Krampus — It’s beginning to look a lot like seasonal depression

Let’s talk about Krampus (2015) — everyone’s favourite half goat, half demon creature who has come to punish all the misbehaving children and dysfunctional families on Christmas — as a symbol for seasonal depression.

It’s no surprise that December is a month of peak seasonal depression despite being labelled as the most wonderful time of the year. People tend to be ultra stressed out during the holidays — in particular at the prospect of spending time with their families. Oh the cognitive dissonance! So who better to reflect the true horrors of the season than a terrifying goat demon who brings along with him killer gingerbread men, teddy bears, and a jack in the box from hell?

Mental Health is Horrifying is hosted by Candis Green, owner of Many Moons Therapy.

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Sources:

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Krampus by Amy Tikkanen in Encyclopedia Britannica

Behind the scenes of Christmas horror movie Krampus with Wellington's Weta Workshop by Collette Devlin

Seasonal Affective Disorder, John Hopkins Medicine

Krampus Origin Story | Krampus (2015)

The Simpsons - Krusty Doll Set To Evil

Christmas Shopping with Cousin Eddie

Champ Kind intro

A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger

Holiday joy despite narcissistic relationships by Doctor Ramani 

Transcript

Welcome ghouls to today’s episode of Mental Health is Horrifying. I’m your Horror Barbie host of darkness — Candis Green— Psychotherapist and all around spooky bitch podcasting from my bat-filled cave in Toronto, Canada. On today’s episode, I’m going to be talking about everyone’s favourite half goat, half demon creature who has come to punish all the misbehaving children and dysfunctional families on Christmas — Krampus (2015).

December tends to be the high season for therapists because despite being labelled as the most wonderful time of the year, people tend to be ultra stressed out during the holidays — in particular at the prospect of spending time with their families. Oh the cognitive dissonance! So who better to reflect the true horrors of the season than a terrifying goat demon who brings along with him killer gingerbread men, teddy bears, and a jack in the box from hell? This movie is a lot of fun and low key, Adam Scott can get it in this. What? It’s the holidays! I’m finding joy!

Okay so let’s get right into it. Let’s talk about Krampus and it’s portrayal of seasonal depression during the most wonderful time of the year.

Movie synopsis:

Three days before Christmas, the Engel family prepare for the holidays (parents Tom and Sarah, daughter Beth, son Max, and Tom’s German-speaking mother, whom the family call Omi). Despite his family’s dysfunction and a world that wants him to lose all belief in magic and hope, Max, remains a firm believer in Santa Claus and even gets into a fight about his belief in him during the school Christmas pageant. Omi is a comfort to Max though, encouraging him to keep believing in Santa. Later, Sarah’s side of the family come for Christmas, including her sister Linda, Linda's husband Howard, their children Howie Jr., Stevie, Jordan, and baby Chrissie, their bulldog Rosie, and Sarah and Linda's cantankerous Aunt Dorothy. So that’s 11 people and one dog all under one roof for Christmas. Woof!

Max is really keen on maintaining family traditions like watching Charlie Brown and wrapping presents together, but there’s a lot of tension between him and his parents and the extended family so traditions go out the window as the family squabbles over fun dinner table topics like gun laws. When his cousins mockingly read out a letter Max wrote to Santa, Max lashes out, yelling that he hates both his family and Christmas. His father attempts to comfort him by telling him basically that it’s Christmas and we’re all in misery and also to try to get along with the family because that’s what Christmas is all about! He gives Max his better to Santa back, but Max angrily rips it up and tosses it out the window, whereupon it is swept up into the sky in a way that indicates something magical AND spooky is about to happen.

Later that night, a severe blizzard engulfs the town, causing a power outage. When Beth ventures out to check on her boyfriend, a large, horned creature chases her. She hides beneath a delivery truck, but the creature unleashes an evil jack in the box on her who appears to eat her face or something (off camera of course).

When Beth does not return home, Tom and Howard leave to search for her. They find her boyfriend's house in ruins with the chimney split open and large goat-like hoof prints. Outside, Tom narrowly saves Howard from an unseen monster in the snow. They return home, board up the windows, and Howard stands guard while everyone sleeps. As Howard eventually falls asleep, a large hook with a living gingerbread man attached lures Howie Jr. to the chimney. When he takes a bite, he is dragged up the chimney despite the family's efforts to save him. Don't eat cookies that don’t belong to you, kids.

Omi explains that the creature hunting them is Krampus, an ancient demon who punishes those who have lost the Christmas spirit. Omi recounts that when she was a child, her parents and community lost their spirit due to the hardships of the war in Europe, which summoned Krampus to punish them all. He and his helpers dragged everyone except Omi to hell, leaving behind a bell-shaped bauble with his name on it. 

The family remains skeptical until menacing toys, hidden in presents delivered earlier, overrun the house. Jordan is devoured by the jack-in-the-box. The family fends off the toys and gingerbread men, until Krampus' elves leap in through the window, taking Howard, Dorothy, and Chrissie.

Tom decides that the family should flee to an abandoned snowplow on the streets outside. Omi stays behind to distract Krampus, who emerges from the fireplace and attacks her with his bag of toys. Outside, Tom, Sarah, and Linda are dragged under the snow by the snow monster while Stevie is captured by the elves.

Krampus confronts Max and gives him a bauble wrapped in a piece of his discarded letter. Realizing that he was responsible for Krampus’ coming, Max chases after the demon and confronts him at the edge of a fiery pit that presumably leads to hell. Max begs for Stevie to be spared and offers himself up as a sacrifice. Krampus refuses and tosses Stevie into the pit. Max sincerely apologizes for losing his spirit; although Krampus seems to accept his apology, he still tosses Max into hell as well. 

Max awakens, Ebenezer Scrooge styles, in his bed on Christmas morning and discovers his family alive and well downstairs, concluding what happened was just a nightmare. As he unwraps a present to reveal Krampus' bauble, the family exchanges troubled looks as their memories of the horrific events slowly come back to them.

Was it a shared dream? Did mom put something in those gingerbread cookies? We’ll never really know, as we end on Krampus observing the family, along with hundreds of others, through an evil magical snow globe in his workshop — presumably in hell. 


Movie background:

Krampus is a 2015 horror comedy starring Adam Scott as Tom who you might know from Parks and Rec, Toni Collette as Sarah from Hereditary, The Sixth Sense, and Knives Out, and also of note David Koechner as annoying in-law Howard who you might now as that delightfully obnoxious guy from things like The Office and Anchor Man.

The movie is written and directed by Michael Dougherty who has both written and directed a lot of fun action flicks like X2: X-Men United, Godzilla vs. Kong (which makes me sad because I feel bad for them it’s not their fault they’re huge), Superman Returns — but most importantly, absolute Halloween favourite Trick ‘r Treat. Now, if you haven’t seen Trick ‘r Treat I suggest you turn this podcast off immediately and go watch it, because it is truly such a delight. It’s like swimming in the inside of a jack o lantern while eating Halloween candy. 

You can totally see the thematic similarities between Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus, where Dougherty has taken these really sensitive and tender childhood staples and sort of flips them over to look at the darker sides, reminding us that childhood is a fragile thing and your memories can be shattered at the drop of a hat! And in Trick ‘r Treat, the character of Sam plays a really similar role to that of Krampus as this sort of protector of the spirit of the holiday, and a character who will punish those who do not believe or honour its traditions. 

Despite its setting inside a snowpocalypse, Krampus was actually filmed in Wellington, New Zealand with the assistance of Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, who helped bring the bloodthirsty demons from your Christmas nightmares to life.

And it’s really nice to see the workmanship in the practical effects in this movie, which is something that is increasingly harder to find in modern horror movies now that most things have been replaced with CGI. Krampus is actually a 7-foot tall creature that Weta technician-turned-actor Luke Hawker took on, controlling the demon from inside, being able to see only through a tiny camera hidden in the beast’s head.

As I have mentioned before, critics love to dunk on horror movies and this one did not get great reviews from critics when it was released — but guess what? I DON’T CARE! Krampus actually did pretty well at the box office and like I have said a million times before I absolutely don’t care what critics have to say about horror because it’s not for them, it’s for the fans and I am so happy that this fun, silly movie exists to satiate by bloodlust for horror, even during the Christmas holiday season. 


Who is Krampus:

So who is Krampus, anyway? Krampus, part of German and Austrian folklore, is a half goat, half demon monster who is said to punish misbehaving children at Christmas. He is the devilish companion to, or shadow, of St. Nicholas (also known as Santa Claus), and according to legend, he is the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld. Krampus has his origins in pagan celebrations of winter solstice, but with the spread of Christianity, Krampus became associated with Christmas—despite efforts by the Catholic church to ban him. Those Catholics — always trying to ban the fun stuff, eh? The creature and St. Nicholas are said to arrive on the evening of December 5 (Krampusnacht; “Krampus Night”). While St. Nicholas rewards nice children by leaving presents, Krampus beats those who are naughty with branches and sticks. Also, maybe eating them or taking them to hell. 

And because people love hell, today Krampus is celebrated during festivities like Krampuslauf (or Krampus run), which often involves alcohol and mischief where people dressed as the hoofed creature parade through the streets, scaring spectators and sometimes chasing them. Perhaps you have seen some videos of Krampuslauf taking place In Austria or Germany — it just took place a few days ago and looked like a lot of fun and also scary!

This mischievous, devilish character then makes a perfect addition to the holiday horror cannon and it was about time someone made a holiday movie exploring the dark cousin of St. Nicholas. 

Omi, played beautifully by Krista Stradler, has a history with Krampus, having met him shortly after the second world war when she herself was a child. After the family has been fighting and bickering, and Max loses faith in the spirit of Christmas, Omi warns the family that they brought Krampus on, and shares her experience of Krampus coming “not to give, but to take” when she was a child. And Krampus isn’t messing around! The hoofed demon took Omi’s entire ass family, leaving only her behind with the knowledge of what happens when hope is lost and the Christmas spirit dies. Little harsh, Krampus!

Omi also shares that Krampus is “the shadow of St. Nicholas”, reflecting the shadow side of the holiday season, which I think ties in the the idea of seasonal depression during the holidays in way that’s really nice. 


What is seasonal depression:

Alright so — what is seasonal depression? Well, different from MDD or major depressive disorder, seasonal depression (also known as the winter blues, winter funk, winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder) is characterized by a marked increase in depressive symptoms occurring during the winter months. Also commonly known as SAD, it is no longer diagnostically listed as a standalone mood disorder, but a subset of depressive disorders with a seasonal pattern.

Seasonal depression is most common in higher latitudes with greater seasonal changes in places like where I live in Canada! Things like shorter days, less light and colder temperatures are contributing factors to seasonal depression — but honestly from a relational standpoint, there are so many other factors too which we’ll get into more later.

And just as an FYI, what’s actually really interesting about seasonal depression is that there are two kinds — fall onset and spring onset. It’s true! Spring on-set, also known as summer depression, is much less common but totally exists and is something that happens to vampires like me in the summer who simply cannot exist anywhere in direct sunlight and must hide in our caves.

But focusing on winter depression, the most common symptoms are pretty vague and general honestly because like — of course you want to sleep and eat more in the winter. You’re an animal not a machine. But just for reference here they are:

Increased sleep and appetite (duh)
Fatigue, or low energy levels
Loss of interest in activities
Social withdrawal 
Irritability
Anxiety
Feelings of hopelessness
Decreased focus

And again, a lot of these symptoms are pretty normative things in the colder months and are things that I honestly think we should learn to embrace and accept about ourselves as human animals and not machines. We are part of the natural world, not above it, so like the rest of nature we have seasons too. We, however, need to of course be mindful when seasonal depression begins veering into a place where we are really suffering and are feeling really unwell or withdrawn from the world around us and reach out for help.

There are of course more medicalized approaches to treating seasonal depression like medication or those lamps if you’re into that sort of thing, but in order to battle the winter depression demon like a goat emanating from the bowels of hell, I will always advocate for a human approach and encourage connection. Talk to a person! Reach out to a therapist, friend, family member, animal, or friendly ghost. Check in on your contact nutrition — an essential practice that humans need to feel well and in community with each other. This includes the need to look each other in the eye, hear kind words from each other, give and receive gentle physical touch, share meals together, and share rhythm — whether that be singing, group fitness, or dancing around the bonfire naked under the full moon to conjure the spirit of Hel himself.


Reasons for Seasonal Depression:

Now why, you might ask, would someone be depressed at Christmas?! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! There are trees indoors for Christ’s sake! 

Well, in this movie there are a few reason why people are depressed. My favourite reason why someone is depressed but is still punished for it anyway is literally WORLD WAR 2. How dare Omi be depressed because of World War 2! This is when Krampus first visits her and her family who are, umm… sad because they live in a post-war Austria and now no one has any money, and homes and lives were destroyed, and people have to fight over basic necessities like bread. Seriously cannot understand why she would be depressed. But in any case, Krampus does not care and comes in to murder her whole family, leaving only Omi behind, leaving her with what is apparently a traumatic impulse to believe in Santa for the rest of her life lest Krampus come back and beat her with a stick.

*play clip Krampus origin story from 2:07 - 3:16*

Damn Krampus! They’re trying to recover from the horrors of World War 2! You really want them to put on Brenda Lee and rock around the Christmas tree?! Geeze talk about emotional bypassing.

Max, with his faith in Santa being shaken by mean kids at school and dickhead cousins, is also feeling down this Christmas. After he gets into a fight at school over Santa’s very existence, his parents punish him by not engaging in their family tradition of watching Charlie Brown Christmas while wrapping presents together. For him, he says, every Christmas gets worse. And with his ripping up of his own letter to Santa, Max highlights the pain of the loss of the innocence of childhood. That horrible day when you maybe stop believing in Santa, or the existence of magic or wonder in the world. A kid not wanting to grow up and lose the comfort, love, and safety that their family built for them. Watching it descend into chaos when the extended family arrives to call you names, hate on your mother’s thoughtfully prepared Christmas dinner, and talk about eating Santa’s reindeer as a sustainable source of protein or whatever. 

There are also references to grief in the Engel house this Christmas, with Sarah and her sister sharing a moment over the ornaments that Sarah kept in memory of their mother who has passed away. The moments is so brief, and the sisters share a silence between them, and we can only imagine what was felt between them there. I love the addition of this really tiny scene in the movie, this grief that happens in passing, because it is so reflective of the grief that often accompanies Christmas as we are reminded of holidays with those who are no longer with us, as we wrap ourselves in nostalgia, and memories that can feel so far away. The briefness with which this moment lasts is another great example in this movie of the difficulty of holding our seasonal sadnesses alongside the HOLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS atmosphere we are compelled to uphold — and as maybe emphasized in this scene — mothers, as creatures of perpetual giving, are SUPER pressured to uphold.

The overall darkness — whether it be in the brutal, dark snowstorm isolating the family, the sort of Satan’s little helpers who are terrorizing them from all angels, and the perpetual threat of a half goat half demon sent to punish them for their sins and drag them to hell — Krampus does an amazing job of highlighting that the holidays can often feel like they exist on this very fine line, and it can feel very fragile because that’s just the nature of humans. Just because it’s the holidays, doesn’t mean that you suddenly flip a switch on your back like that cursed Krusty the Clown doll from Treehouse of Horrors from “evil” to “good” and then everything is just dandy. Unfortunately humans just don’t work that way! 


Cognitive Dissonance:

The way this movie begins is also a perfect illustration of the cognitive dissonance that can exist at Christmastime. The song “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” plays merrily over a scene where shoppers are absolutely ravaging a store in slow-mo, people are fighting over items in the store, retail workers look like they’re about to positively lose it, parents are desperately trying to get their kids to smile at the Santa Claus photo op, children are fighting, crying.

Being in an environment latent with cognitive dissonance can lead to depression, especially when the reality of your emotions isn’t allowed to exist because it’s Christmas. 

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two related but contradictory cognitions, or thoughts.

Psychologist Leon Festinger came up with the concept in 1957 and in his book, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Festinger proposed that two ideas can be consonant or dissonant. Consonant ideas logically flow from one another, while dissonant ideas oppose one another.

For example, someone may be scarcely able to stand their in-laws and feels that they would rather spend their holiday cleaning their toilet with a toothbrush than talking to them about their views on gender, but still invite them to stay at their house for a full five days over the holidays. This is dissonance. 

The dissonance between two contradictory ideas, or between an idea and a behaviour, creates discomfort.

Tom attempts to explain the concept of cognitive dissonance to Max after Christmas dinner erupted into chaos following a heated exchange, saying that even though we may hate our family and absolutely not want them in our house, Christmas is setting aside our differences, getting along with family, and thinking of people other than yourself. Yeah how’s that going for you, Tom?

And I ask myself every year — why do we do this?! Why have we made the holiday season into such an anxiety-riddled Santa Claus parade? Why do we spend time with family members we don’t even like? Why do we drink eggnog — it’s so gross!

Psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula has a really great take on this very question and she encourages people to think of their north star, especially during the holidays, religiously enough. What she means by this is try to zoom out and commit to honouring your joy as a strategy. At the end of the day, what do you want the holidays to mean to you? What is important to you? If it’s family, and being surrounded by people then yes, undoubtedly you will surely endure some cognitive dissonance this holiday season and have to endure family members that you cannot believe you are even related to in the first place, which really sucks. Life is a constant negotiation and we can never have anything entirely our way if we want to share it with other people. But is there someone in that room that you love? Just because you are blood, doesn’t mean that boundaries need not exist. You can decide how you engage, and how much, and having contingency plans is always great too. Excuse yourself to get another piece of pie, or go play legos with the kids, or rub the belly of a dog.

And you know what, if your north star is preserving your peace — then you can create a holiday that honours that too. You can say yes to what nourishes your soul, and hell no to what tears it to shreds. 

It’s really not fair for others to rob us of what we love about the holiday season. Despite all the shenanigans that can go on, I don’t know about you — but I actually do really love it. I love the tree, the fireplace, Michael Buble, the twinkle lights, the food — and I think those things are sacred. It’s a cozy feeling that is so important to me amidst a very fast, harsh world — and that’s my north star. And so I make choices to honour that feeling. 

And so regardless of what you choose for your holidays this year, know that despite all of our best efforts, you will continue to be a human during the holiday season, and you will continue to feel all your regularly scheduled human emotions — which is absolutely fine. 

Hey final girls — I have an exciting group experience coming in the new year that will guide you through dreamwork exploration. Sign up for my newsletter on my website manymoonstherapy.com to be the first to know when registration opens in January 2024.

Conclusion: 

At the end of Krampus, Max wakes up in his bed after confronting Krampus and his henchmen, begging for mercy, being denied and thrown into the pit of hell that had opened up in the street outside his house. Bet he never though that’s where the entryway to hell was, eh?

The ending pays an homage to A Christmas Carol, as Max happily defends the stairs on Christmas morning to find his entire family, goofy cousins, aunts, and uncles and all, gathered around the tree to open their presents. Was it all a dream? Maybe — but as Max opens his first gift, the very same Krampus bauble that Omi once received as a reminder to never stop believing in the magic of Christmas, the entire family shares troubled looks as they remember the terrors of the previous night, and are reminded that you know what? It’s probably best that we shove all our emotions down and pretend that everything is fine, right?

And so, with this lesson, we can conclude that Krampus is actually the demon of seasonal depression, the bringer of Christmastime cognitive dissonance, and a force of evil who will punish you for having any emotions other than joy during the holidays. Thanks, Krampus! Jerk.

Outro:

And that my ghouls is the story of Krampus. Thank you for journeying into the depths with me and and I hope to find you in the darkness again soon. From my bat-filled cave to yours, wishing you a blessed holiday season filled with demonic gingerbread people, a bloodthirsty teddy bear, and a half goat half demon creature from hell as a soothing reminder that life can sometimes feel like a nightmare, even during the holidays, but try to have some fun while you can — you know?

Visit my website manymoonstherapy.com to order The Horror Concierge — A Mental Health and Horror Tarot Reading and Film Reco. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know about cool stuff that I’m doing like my new group experience that you can register for in January. You can follow me on Instagram at @manymoonstherapy and you can also learn more about me and my services through my website manymoonstherapy.com.