It's that time of year again! And by "that time," I mean time for the Advent Ghosts Storytelling Event, hosted by the indomitable Loren Eaton of I Saw Lightning Fall. Last year saw a pretty hefty roundup. I'll update this with a link to this year's page as soon as it goes live. In the meantime, here is my scary-winter-Christmas story, in honor of my wife, Angela, who wanted to put up a Krampus decoration at our office when they asked for suggestions on the holiday decorating contest.
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Oh, child, the news is bad. My brother, he brings you no gifts. He leaves you to Krampus.
Come, away, into my bag. Down into darkness with the other ones. Feel them pinch. Feel them kick. Yes.
See! My brother Niklaus, he brings a gift for your family. It is you, child! You as you will be, after your timeless time with me. See your pale face! See your frightened eyes! You will be a good child for your mother, oh yes, oh yes.
Come. This night ends soon. Then, to work! And the work never ends, child, no, never.
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9 comments:
Oh, wow, I love this one. It's quite creepy and gave me chills. My favorite line is the last. :)
Nicely told. This is the most haunting version of Krampus I've heard; it leaves the torturous life that Krampus will lead the child into to the imagination.
I LOVE the Krampus tale and completely forgot about it until this story. Great concept!
Mercy. I was unfamiliar with Krampus. Here he seems so tenderly evil.
Wow. That's really well-told. Best one yet, I think.
Scary.
Holy freak, that one gave me pure chills. You nailed the tone, simultaneously paternal, chatty and utterly terrifying.
Freaky! I've never heard of Krampus. I'll have to google it . .
This was chilling. Love and torture both. Well done Nathan.
Have a good holiday.
......dhole
Glad everyone liked it! I always thought the threat of punishment was much more frightening than the punishment itself ended up being.
Mostly, though, our wussy Christmas stories have no bite, here in the West. We need more Krampus.
Brilliant voice on this. Manages to be thick while still still moving quickly, moody but crackling. Great stuff!
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