In Austrian folklore, Krampus was a devil-like figure who appeared alongside Santa during the feast of St. Nicholas, to drive away evil spirits. The duo is still part of the festivities in many parts of central Europe.

Boisterous young men wearing deer horns, masks with battery-powered red eyes, huge fangs, bushy coats of sheep’s fur, and brandishing birchwood rods storm down the streets, confronting spectators gathered to watch the medieval spectacle, which is also staged in parts of nearby Hungary, Croatia and Germany’s Bavaria state.

Anyone who doesn’t dodge or run away fast enough might get swatted — although not hard — with the rod.

Last week, Santa and Krampus received some negative publicity when they were banned from visiting kindergartens in Vienna for scaring some children. Because of this, a prominent Austrian child psychiatrist, Max Friedrich, is aiming to ban Krampus on the basis that the world is filled with enough aggression and violence.

While I agree with him on that issue, I feel that he is promoting hysteria over the few who have suffered “Krampus Trauma.” The answer to this problem is to teach these people how to confront and deal with this fear.

Of course there are those who have taken the Krampus tradition a bit too far, especially after they’ve downed a few beers. In Tyrol, the Krampus actors are required to wear a number to enable law enforcement to weed out and punish the troublemakers.

Source: Reuters

Looking at this photo you would never know that this place is filled with tragedy and mystery. The Menengai Crater is one of the largest calderas of the world and the largest of Kenya. There are many versions about the origin and the meaning of the name, “Menengai.” One of the more popular definitions is “the place of the dead corpses,” as many people have died there.

During the 19th century, war broke out between the Maasai unity and various rival clans over cattle and grazing grounds. In one battle, the Ilaikipiak warriors were thrown into the calderas. Recently, a woman fell to her death while trying to rescue her 12 year-old son, who was trapped inside a ravine.

The locals claim that the crater is under the control of evil spirits and have since named it “kirima kia ngoma” (where the devils live). Strange things happen to people who visit the crater and its cave. Many were reported to have disappeared, only to turn up hours later, not knowing how they got lost. One of them was a man who had known the area for a long time. Some people go in there and are never seen again.

Pilgrims flock to the site to pray, despite the crater’s reputation. Mr. Paul Walingo from Kakamega spent two weeks in the cave, fasting and praying, without incident. He does not believe the tales of the locals about ghosts and demons.

Simon Kamenju, on the other hand, believes that they are real. According to him, the ghosts capture people who attempt to destroy the crater’s fauna and hide them in the underworld. “Some of those who wander, do so after harvesting firewood inside the cave. But as soon as they drop the firewood, they find their way back.”

The latest mystery involves a “flying umbrella” that appears to shield the crater whenever it rains, only to disappear after the storm subsides. No one knows where this alleged umbrella goes, although I think it would be hard to miss since the crater measures 8-10 kilometers.

Source: allAfrica.com

Synopsis

Or at least, if you believe the stories that have been told for the last fifty-odd years, a reasonable facsimile of him did. It is a story that has been told for three generations and has inspired books, films and documentaries. It is, without question, the greatest unsolved mystery of St. Louis and one of the most perplexing puzzles of the paranormal in American history. But is the story so mysterious because of the events that occurred — or because of the bizarre mixture of fact and fantasy that it has become? The story of the 1949 St. Louis Exorcism has become a confusing and convoluted mess over the years. There are so many theories, legends, tales and counter-stories that have been thrown into the mix that it’s become very hard to separate what it truth and what is fiction with this case.

Can this new book finally make sense of it all?

Get more information about the book at Prairie Ghosts

Other than the primary election for our state governor, 6/6/06 has been very unremarkable in my area, as far as I know. The day isn’t over yet, though. Bill Gates could very well reveal himself as the Anti-Christ if Harry Potter refuses to step up to the plate.

Seriously. No one knows who the Anti-Christ is or if he/she is real. Jeff Pearlman (quoted below) wrote a great article about 666 and its power over the course of our history since 1666.

Quoted from Nation:

By “the beast,” is the Bible referring to a three-headed, red-eyed ogre? Unlikely. Instead, most scholars interpret 666 to be the numerical code for Nero, the fifth Roman Emperor (54-68 AD) of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians. “The legend of the anti-Christ is that of an agent of Satan empowered to pave the way for the end of times,” says Phil Stevens, a professor of anthropology at University at Buffalo and an expert on religious symbolism. “The myth of the anti-Christ has been passed down through the generations. But to start with, it appeared to be simply a very disliked man.”

Not everyone shares the same doomsday attitude, as you will see with the snippets below.

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Hell, Michigan: Screams Ice Cream is selling cones for 66 cents and the Damned Site Inn’s dinner special will cost $6.66. So far, they have received over 1,000 tourists.

Hundreds of couples in Malaysia are rushing to get married because they feel that 666 represents a good omen. The Hokkien dialect pronounces the number six to sound like the word “luck.” Therefore, these couples are hoping for triple the luck.

The 666 Man: Peter Spyche’s unusual association with the number 6.

Ann Coulter is launching her book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, much to the delight of liberals everywhere.

An online gambling site has come up with odds (which stand 10-to-1) on whether 6/6/06 will be the start of the apocalypse. So far, so good.

Last but not least, the remake of The Omen opens today in theaters.