Map of significant towns & landmarks -- Introduction : the dead of winter -- 1. Gruss vom Krampus, the dark companions -- From Alps to Internet -- The Krampus arrives in America -- American misconceptions -- Krampuskarten -- The Krampus by any other name -- Knecht Ruprecht -- The Christkind and the Weihnachtsmann -- Père Fouettard, Hans Trapp, and Schmutzli -- Zwarte Piet -- Frightful stories for better children -- Roots of the Kinderschreckfigur -- 2. The devil at the door -- Meeting the Krampus -- The Rempler -- Gastein and the Krampus -- Where the Krampus runs -- The run versus the house visit -- Traditional figures of the Krampus troupe -- The house visit -- Troupe life -- Suiting up -- Masks -- That furry suit -- Switches, bells, basket, and chain -- Modern trends in mask and costume -- 3. The beast pursues his game -- A cruel sport -- The prey -- Injuries and aggression -- Under the influence -- Show and spectacle -- "True to the good old ways" -- Women and the tradition -- Krampus unchained -- Rite of passage -- Regional variations -- 4. The Church breeds a monster -- A not-so-jolly St. Nicholas -- Unseemly holy legends -- The devil in medieval Christmas plays -- King Herod, earthly devil -- The devil's stagecraft -- Nicholas in paradise plays -- Jesuit pedagogy and Nicholas -- Nicholas meets the Perchten -- Nicholas play or Nicholas parade? -- St Nicholas gets rowdy -- Strange company for a saint -- Carnival influences -- Early Tyrolean diffusion -- Scenes from a Nicholas play -- Existing Nicholas plays and parades -- The boy bishops -- The feast of fools -- The old ways : Kalends and Saturnalia.

5. Frau Perchta, witches, and ghosts -- Witch and goddess, benevolent monster -- Who are the Perchten? -- Perchta and Epiphany -- Celtic or Germanic goddesses? -- From Perchta to Perchten -- Domestic oversight and female Perchten -- The Belly Slitter and her dreadful way -- A Mother Goose tale -- Foods for Perchta -- Perchta and the Heimchen -- Holda-Holle -- Frau Holle tales -- Frau Holle country -- Enchantress in the mountain -- Holda becomes a witch -- Herodias, Perchta, and a hissing head -- Loyal Eckhart, ghosts, a jug of beer -- The inexhaustible sacrifice -- Magic in the Venusberg -- Witchcraft born in the Alps -- Witch hunting and hauntings in Tyrol -- Witch fires -- La Befana -- Perchta by any other name -- Ghostly company -- 6. The haunted season -- Unholy nights -- Companies of ghosts -- Wuotan and the wild hunt -- The Night Folk -- Wild hunters -- The Wild Hunter Tü̈rst -- The Twelve Nights, the Rauhnächte -- Rauhnacht superstitions -- Ausräuchern (Censing) -- Knocking Nights -- The Glöcklern -- Pelzmärtel, the St. Martin Monster -- Release the wolves! -- Winter comes early -- Halloween leans toward Christmas -- The St. Barbara creatures -- A dark St. Lucy -- Bloody Thomas -- Bavarian Forest Rauhnacht celebrations -- The world of the Krampus -- 7. The Perchten -- A parade in Gastein -- Finding a pagan Percht -- The Habergeiss -- a spirit of the fields -- Cave of the Habergeiss -- Goats everywhere -- A Scandinavian connection -- Origins of the Habergeiss -- Disciplined by a goat -- Magic rite or playful celebration? -- The wild hunt of Untersberg -- The Kirchseeon Perchtenlauf -- The Pinzgau Tresterer -- Perchten in the Tyrolean Unterland -- The Gastein Perchtenlauf -- Schiachperchten, witches, and Perchta -- 8. Pagan roots and final questions -- Too bright to see -- A devil's cross -- The Beautiful Ones arrive -- The Swiss version -- How Perchta grew a second face -- Influences from Venice -- Between carnival amusements and folk ritual -- Where Perchta lived on -- Healthy skepticism -- Lucky strikes -- "Life Switches" and "Smacking Easter" -- Battles in the clouds -- A Swiss connection? -- Flying leaps -- The monsters between the years -- Conclusion : why the Krampus must come.