Dark servants clash! Medieval maiden Beate, who’s grieving over the mysterious evisceration of her best friend, Gisela, must escape a Bavarian castle under siege by sadistic creatures. Standing in her way—beyond towering walls and crossbow-toting guards—are Saint Nicholas’s demonic helper, Krampus, and Frau Perchta, a belly-slitting hag who prowls the countryside during First Night festivities to punish naughty teens. Beate wants out. Krampus and Frau Perchta want in, determined to breach the castle to snag their prey. Beate has no idea why these monsters want her, but she must use her wits to save herself from horrors both human and inhuman—lest she wind up like Gisela.
Move over, Scrooge. Get out of town, Grinch. Off the shelf, elf! There's a new Christmas tradition in town, but he's been around for centuries. The Krampus keeps the Naughty list, and woe betide anyone whose name he reads. Read a new poem in the tradition of Clement C. Moore's Night Before Christmas, and then sing one of the songbook of Krampus carols in this colorfully illustrated soon-to-be-classic holiday volume.
It's two days before Christmas and a quiet Rhode Island town is about to be visited by a number of unexpected guests-including a pair of very different Krampuses. Are they there to protect the innocent, or to exact revenge for a long-forgotten tragedy? Some curses fade over time, while others grow stronger. In this homage to Dickens's A Christmas Carol, a young boy named Christoph and his friends must find some way to atone for a wrong committed a generation before they were born. Praise for The Night Before Krampus: "A wicked good story that will appeal to readers of all ages. Destined to become a Christmas classic-excuse me, a Krampus classic!" - Rodman Philbrick, Newbery Honor Author "Peter Johnson's The Night Before Krampus takes readers through the twisting streets of the other side of Christmas. Will Christoph beat his family's curse and solve the mystery? Or will the Wolf, also known as Revenge, live up to his name? Part mystery, part myth, this book will scare the Dickens out of readers, while at the same time make them want to wish each other a 'Merry Krampus.'" - Kelly Easton, Golden Kite Award Winner Praise for Peter Johnson's Other Books What Happened: "What Happened is the most gorgeously written YA novel of 2007" - Booklist, Starred Review The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. AKA Houdini: "Poignant and downright hilarious, delivered in a voice that's wonderfully authentic." - Kirkus Reviews, "Best Book," Starred Review Out of Eden: "It's the inexplicability of cruelty that makes this horrifying page-turner so effective." - Kirkus Reviews
The Krampus, a folkloric devil associated with St. Nicholas in Alpine Austria and Germany, has been embraced by the American counterculture and is lately skewing mainstream. The new Christmas he seems to embody is ironically closer to an ancient understanding of the holiday as a perilous, haunted season. In the Krampus' world, witches rule Christmas, and saints can sometimes kill.
Books in the Magic, Myth, and Mystery series explore those spooky creatures that go bump in the night, fill our dreams (or nightmares!), and make us afraid of the dark. Written with a high interest level to appeal to a more mature audience and a lower level of complexity with clear visuals to help struggling readers along. Considerate text includes tons of fascinating information and wild facts about Krampus that will hold the readers' interest, allowing for successful mastery and comprehension. A table of contents, glossary with simplified pronunciations, and index all enhance comprehension.
After years of being sidelined, Krampus decides to take over Christmas by delivering coal to every kid in the world. But a child that he meets along way, may change his mind.
“Terrific. A wild ride….I loved it. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down.” —Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy "Brom is that rare breed: a person who is skilled in more than one area of artistic expression. Here's hoping that he will continue to share his dark and often beautiful dreams with us for many years to come." --Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon Acclaimed author and artist Brom raised eyebrows and pulse rates with The Child Thief, his grim, brilliantly audacious, gorgeously illustrated reimagining of the Peter Pan legend. So what does this innovative fantasist do for an encore? He tinkers darkly with the beloved mythology of Santa Claus. Set in Appalachia, Krampus the Yule Lord is a twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon. Krampus the Yule Lord is Gregory Maguire (Wicked) meets Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) in the realm of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, as Clive Barker (Mr. B. Gone) works his dark sorcery from the shadows. Once again featuring Brom’s chillingly beautiful artwork throughout, Krampus the Yule Lord is a feast of wonder straight from the kitchen of Sweeney Todd.
