been found murdered, impaled on
an icicle, after forgetting their love to
Tsuara-onna.
North American
Chenoo
The
Chenoo is a giant cannibal. It towers over normal humans and possesses great
strength. Sometimes, they are normal
humans who were cursed after consuming human flesh. In other cases they were
normal humans who were cursed with evil magic and became a Chenoo. Either way,
the end result is the same.
Chenoo
live in the wild and brutally attack and eat their victims. However, they
aren’t dull witted savages. They can use tools and cast magic spells and are
intelligent. They can, when they choose, talk and interact with humans and even
live amongst them though this is a dangerous proposition for the humans. The
female Chenoo are even more dangerous than the males, being bigger, faster and
more viscous. Chenoo are territorial and will fight and eat each other.
Killing a Chenoo is no easy task. Dismemberment will temporarily hinder the creature but the source of its power is its icy heart. The heart must be thoroughly destroyed; no small task since its as hard as a chunk of ice. It is possible to turn a cursed Chenoo back into a human by tricking them into drinking a potion that causes them to vomit up their icy heart.
Wendigo
Thematically
similar to the Chenoo in many ways, the Wendigo is the best known of all the
North American monsters. The Wendigo is a cannibal demon that embodies all the
selfish human desires. It has an insatiable hunger that only grows stronger the
more the creature eats. One Wendigo, after having its legs chopped off, began
sucking the marrow from its own bones!
More
than just a ravenous cannibal, the Wendigo is an evil force that lives outside
the laws of nature. It can summon blizzards and storms, darken the skies, and
cause disease. It is particularly strong during the winter months because it is
during these times, when food is scarce, that it can take advantage of human
desires.
The
Wendigo can send out its spirit and possess someone who has given in to
gluttony or greed. A person possessed by the Wendigo will become a ravenous
cannibal eating anyone, even children, to satisfy its hunger. Though the spirit
can be exorcised, usually the only way to deal with the possession is to kill
the person. Certainly, anyone who engages in the taboo of cannibalism is
practically inviting the Wendigo to take them over.
In popular culture- The Wendigo has shown up in many movies,
either directly or indirectly. Although the Wendigo doesn’t appear directly,
its spirit is definitely felt in the dark comedy-horror, Ravenous. Most
recently it appeared in the 2021 film, Antlers. The Wendigo has also been an
ongoing villain in Marvel comics fighting both the X-men and the Hulk.
Inuit Monsters
Though
the Inuit people live in North America, they deserve their own separate
category by virtue of the sheer amount of cold weather monsters in their
mythology. Given that a lot of their
life involves ice and snow, it’s no surprise that their mythology reflects
that.
Akhlut
The
Akhut is a shapeshifter that goes back and forth between the shape of a wolf
and an Orca (killer whale). It doesn’t seem to be an evil creature, but as both
of its forms are predatory, it would probably be best to steer clear of it. The
presence of an Akhlut can be inferred from wolf tracks that start at the
water’s edge or wolf tracks that seem to walk off into the water.
Amarok
The
Amarok is a giant wolf. Unlike normal wolves it hunts alone rather than in a
pack. It preys on lone hunters and travelers. In most respects it is like any
other wolf only bigger. It does have one terrible power reserved for any who
kill an Amarok’s pups. It can rip the person’s spirit from their body, leaving
them alive but soulless.
Ijiraq
The
Ijiraq is a shapeshifter. Its natural form is that of a human however the eyes
and mouth run vertically rather than horizontally. It can take on any form it
wishes though it prefers to be invisible. They are very hard to see and are
usually only noticed peripherally out of the corner of one’s eye.
The
Ijiraq are associated with being lost. They cast an enchantment around their
lairs that will disorient even the most skilled tracker. They are known to
kidnap people. Anyone who ventures too far from home is at risk of being lost
and perhaps becoming an Ijiraq themselves.
Mahaha
The
name sounds like onomatopoeia for an evil laugh and that’s not far off from the
truth. The Mahaha is a maniacal creature preying on people in the wilderness.
It has an emaciated appearance with sinuous arms and long, stringy hair. You
are likely to hear its laugh long before you see it.
It
prefers to capture people and “tickle” them with its razor sharp talons, which
amounts to cutting the person to pieces. Victims are found dead and frozen with
an insane smile on their face.
Qallupilluit
The
Qallupilluit is a combination sea hag and female boogeyman, living in icy
waters. She hides near the shore or under the ice where she jumps out and
snatches her victims. Her favorite victims are children which she either eats
or takes back to her lair.
The
Qallupilluit can lure her victims with a siren like call. She may also catch
the attention of children by tapping on the ice. When she catches a child, she
puts them in a pouch in her parka. Though usually the Qallupilluit has to
depend on her predatory skills to acquire children, unscrupulous or abusive
parents can summon the Qallupilluit and ask her to take their children away.
This might be used as punishment for a misbehaving child or as a way to get rid
of an unwanted mouth in lean times.
Qiqirn
The
Qiqirn is a very large hairless dog (except for odd tufts of hair around its
mouth or feet). It has the power to drive both humans and dogs into
convulsions, sometimes killing them. Its appearance can be quite terrifying,
but it is wary of people, especially any kind of shaman, therefore its prey
tends to be lone travelers.
Tariaksuq
Known
as the Shadow People, the Tariaksuq have a body that is half human and half
caribou, though they cast an enchantment that makes them appear as normal
humans. They live alongside humans, either living amongst them or in
communities of Tariaksuq near human settlements. They were clothes and lives in
houses.
They
are discernible from ordinary humans only by the fact that they can’t be seen
clearly straight on. Seen peripherally or obliquely they appear normal but if
you look straight at one, the illusion becomes shadowy or hazy. This is due to
them not existing exclusively in our world. They exist partially in our world
and the spirit world at the same time. If they are killed the enchantment is
broken and their true form is evident.
European
Barbegazi
These
dwarves are usually found above the tree line in the French and Swiss alps.
Their name roughly translates to “frozen beards.” They are distinguishable from
other dwarves by two features. First, they are either covered with white fur or
wear thick white furry garments. Second, they have enormous feet. These feet
serve them well as either natural skies or snowshoes.
Barbegazi
are perfectly suited to alpine life and quite happy in the cold. During warm
weather they hibernate in caves and return the next winter. They communicate
with whistles and howls that can be mistaken for the wind or animals. They have
been known to warn travelers of impending avalanches.
The Nuckelavee
The Nuckelavee
is a demon of northern Scotland. It is kept at bay, perhaps in another realm,
during the warm weather months by the Sea Mither, a benevolent deity. However,
it breaks free during the winter and wreaks havoc.
The
Nuckelavee resembles a giant horse and rider that have merged into one
creature. It has the body of a great horse with the torso, head and arms of a
man budding out of its back. The horse head has one great, red eye. The
Nuckelavee has no skin so its muscles, veins and organs are on full display.
The horse head breathes a foul miasma that can sicken people, wither crops and
drive normal horses mad.
The
Nuckelavee cannot be killed. People must
endure its devastating effects until the Spring when the Sea Mither is able to
lock it up again. Anyone being chased by The Nuckelavee has but one hope; to
make it to a spring or river of fresh water. The Nuckelavee cannot cross fresh
water.
Winter Goddesses
Winter deities often serve two roles. They represent death
in the cycle of death and rebirth and as such often have a sinister edge. At
the same time, they offer protection against the harsh elements as the world
grows darker.
Cailleach
Cailleach
is a goddess from Celtic mythology. She presides over Winter, sharing the year
with the fertility goddess Brigid. Cailleach rules from Samhain to Beltane
(November 1st to May 1st) after which Brigid takes over.
Cailleach
is shapeshifter and can become animals or a beautiful maiden but is usually a
blue skinned hag with one eye and teeth like rusted metal. As a winter goddess
she has a natural association with death, but she isn’t evil. In fact, she may
be protective over certain animals in the winter. She carries a hammer that is used to shape
the land and a magic staff that turns the ground to ice. She is also a storm
goddess capable of conjuring bad weather.
Louhi
Louhi
is a witch-queen from Finnish mythology that rules over Pohjola, a desolate
cold land to the north. She is a shape changer and generally opposes the forces
of good. She is able to hide the Moon and Sun, thus plunging the world into
darkness.
Interestingly
she has many beautiful daughters that are highly sought after as wives. She
uses the girls as bargaining chips with heroes, getting them to perform near
impossible tasks in exchange for the promise of one of her daughters.
Skadi
Skadi
is a giantess from Norse mythology. Her father, also a giant, was killed by the
Norse gods and she went to Asgard looking for revenge or recompense. She showed
up decked out in war gear and she must have cut an impressive figure because
the gods chose to appease her rather than fight. She required of the gods two
things: First, that they do something to make her laugh and second that one of
them must be her husband.
Loki
(in true Loki fashion) took care of the first part by tying his testicles to a
goat. As the goat tried run off this made Loki scream in pain which made Skadi
laugh.
The
second part was a bit trickier. Skadi could choose any man she wanted from
Asgard but had to choose based solely on their feet (maybe Quentin Tarantino
was involved). She picked the nicest looking feet she could find, thinking they
must belong to the hunky Balder. However, those feet belonged to Njord, god of
the sea. As a mountain goddess, she was not very happy living on the ocean. The
marriage didn’t last long before she packed up and went back home.
Skadi
is the goddess of mountains and is skilled at hunting in the winter. She also
invented skis and snow shoes. She is a particular helpful deity to have on your
side in the winter.
Christmas
Christmas
is a bizarre holiday so it’s no wonder that the entities associated with it are
bizarre as well. Christian and pagan
beliefs have merged creating a group of often terrifying personalities. Some of
these were previously benign entities that were demonized as Christianity
spread. Others were already scary and then made less so as they were
incorporated into the Christian Christmas mythology. Reoccurring themes are
reward and punishment, gratitude and protection.
Gryla
From Iceland, tales
of Gryla go back at least to the 1300s.There are many anti-Santas, Christmas
entities that punish rather than reward children. Gryla, however, goes far
beyond that. A witch-giantess, Gryla kidnaps children and eats them. In fact,
child flesh seems to be her favorite food. She has the ability to detect
children and the naughtier the better.
Gryla
lives in a mountain cave with her lazy husband. During Christmas time, she
descends down the mountains to round up children for her and her husband to
feast upon. She’s actually on her 3rd husband. She killed and ate at least one
of the former ones, which makes you wonder why her current husband doesn’t try
to do more to help out.
Beyond
being just a Christmas cannibal, Gryla is also the matriarch of a sinister Yule
tide family being both the mother of the Yule Lads and the owner of the Yule
Cat.
In popular culture- Gryla and her Yule Lads make a memorable
appearance in the Christmas episode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Hans Trapp
Hans
was a medieval knight who engaged in sorcery and sold his soul to the Devil in
exchange for wealth. When the Church caught wind of this he was excommunicated
and his lands and riches were taken. He was banished and lived in the woods. He
went insane and became obsessed with the idea of cannibalism.
He
dressed himself up as a scarecrow to stalk the roadways and one night found a
lone boy on the path. Hans stabbed the boy to death, drug the carcass home and
cooked it. As he was just about to take his first bite, he was struck dead by
God.
However,
such a malignant soul shouldn’t go to waste. His spirit rose and he now acts as
the counter to Santa, kidnapping and eating naughty children.
Huldufólk (the Hidden People)
The
Huldufólk of Iceland are elves that straddle the area between our world and the
world of the Fey. They are usually invisible but can sometimes be seen and
appear as grey, dark haired humans. They generally live amicably (although
unseen) amongst humans, so long as those humans show respect for their
surroundings. They may engage in the odd bit of mischief such as stealing a cow
from a herd, but they may also help a lost traveler find their way home.
There
are 4 festivals each year to celebrate and pay homage to the Hidden People
(Midsummer Night, Christmas Night, New Year’s Eve and Thirteenth Night, January
6th). The Huldufólk may invade your home
or barn on Christmas for the purposes of revelry so it is customary to clean
your house before Christmas and leave some food out for them.
These
troublesome imps are known by various but similar names in Mediterranean and
Balkan countries. They live deep in the earth most of the year but they come to
the surface during the 12 Days of Christmas to wreak havoc. They are usually satisfied with conducting
petty mischief but aren’t above more evil deeds. They are small and have dark,
hairy bodies.
People wishing to protect themselves from Kallikantzaros
have a few strategies that they can employ. The most popular is leaving
something outside on your doorstep for the imps to count. They have trouble
with counting, so this consumes a lot of time. A colander is the most
frequently used item as the holes will grab their attention. Another strategy
is to leave food outside to appease them. Those with chimneys would do well to
keep a fire burning through the holidays to prevent the imps from entering the
house that way.
They hide during the day and roam around at night. They
terrorize anyone that they find outside, sometimes hopping on the victim’s back and
forcing them to take the imps to wherever they want to go. Though they are
creatures of petty evil, they actually end up being de facto punishers of evil
by virtue of their nightly activities. Anyone using the cover of darkness for
their misdeeds, such as a thief trying to break into houses or an adulterer
sneaking out on their spouse, is likely to find themselves at the mercy of the
Kallikantzaros.
One sinister note of their legend is that any child born
during the 12 Days of Christmas might become a Kallikantzaros upon reaching
adulthood.
Krampus
Having
lived in relative obscurity for several centuries as an entity known only to
Germanic peoples, Krampus has enjoyed a renaissance over the last decade or so
and awareness of this interesting creature has spread across the globe.
In many
cultures, Santa Clause has a helper that travels with him dispensing Yule Tide
justice. Santa brings the presents for good kids and some other entity will
dole out bad presents (coal, sticks etc.) for the bad kids. Krampus though,
takes things a step further.
Krampus
is certainly a Satanic looking figure with black fur, horns, and goat legs. He
beats children and may actually kidnap them, carrying them away in a wicker
basket on his back. If toys from Santa isn’t enough motivation for kids to act
right, Krampus definitely provides some extra motivation.
In popular culture- Take your pick, it won’t be hard to find
a Krampus movie. The most famous is the 2015 movie titled (not surprisingly)
Krampus. But the most fun pop culture appearance of the Yule demon was in The
Venture Bros. Christmas special.
Jolakotturinn, the Yule Cat
The Yule Cat belongs (if such a word can be used in this
case) to Gryla the child eating witch (as John Wayne said in True Grit, you
can’t really own a cat). Like other Christmas entities the Yule Cat appears
around the holidays, stalking the countryside at night. However, this gigantic
feline isn’t preoccupied with children like his mistress. He likes to eat
people who are wearing old clothes. While this sounds like a terrible form of
discrimination for a monster, it has roots in practical reality.
Today getting new clothes is a matter of money and a trip to
the store. But a few hundred years ago, clothes were often made at home, using
the wool, cotton, or other materials grown, harvested and processed by the
family or some other nearby neighbors. So if people didn’t get their work done,
there were no new clothes, and the Yule Cat was always hungry.
Mari Lwyd
From Welsch tradition, Mari Lwyd is an undead horse that
roams the streets on New Year’s Eve trying to get into your house. To keep her
at bay you have to engage in a kind of rap battle, going back and forth in
rhyming verse. When you run out of songs, she gets in where presumably you have
to feed her. All in all, not too horrible compared with some of the more
malicious Yule tide creatures.
Perchta
A morally ambiguous character, she probably used to be a
pagan goddess, but with the spread of Christianity found herself demoted to a
seasonal witch.
Perchta presents in two very different ways. One version of
her, Schönperchten, is a beautiful white snow maiden. The other,
Schiachperchten, is a demonic looking hag. Likewise, Perchta has a dual personality, one
that rewards good children with presents, and the other that rips out their
guts and stuffs their bellies with straw. While it seems like you’d always want
the pretty one over the ugly one, Ugly Perchta could be quite useful when it
came to driving out demons (evil against evil).
She travels with a band of fury demonic beasts, the
Straggele. Visually similar to Krampus (hairy bodies, horned heads), they serve
Perchta, especially when it comes to doling out punishment to children.
Tomte
Also known as a Nisse, these Scandinavian gnome like creatures are most
often found around the farm. Like Perchta, Tomte are morally ambiguous
characters with motives that are difficult to fathom. A Tomte values a well
run, efficient farm. He will help around the farm and tend the animals and in
general protect the farm, so long as he is shown respect, which includes
leaving him a giant bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve. If he is disrespected or
doesn’t think the farm is being run well he shows his displeasure in a variety
of ways from pranks, to beatings, to killing the livestock! He might even resort
to using his poisonous bite, which could be fatal.
The Tomte may make his home in an out of the way spot on the
farm, like in a loft. On the other hand, he may also live amongst the corpses
in nearby graves.
On Christmas, the Tomte might be found traveling the
countryside handing out gifts. Just don’t forget to leave him some porridge!
Werewolves
Werewolves? No, there are no Christmas lycanthropes,
spreading holiday cheer. There is, however, a lot of folklore connecting
werewolves to Christmas time.
Modern werewolf mythology is very detailed and specific;
silver bullets, full moons, etc. Like vampire mythology our modern ideas about
werewolves have been shaped more by Hollywood than by folklore and one of those
ideas concerns how people become werewolves. In the movies, a person who is
bitten by a werewolf becomes a werewolf. In ancient and medieval times,
however, lycanthropy was a curse.
There is a long tradition of powerful beings, including
Christian Saints and Greek gods, cursing people with lycanthropy. Sometimes
curses were earned as punishments for transgressions and sometimes you were
just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Similar to the Kallikantzaros, in many parts of Europe, tradition held that a baby being born on Christmas was in danger of being a werewolf (possibly as punishment for competing with the Christ child?). In other parts, the time was moved back a few days to the Winter Solstice. In other parts, the time was extended through the whole week of Yule. Some stories say that a baby conceived during this time was at risk for becoming a werewolf as punishment for the parents engaging in hanky panky when they should have been focusing on more holy pursuits.
Really, none of this should be surprising. This was
generally considered a dread time of the year where the veil between worlds was
thin and spirits might move more freely. There are stories about werewolves
terrorizing towns during Christmas; some stories say lycanthropes can only
change into wolves on Christmas and yet others say that’s the one day that they
can’t change. One amusing story involves a group of werewolves hanging out at a
town’s wall and having contests to see who could jump over it!
In popular culture- Hammer Films' Curse of the Werewolf features a great folk horror story about a boy cursed with lycanthropy for
being born on Christmas.
Yule Lads
The
Yule Lads are credited as Gryla’s children, which would seem to be a precarious
position given her predilection for eating children. Certainly, they are not
human children, and perhaps that makes the difference. Unlike their voracious
mother, the Yule Lads aren’t particularly dangerous, though their impish
behavior can make life miserable, especially during a long, cold winter. Each
Lad has a particular area of interest that he is obsessed with, and a colorful
name to go with it.
The lads begin their reign of terror on December 12th, each
one arriving on a different day until Christmas Eve, when they would all be
present in the victim’s home together (making for a rather rowdy night).
Starting on Christmas day they leave, one per day, leaving in the order that
they arrived until the last one leaves on January 6th.
Even though they have comical motifs, you can see how they
would prey on some of the anxieties associated with winter. Most of them relate
to stealing the precious commodity of food, especially foods that would last a
while through winter, like bread, sausages and yogurt. They are, in the order
of their arrival:
-Stekkjarstaur (Sheep Cote Clod)- He likes to suckle from
sheep but has a hard time getting in the right position given his wooden legs.
-Giljagaur (Gully Hawk)- He hides in gullies until he can
sneak into the barn and steal the cow’s milk.
-Stúfur (Stubby)- He likes to steal pots and pans and eat
any encrusted food, which actually sounds like a helpful service if you ask me.
-Þvörusleikir (Spoon Licker)- He licks spoons. This is both
disgusting and malnutritious. As such, he is very skinny.
-Pottaskefill (Pot Scaper)- He steals leftovers, which is
pretty low down since leftovers are the best part of any holiday meal.
-Askasleikir (Bowl Licker)- He hides under the bed and
steals any food left in bowls on the ground, which basically amounts to
stealing the food from your pets!
-Hurðaskellir (Door Slammer)- Good luck getting a good
night’s rest with this guy around.
-Skyrgámur (Skyr Gobbler)- He eats up all of your skyr which
is basically Icelandic yogurt. Weird.
-Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage Swiper)- He hides in the rafters and
steals your sausages. Yep. You read that right.
-Gluggagægir (Window Peeper)- His name makes him sound like
a perverted voyeur, but really he’s a kleptomaniac, looking for things to
steal.
-Gáttaþefur (Doorway Sniffer)- He loves bread and he lurks
around doorways hoping to catch the scent.
-Ketkrókur (Meat-Hook)- He has a hook that he uses to steal
your meat, which actually sounds kind of scary.
-Kertasníkir (Candle Stealer)- Good luck finding your away
around in the dark after a visit from him.
