Perhaps you’ve heard the tale of Krampus, seen films about the half-goat, half-demon who terrorizes the Yuletide in place of placid Santa. Maybe you believe him a less kind, alter-ego to Saint Nick himself. This is not that Krampus.
Mortis Manor is decorated for the holiday season. Dolls dressed in red velvet finery sit in the windows. Their cherubic faces stare with empty sockets instead of eyes. Candles flicker from within, though no one’s lived there for years. At Hillside Sanatorium, holly wreaths with sharp leaves adorn the barred doors. Nestled in one is a lone elf. His outfit is festively trimmed in white fur with subtle streaks of dark red here and there. In place of his right arm, a scrawny sparrow’s wing is attached at the shoulder.
Deep in the bowels of the sanatorium, the man known only as “The Doctor” takes no holiday. He is obsessed with his experiments that humans could be made “better.” One night, taken by the Austrian tale of the horned Krampus, who arrives during the season to punish misbehaving children, The Doctor sought to birth his own demon. So with raw parts taken from graveyards and nearby farms, Hillside’s newest creation came to life.
The Doctor intended to keep the beast at Hillside for further experimentation, but his creation outstripped his cunning. Far more intelligent than The Doctor had bargained for, the beast-demon escaped.
It has been spotted lurking as far away as Mortis Manor, prowling the grounds, collecting…things. It, he, returns to Hillside Sanatorium when The Doctor is away and conducts his own experiments. It seems the Yuletide beast has become possessed by the spirit of The Doctor’s inspiration. He has become Krampus.
From his collections at Mortis Manor and The Doctor’s spare parts, Krampus has stitched together legions of minions to do his bidding — twisted versions of elves, goblin-like creatures and faeries with evil intent. And he has set out to fulfill his destiny.
Hillside’s Krampus will kidnap children if he deems them not worthy of the joy of the season. They become fodder for his creation of more minions. The devilish spirit of Krampus is centuries old, so to him, all humans are children. Visit Krampus, if you dare, and see if you have what it takes to survive.
