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Christmas, Paranormal and Krampus 23

Christmas, Paranormal

Belief and Krampus.

by
Amberrose Hammond

Proof and belief. Two frustrating words that are
the crux of the paranormal enthusiast and
skeptic alike. “Show us the proof!” the skeptic’s
demand, shaking their fists in the air for added
emphasis. And while this may grate at the minds
of the paranormal believer out there, we’d all
love to to be able to show them that proof.
Someday. Maybe. Hopefully. Until then, all we
have is our good old fashioned faith.
There’s not another holiday that evokes
as much emotion, nostalgia and raw belief as
Christmas. Every adult has memories of
presents under the tree in the morning, believing
in Santa Claus or…the moment they found out
Santa Claus wasn’t real. I didn’t have that
moment of shock and horror, such as casually
finding my presents hidden under my parent’s
bed. I just stopped believing one year. My
cousin on the other hand, gripped onto the idea
of Santa Claus as if she were hanging over a
dark chasm filled with hungry wolves. She
refused…absolutely refused…to believe that
Santa wasn’t real and we were perhaps getting a
little too old to believe Santa was anything more
than a metaphor.
On Christmas day, we had the family get
together at her house. As soon as I arrived, she
would rush me upstairs to her bedroom every
year to show me what “Santa” got her. This day,
she proudly pointed to a new stereo set up in the
corner of her bedroom, complete with two tape
decks for recording and “high speed dubbing,”
an AM/FM radio, and a record player on top.
Two tower speakers were on each side of it. It
was 1991 and that stereo was damn awesome.
“Look what Santa got me!” she proudly
exclaimed, standing next to the stereo as if it was
her son on the first day of school. I looked at her,
shocked she had just said that.
microscope or in a lab somewhere. Belief in the months and around Christmas as a way to pass
“Santa didn’t get that for you…your
magical and miraculous around Christmas time the time. Ghost stories were immensely popular
parents did,” I bluntly said, not caring if feelings
is a little more tolerated and even encouraged. In in the mid 19th century and onward. Most
should be hurt. She looked at me, unblinking.
fact, Christmas used to be the time when ghost everyone is familiar on some level (unless you
“No…Santa got it for me,” she said
stories were shared. Go figure! live under a rock) with Charles Dicken’s, A
defiantly.
Christmas Carol from 1843, where Ebenezer
“Santa isn’t real,” I retorted back. But
Ghosts and Goblins at Christmas? Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas
she didn’t say anything more to defend herself
past, present and future. We can actually thank
and I decided it wasn’t worth it. If she wanted to
still believe in Santa, I wasn’t going to fight her The history of Christmas is fascinating and has Victorian England for many of our current
on it. its roots in ancient Pagan celebrations such as holiday traditions we still celebrate such as
The following Christmas she discovered the winter solstice and yule. Because December Christmas cards. For whatever reason, telling
a Barbie toothbrush in her parents attic space. is the darkest time of the year, our ancestors ghost stories at Christmas became a forgotten
tradition and left for the month of October. But
She then received said toothbrush in her believed that was the time of the year to be
stocking from “Santa” on Christmas day. The scared of ghosts and goblins. It was dark and really, what a perfect time for a ghost story…
cover was blown. Her belief in Santa went cold outside and obviously that made it easier when we are actually encouraged to believe in
straight out the chimney he used to come down for the dead to return and torment the living (as magic and unseen forces working behind the
and she joined the millions of kids who have to if cold and darkness weren’t enough already.) scenes in our great, big world.
go through the crushing realization that Santa The winter solstice symbolically celebrated the
isn’t real. As we grow up, we are told a lot of death of the Earth and its coming rebirth with (Continued on Page 24)
things are not real that we used to believe were the returning sunlight and spring season ahead. To one and all
just as true as the sun rising everyday. For the ancients, death was a central
As I grew up and became more and more theme in December. It was the perfect time for a
obsessed with paranormal topics, I found myself ghosts and December 24 was considered the VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
starting to believe in the unbelievable again, or time when the veil was thinnest and the dead and a
the things we are encouraged not to believe in could easily pass from their world into ours.
because they cannot be proven under a The English Victorian’s used to tell ghost HAPPY 2018 NEW YEAR
stories around the hearth in the cold winter