Krampus (Aka Wilhelm Schulze) was a magical entity and malevolent counterpart of Saint Nicholas. Whereas Saint Nicholas gave out gifts to good children, Krampus punished the bad ones using his stick and rides them around in a basket. However, that interpretation is a more friendly version, as more graphic tales describe how the Krampus would kill and eat children he decided to punish.
History[]
Krampus posing as an old man Wilhelm Schulze in a small European village, caused a ruckus in the local church. The incident attracted the attention of Hellboy who was sent to investigate. Confronting 'Wilhelm' Hellboy was invited for supper. Hellboy questioned if he was really Krampus to which the old man confirmed. Seeing Hellboy skeptical, the old man tossed the paranormal investigator a skull of a child he killed in 1832. Through it Hellboy saw Krampus murder the boy.
Krampus threw away his human visage, asked Hellboy if he remembered Pandemonium. He is proclaiming that he was a demon from Hell, exiled for a crime he had no knowledge of. He demanded to be returned to Hell, tired of his long existence on Earth. He attacked Hellboy goading the agent to kill him.
Hellboy tried to use his pistol, but the demon was resilient and demanded Hellboy use his hand. Try as he might Hellboy was at a disadvantage, until he somehow managed to stab the creature using a knife given to him by the ghosts of Krampus's victims telling him to save Krampus.
Surprised but grateful Krampus readied to return to Hell. However, he did not return to Hell, dying as his corpse transformed into a goat.
Back at the Bureau Professor Trevor Bruttenholm explained that the topic Krampus had been debated by him and his colleague Harry Middleton. Middleton believed Krampus was actually the Demon Goat of the Witches; Sabbath, done up in a fancy dress for the holidays. On the other hand, Bruttenholm believed that it was just a nastier variation on the Scandinavian Yule Goat.
The Yule Goat or Joulupukki was the Pre-Christian Goat-man version of Father Christmas. Hellboy postulates that the Yule Goat forgot his origins along the centuries and believed himself to be a Prince from Hell. When he got tired of killing kids the entity wanted to return to Hell. In the end Hellboy gave the magic goat a proper funeral, marked by a cross with toys laid out.[1]
Powers and Abilities[]
Krampus possessed a number of abilities, such as shape shifting and immortality. He was a highly durable creature that even bullets wouldn’t faze him. And he was imbued with enough strength to overpower Hellboy. Due to his extremely long life, he had forgotten his origins, added on with his task of punishing children made him suffer insanity, making him think he was a demon from Hell.