THE NIGHT OF THE FIRST FRIDAY art walk in Bremerton last month, downtown businesses reported record numbers in attendance and sales. Hundreds of people filled the streets that night for a glimpse of Bremerton’s Krampusnacht — translated Krampus Night. Organizers counted nearly 2000 attendees that evening. A dozen costumed Krampuses roamed the downtown corridor in demonic masks with dark fur, big horns, long tongues, chains rattling, bells ringing, dressed as the half-goat, half-demon mythological figure from Austrian folklore known as the counterpart to Saint Nicholas.
The story goes: while Saint Nicholas rewards good behavior with treats and gifts from his big red sack, Krampus punishes bad behavior with birch wood rods and a different kind of sack used to steal away naughty little children.
“I heard it on a podcast once where they described Krampus as the antidote to Santa Claus, the antidote to Christmas,” Bremerton Krampusnacht Organizer Eric Morley said. “And I think that is the perfect description because it has become so commercialized, so tied up in controversy and stress. Krampus is all the things that Christmas really is not. It’s an alternative and a fun thing to celebrate. To be crazy. To be weird. To chase out your fears and welcome the new year, to chase out the darkness and welcome in the light with the solstice. And while I don’t consider myself a true pagan by any means, Krampus gave me that antidote. It gave me a place to fit in, in the holidays.”
But this is not so much a Christmas story as it is a story about this guy doing stuff in his town.
Morley and his partner moved here, or “escaped” as he says, from Salt Lake City a little more than six years ago. In planning their great escape, he said, they put the entire country on the map and asked themselves where they would want to go. They aimed for the Pacific Northwest, spent a year in Seattle before buying a house and landing in Bremerton.
“We just lucked out so well in landing here,” Morley said. “And we’ve loved it ever since. It’s truly incredible, coming from a desert town to where we’ve got mountains, water, trees… and community, right. It has all the things we hoped we would find in moving. It really is a very unique place. Even uniquely different from Seattle, and from anywhere else in Kitsap really. It has its own culture, its own community, its own vibe.”
Born in October, Morley is an ardent celebrator of Halloween. Every year, they have a giant Pennywise-themed display in the front yard of their Bremerton home. A few years back, Morley was approached by a friend who had taken note of the display and asked if he would be interested in dressing up and taking part in a Krampus-themed art show. Morley agreed. But the even was scheduled for December 2020, the year everything shut down…
“So I threw on my cheap costume and went wandering around in downtown Bremerton,” he said of his first experience as Krampus in 2020. “I had a friend of mine taking some photos. Barley anybody saw it in person but the photos kind of got popular online, the right people saw it and I got connected with the Krampus Seattle folks who gave me a lot of tips and pointers on how to do it right.”
Krampus groups have been popping up across the country over the past decade as the traditional Bavarian myth has become more and more popular in America. There’s even an annual Krampus convention in Florida. It’s been a politically controversial tradition both presently and historically.
While Morley said he had long been aware of the Krampus mythology, after that first year roaming the streets as Bremerton’s Krampus, he took a deep dive into all things Krampus. He invested in a traditional Austrian costume and studied the lore and origins of the creature.
“It’s been great studying the lore of Krampus, origins of who he is, where he came from, what costuming is appropriate,” Morley said. “I will say that my costume isn’t right in its entirety. I have a full fur suit from Austria and a wood-carved mask from an Austrian woodcarver with real horns, so the basis of the costume is true to the tradition. But I threw on this red robe last year, and the red robe has nothing to do with the original Krampus. But I got branded with it and now I am married to that red robe. But it works. People recognize it, and it’s uniquely Bremerton.”
When in person events resumed in 2021, Morley hit the streets again on the December first friday, expecting maybe a small turn out for the art show, but the response far exceeded expectations.
“It was crazy popular,” he said. “So I decided, why not make this a thing? Let’s do it bigger next year.”
In advance of Krampusnacht 2022, Morley approached local businesses for participation, passed out marketing materials, spoke with the mayor, city council and chamber of commerce, and recruited more costumed performers hosting meet-ups and mixers throughout the year.
“Lo and behold, it exceeded my expectations,” Morley said of 2022’s event. “We had double the business participation, double the costumed performers and well over double the attendance at Krampusnacht that I had ever thought. I thought that I would arrive at this point where we are right now in maybe ten years. And two years really formally in, we had over 2,000 people attend.”
Plans for next year are already in the works for an even bigger event. Morley said he’d like to build the event into something more true to the experience you would find in Austria, notably a “Krampuslauf” — translated Krampus Run — a parade opened by Saint Nicholas followed by a pack of Krampuses. He envisions a Krampus-themed market with vendors in addition to the support of downtown local businesses.
“Make it a really awesome big night,” he said. “Close off the streets and get people downtown.”
He laughs when asked what kind of stuff he does when he is not Krampussing and replies, “Plan more Krampus!”
I resist the urge to frame his story with the metaphor of another mythological figure who works all year in secret to come out for one night in December. He laughs and points out there is plenty of forestry around here for a Krampus to hide.
By day, Morley works as an insurance compliance executive and is also chair of the Bremerton Arts Commission. While not an artist himself, he says he understands the business and economics of art and the community benefit of creative and artistic endeavors. He also has a background in providing opportunities to new and emerging artists through an art gallery and mid century modern furniture store he and his partner ran when they lived in Salt Lake City.
“What I hope to come out of Krampusnacht and what I’ve done with that event is that it inspires more creative people,” Morley said. “You saw the joy that it brought to people. You saw that it revitalized downtown even for a couple of hours. It brought an economic boost to our businesses and created a new tradition. I hope that inspires other folks that one person with a crazy idea who is passionate and somewhat organized can do something really cool in this town.” // BILLMAN
More at krampusbremerton.com
