What if Krampus was Real Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest
Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
With Christmas on its way, kids everywhere are working to get a few more good deeds in
before Santa makes his final decision.
But some kids had a bit of a stressful time earlier this month, hoping to avoid a visit
from Krampus, the punisher of bad girls and boys.
As most of us know, there’s a pretty darn low chance that Krampus actually exists.
But what if he was real, and came around every year to terrorize the naughty?
Let’s explore.
If you want more What If videos, check out our “Biggest What Ifs” playlist on the
channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: What if Krampus was Real?
First, let’s give a brief overview of Krampus for those not in the know.
Krampus is a horned goat-demon found in the folklore of some European countries, originating
in Germany.
According to the legend, while Saint Nicholas gives gifts to the good kids, Krampus punishes
the bad ones.
Saint Nick and Krampus are basically the good cop bad cop of Christmas.
There are also some fairly obvious parallels to the devil of the Bible, although interestingly
some believe the idea of Krampus to have originated before Christianity.
In Germany and certain parts of Europe, Christmas celebrations begin in the beginning of December,
with the feast of St. Nicholas being celebrated on December 6th.
The night before that, December 5th, is known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night.
On this night, Krampus roams the streets, visiting the homes of bad children.
Sometimes he just leaves them sticks instead of presents, but if you’re really bad, he’ll
beat you with rods or even kidnap you, sticking you in a bag for further beatings back at
his lair.
As you can probably guess, the world would be pretty different if this creature was real.
First of all, I think it’s safe to say that if Krampus was real, kids would be WAY better
behaved.
In the Western World, where even the mildest forms of corporal punishment are often seen
as abuse, some kids are taking it as a free pass to misbehave without consequence.
But if being bad meant being kidnapped by a giant goat demon and getting tortured, I’m
thinking little Johnny would think twice before pulling his sister’s pigtails.
This might sound nice, but it could have some pretty serious consequences.
There’s a reason corporal punishment isn’t looked too fondly upon by many.
Getting beaten and tortured by a goat demon would be incredibly traumatic for children.
Kids that WERE punished could suffer from some pretty intense Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder.
As we’ve learned in recent years, horrific experiences like this can have lasting consequences.
While the story of Krampus was historically thought to be an effective deterrent, those
punished by the guy would likely be pretty messed up for the rest of their lives.
This trauma could even cause them to re-enact it with others, as is sometimes seen in the
study of serial killers.
But life wouldn’t only be different for those punished.
Every kid, even the best-behaved, would be living in fear of Krampus Night.
Sometimes, even when you’re trying your best to be good, something bad happens, and
this would be incredibly scarring to kids.
It’s one thing to be trying to be good to get more presents; it’s another to try to
be good to avoid a merciless beating.
Each naughty action would be accompanied with extreme guilt and fear, which would be made
even worse every year, when they see their friends with wounds inflicted by Krampus.
On that note, it’s possible that not all kids would be trying their hardest to avoid
Krampus.
It’s possible that being beaten by Krampus would be seen as cool, similar to how some
kids think it’s cool to get detention, or to be sent to the principal’s office.
This rite of passage could cause certain kids to actually TRY to make Krampus punish them,
so they could show off their cuts and bruises to their friends the next day.
It’s also pretty safe to assume that there would be attempts to capture or kill Krampus
if he really existed.
I can’t imagine many world governments would sit idly by while some mythical creature beat
and kidnapped children, regardless of how bad naughty the kids had been.
Scientists and strategists would work tirelessly to find a way to stop Krampus.
Militias would form every Krampus Night, attempting to take down the beast by any means necessary.
Protecting the children would become a high priority; but there’s no guaranteeing that
Krampus COULD be stopped by mere mortals.
Better call Santa!
And now we return to our question: What if Krampus was Real?
Well, chances are most kids would be way better behaved, since they would be understandably
terrified of being tortured by a goat devil.
However, this would be pretty darn scarring for kids, whether or not they had been punished;
memories of past punishments, or fear of future punishment, could be incredibly psychologically
harmful.
It could be, however, that some kids would take a Krampus beating as a badge on their
troublemaker sash.
Finally, there’s a good chance that various groups, both official and unofficial, would
attempt to kill or capture Krampus, to protect the kids from future harm.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
If you liked this video, please thumbs up and subscribe to the channel down below.
While you’re down there, let me know what you would do if you found out Krampus was
coming for you.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.