Ep.168 – Krampus is Comin' - This Christmas Spirit Wants BLOOD!

Krampus Is Comin’

Kathy Betcher was the president of the Alpha Delta Kappa sorority at Strickfield University. It had taken her a lot of manipulation and cunning for her to finally achieve her coveted position, and she had no intention of relinquishing it until she was ready to graduate. She knew each and every one of her sorority sisters was a potential usurper. This even included her two best friends, Margaret Nash and Angie Adams, when she had seen how incredibly friendly they and her estranged father were towards each other.

Simply put, Kathy didn’t trust anyone. 

What people didn’t know about Kathy was that she used to be a kind and loving soul, until too many bad things had happened during her time at university. First, Kathy learned that her boyfriend, Trey Kolm, was cheating on her, leading to a back break-up. Next, her former best friend from high school, Whitney Plaza, both betrayed and undermined her to become ADK president. The last straw came when Kathy discovered her own father, the president of Strickfield University at the time, had been helping Whitney against her. 

When Kathy finally determined that it was a cutthroat world, she resorted to the same tactics used against her to gain revenge. First, she got Trey expelled from Strickfield University by switching out his senior thesis with a plagiarized one. In fact, Dean Jerry Roth expelled Trey personally. Next, she found financial evidence on her father that the IRS was most appreciative to receive. She also secretly mailed hardcore evidence to her mother of her father’s infidelity with many female students—including his current affair with Whitney Plaza, leading to a very nasty divorce.

But Kathy didn’t stop there. Upon discovering Whitney and her father were seeing each other and connected the affair to Whitney’s presidency, she brought the evidence of that affair, as well as the others, to the right university officials. Whitney was quickly removed from the ADK sorority and expelled from the university, which basically meant her life was ruined. Shortly after, Kathy was named the new president of the Strickfield branch of Alpha Delta Kappa. 

As for Griffin Betcher, Kathy’s father, he was also removed from Strickfield University. He had the last laugh, however, and was elected to Congress shortly after. This made Kathy madder than ever, and she started using her own power to make life hell for other people. She used her influence to make connections both at Strickfield University and with other area politicians. In fact, she used her connections to have Strickfield branches of rival sororities shut down permanently. 

Though Kathy felt she had ultimate power, she was still upset she couldn’t punish her father. Even her influence wasn’t strong enough to reach him at his level of power. Her anger and resentment of her father caused her to sever ties with the rest of her family. In fact, Kathy deleted every voicemail and text from her mother. She avoided returning home, even for holidays. As far as she was concerned, home was the sorority house. Once she graduated, she would act on other promising prospects and move on to greener pastures. She would leave Strickfield and never look back. 

“Hey, Kat, you okay?” Margaret asked her. 

“Yeah, you look like something’s really bothering you,” Angie added. 

Yeah, like you bitches care, Kathy thought. “I’m fine. Just got a lot on my mind. I’m gonna get some fresh air.”

Kathy left the house. After stopping at the campus coffeehouse, The Bitter End, she left the university and walked to the downtown area. As she drank her mocha, she looked at her smartphone. “Christmas Eve already? Fuck . . .”

Kathy knew it would again be herself and her two sorority sisters for Christmas. She saw that her mother again sent texts and left voicemails. As usual, she deleted everything. 

“Kathleen Betcher!” a voice suddenly called out. 

“Fuck!” she muttered and walked faster. 

“Kathleen Betcher, you stop right there! Right now!”

Kathy finally stopped and waited for her mother. She had been ghosting her mother and younger sister since revealing her father’s infidelity to her mother. 

“Seriously, are you stalking me now?” Kathy demanded rudely. “What do you want?”

“Is this how it is?” Lorraine Betcher demanded back. “Do you blame me for why your father and I divorced? I wasn’t the one out sleeping around.”

“Look, Mom, I really don’t care anymore, okay?” Kathy snapped. “I just want to be left alone. Is that too goddamn much to ask?”

Lorraine looked stern. “By shutting me and Ruth out of your life? We are your family, Kathleen! It’s not fair!”

Kathy groaned. “Yeah? Well, the world ain’t fucking fair, is it?”

Lorraine pointed right at her. “You do not use that tone or language with me, young lady! I am your mother, and I gave both you and Ruth the best years of my life.”

Kathy lashed out. “Mom! Just leave me the fuck alone! Why is that so hard for you to understand?”

Lorraine wouldn’t relent. “Why’s it so hard for you to understand you still have a family? Ruth and I both miss you, Kathleen. We’re not your enemies. We’re not expecting you to come back home full-time, but you could come by every now and then. And . . . Ruth and I would like you to come home for Christmas tomorrow. Ruth really misses you. You know she’s always looked up to you. You were her best friend in the whole world, and you just turned your back on her. Come home and make things right with her.”

Kathy was about to say no and walk away, but she remembered Ruth. Her baby sister came along many years after her. Kathy was twenty-three, while Ruth was eleven. Pre-college, Kathy remembered how Ruth idolized her and wanted to be just like her when she got to be old enough. 

“Fine!” Kathy conceded. “I’ll come home tomorrow. But I’m doing it for Ruth, not for you.”

“That’s fine,” Lorraine replied. “Just . . . please come home and see your sister tomorrow. In fact, why don’t you bring a gift for her? To let her know you still care. She still enjoys collecting snow globes.”

Kathy sighed. “Fine!” Then she started to walk away. 

“Two o’clock tomorrow,” Lorraine called out behind her. 

“Yeah, yeah . . .” Kathy muttered. 

Kathy walked through the main entrance of Strickfield Towne Centre Mall. As she walked around, she noticed there wasn’t many people. She checked her smartphone and saw that it was getting close to six. 

Dammit, the mall’s going to close for Christmas! I’ve got to find a snow globe for Ruth.

As she hurried through the mall, she didn’t see any stores that sold snow globes. Then she saw stories closing and walked faster. By the time she reached the other end of the mall, the JCPenney had already locked up. 

Kathy groaned. “Shit, I just had to run into my fucking mom. Where am I going to get a snow globe for Ruth now?”

She turned to walk away when she saw a light near the mall entrance she knew not too many people used. She walked in the direction until she saw a store called Tinkers. 

Kathy entered the store and saw the many odds and ends on the shelves. 

“May I help you, young lady?”

Kathy quickly turned and saw a man in his late forties approaching her. 

She was about to apologize for coming in but remembered she was Kathy Betcher. She never apologized to anyone. “I’m looking for a snow globe. I don’t suppose you’ve got one?”

The man raised his finger. “I just so happen to have one right in my display case at the register. Follow me.”

Kathy followed the man to the front counter. She could already see the snow globe in the display case. The man stepped behind the counter, opened the case, and took the snow globe out for her to see. 

When Kathy took hold of it, it felt a little heavy. This is the biggest snow globe I’ve ever seen. I don’t think Ruth has any THIS big. As she looked it over more, she saw the figure sitting on its throne. The figure had big and curly horns, brown-to-graying fur, bright red eyes, and cloven hooves for feet.

“Is this . . . Krampus?” Kathy asked the man. 

“Ah, you know of Krampus, do you?” the man replied. 

“Depending on who you ask, he’s supposed to be the evil version of Santa Claus, or even Santa’s brother. I’ve heard he comes and takes the bad children while Santa gives presents to the good ones. I’ve also heard Krampus takes the souls of the wicked and corrupt.” She sighed. “People spread stories about Krampus all over campus, much like any other story about ghosts and goblins. I swear, people think every day is Halloween here.”

There was a brief silence. Then the man said, “This is the only snow globe I have. I’ll let you have it for twenty dollars.”

Kathy pulled her billfold out of her purse to complete the transaction. After the man escorted her out, Kathy tried to leave through the mall entrance next to Tinker’s, but the doors were locked. She cursed and walked back through the mall to the main entrance. 

“Ruth better be happy about this,” Kathy muttered. 

Kathy decided she wasn’t staying at the sorority house with Margaret and Annie and secretly left to be alone. While she was sure she could have stayed in her old room at home, she rented a room at a boarding house. 

As she unpacked her suitcase, she pulled out the snow globe and examined it again. Was it her, or were the Krampus figure’s eyes glowing? 

You’re letting those goddamn ghost stories people tell at the university get to you again, she thought. 

She put the snow globe down but still felt compelled to look into the glowing eyes. After a time, she shook her head and turned away. 

Just then, someone knocked at her door. Figuring it was Mrs. Elkins, the lady who owned the boarding house, she went and answered the door. 

Her jaw dropped when she saw . . . “Trey Kolm? Oh, fuck no!” 

Angry, she tried to slam the door in his face, but he easily forced his way in and closed the door behind him. 

“Get the fuck out, Trey!” she yelled. Then she realized . . . “And how did you even know I was here?”

Trey sneered. “Saw you check in here. Finally get kicked outta your sorority?”

She groaned and pointed to the door. “Fuck off, you bastard! Out!”

He kept sneering. “I know you miss me, Kat. You know how good I made you feel.”

“Yeah, before you started fucking around on me,” she retorted. “So . . . what? You think you can just come back to me and fuck me again?”

Kathy gasped as he yanked her into his arms. “You know you wanna. I see it on you. Hell, I’m willing to forget you getting me kicked outta school.”

Then Trey kissed her full on the mouth. Kathy immediately kissed him back. They quickly undressed and got into bed. Kathy let Trey get on top of her and moaned when he entered her. She was so angry at everything that she needed hot sex right now—even if it was Trey. 

Kathy stepped out of the shower and started towel-drying herself. She felt disgusted for letting Trey back in, knowing he’d be screwing other girls later. She moved back to the bed and found him sleeping soundly. At least he wouldn’t be with other girls tonight. 

As Kathy dropped her towel to get back into bed, the glowing eyes of Krampus in the snow globe again caught her attention. Kathy seemed mesmerized as she walked to the snow globe. When she picked it up, it felt warm in her hands. 

“Punish him!” she heard the demonic voice in her mind. “Punish those who have done you wrong. Claim their lives AND their souls! Accept me into your life, Kathleen Betcher. Use my POWER!”

Kate never even gave it a thought. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes!”

Suddenly, Kathy felt an incredible surge of power throughout her body. Her anger fueled the new power she was accepting. She relished the spirit of Krampus entering her body and becoming one with her. 

When it was finished, Kathy moaned as if she had just had an incredible orgasm. Then she turned back to the sleeping Trey and walked sexily to him. She climbed onto the bed and easily awakened him. 

Trey grinned his sneering grin again. “Oh, hey . . . Back for more?”

Kathy smiled a wicked smile. “Mmm-hmm . . .”

Kathy straddled him and took him into her again. She rode him with an incredible hunger. Trey laid there and enjoyed every minute of it. They climaxed together after several minutes. Then Kathy put her hands on his chest as he fondled her breasts. 

“You’re definitely the best, babe,” Trey said softly. 

“Mmmm . . . then why did you fuck other girls behind my back?” she purred. 

“Huh?” Trey uttered. 

Suddenly, Kathy throttled his neck. “You heard me!” she said in her new demonic voice. “I was never good enough for you, so you fucked around on me!” Kathy smiled. “Well, now I’m going to make you MINE . . . forever.” 

When Trey saw her transforming, he screamed! Kathy’s hair and flesh turned white as snow. Her eyes glowed hot and red. She grew long and curly horns, silvery fur on her arms and legs, and her feet became cloven hooves. Kathy raised a hand to reveal boney and elongated fingers with long, sharp claws. 

Trey’s bloodcurdling scream made Kathy laugh as she easily sank her new claws and hand into his stomach. She removed his bloody heart and relished the warm liquid trailing down her arm and into her fur. 

“I always thought you were a heartless bastard for cheating on me. I guess I was wrong.” 

Kathy laughed cruelly as she got off him and moved to the snow globe to claim it. When she gazed into it, her eyes and the glass on the globe glowed. When the glowing stopped, she tossed the heart back to Trey’s bloody corpse. 

“Keep your heart, lover. I have your SOUL. You truly belong to ME now.”

Kathy knew that Trey was just the beginning. There were others that were high on her Naughty list. 

She turned and crashed through the window to get outside. When she landed on the ground, she broke off a tree branch and attached it to the bottom of the snow globe to make a staff. She raised her new conduit to the sky. When the snow globe glowed, it quickly became windy. Then the snowstorm began. In a matter of short minutes, the green grass had become white. She looked to the sky and saw her sleigh was coming with her own monstrous versions of reindeer. 

When the sleigh got close enough, she leaped onto it. Once she sat and took the reigns, Krampus was on her way to her next naughty. 

Whitney Plaza had clearly been enjoying the good life, in spite of being disgraced from her former sorority and Strickfield University. Unbeknownst to Kathy, Whitney was still in a heated affair with Kathy’s father. In fact, the two lovers had just finished another round in a Jacuzzi in a secluded house just outside of Strickfield. Whitney lifted herself off him and sat beside him. They picked up their champaign glasses and took sips, stealing kisses from each other. 

“I love you, Griffin,” Whitney whispered, when he held her in his arms. 

“I love you, too, baby,” he whispered to his young lover’s lips. 

She gazed into his eyes. “You’re still taking good care of me after what your daughter did. She literally ruined my life.”

“I know,” Griffin replied. “She attacked you to get to me.”

“But I was the one who ended up suffering most for it,” she groaned. “You just had to pay money. I can’t even get a job working at Denoyer’s Grill or Roth’s Rings.”

He kissed her again. “I said I’d take good care of you, and I will. Remember, I’m marrying you after the New Year.”

“Oh, Griffin . . .” Whitney moaned and let him kiss her again. 

“My, isn’t THIS touching? And by two people I once trusted with my life.”

The two betrayers came apart and saw the demonic form that was standing there before them. In her hand was her newly created staff. 

Whitney’s jaw dropped. “Kathy?”

When Griffin saw Whitney was right, he gasped. “Kathy? Is that you?”

The demon laughed. “KATHY . . . is no more. There is only KRAMPUS now. And tonight, the two of you will pay for your sins.” She put her staff against the wall before she leaned forward and put her clawed hands on the side of the hot tub. “Now . . . Which one of your black souls do I take first?”

Krampus looked from Griffin to Whitney before she finally settled on Whitney. “YOU were supposed to be my best friend. We were tight in high school. And the moment DADDY offered you power, you stabbed me in the back without a second thought.”

Whitney screamed and quickly got out of the hot tub on the other side, facing Krampus. “Y-y-y-you don’t understand. I had a unique opportunity. Being the president of the Kappa sorority opens lots and lots of doors. I had to take it when your dad offered to get me in. He said you couldn’t handle it. That you were weak.”

Krampus looked at Griffin. “Oh, did you now?”

Griffin cried out in fright and tried to escape himself. Krampus seized him and pulled him close. 

“There’s nowhere where you can run to where I can’t find you . . . DADDY.” Krampus just tossed him right over her shoulder—like a piece of trash. 

Griffin cried out as he flew into the liquor cabinet and tumbled to the floor. 

Krampus looked over her shoulder. “You really should run. You don’t want to see what happens to your sweetie.”

Krampus laughed as Griffin picked himself up and staggered away. Then she turned her attention back to Whitney. 

“You got your revenge on me by disgracing me!” Whitney yelled. “Isn’t that enough?”

Krampus sneered. “Not when you’re still living in luxury with your sugar daddy. With MY daddy.” Krampus leaped over the hot tub and grabbed Whitney by her hair as she tried to flee. 

Whitney screamed and started crying as she was turned to face Krampus again. “Please, Kathy! What do you want? I’m so sorry . . .”

Krampus caressed her cheek. Then Whitney screamed again when Krampus lifted her up by her breasts and slammed her back into the hot tub. Krampus held Whitney underneath the water as she reached for and grabbed her staff. She dipped the snow globe into the water and made it boil. Holding the staff with both hands she started stirring the heavily steaming water, which was slowly turning a sickening red. When Krampus had finished making her hellish Christmas punch, she pulled the staff out of the water with Whitney’s soul now inside. 

Krampus held her staff upright once again. She took one of the champaign glasses and filled it with the newly made punch. Then she took a sip. 

“Sinfully perfect . . .” She looked in the direction Griffin ran. “I’ll return for DADDY after I make another quick stop.”

Krampus left the house and got back into her sleigh. Soon Krampus was flying into the haunting, wintery sky again. 

Margaret Nash and Angie Adams were cuddled up with each other on the couch as they watched It’s a Wonderful Life together. They were the only two girls left in the ADK sorority house. The other sisters had gone home to be with their families for the holidays. 

“Can you believe this weather?” Angie muttered as she tightened her comforter around herself more. “The furnace ain’t even keeping the house warm.”

“Come here,” Margaret murmured and held Angie. “We’ll keep each other warm.”

The girls rested against each other as they continued watching the movie. 

“I wish Kat was here with us,” Margaret said. “I can’t believe she just up and left and didn’t say anything.”

“I know, what’s gotten into her?” Angie agreed. 

Suddenly, the front doors burst open. The girls screamed as a huge blast of snow and wind blew into the living room and practically chilled them to their bones. They screamed again when they saw the demonic figure standing in the doorway. 

Krampus walked in and saw the girls running upstairs. She growled and raced up after them. With her powerful legs, she was on them before they could hide in one of the bedrooms. She grabbed them and brought them into a bedroom herself. 

“You two were very naughty this year,” Krampus told them. “You bitches only PRETEND to be my friends.” Then she threw them both onto the bed. 

Annie immediately recognized the face. “Kat? Oh, Jesus! Kat, what happened to you?”

Margaret saw that Annie was right and screamed. 

Krampus moved right to them and lifted them off the bed. “You two were plotting with DADDY to overthrow me. You think I don’t see through you two backstabbers?”

Margaret’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about? We’ve always stuck by you, Kat.”

“You’re wrong! You’re our friend!” Annie told her. “We would never do anything to hurt you.”

Krampus shook them. “I saw you two talking to my dad!” she roared. “You both flirted with him. And it wasn’t just once.”

“We were just talking to him,” Margaret stammered. “He’s a senator. How could we tell him to fuck off?”

“We can’t even stand him,” Annie added. “He’s such a pig. Please, Kat, listen to us. You’re our friend, and we love you.”

“LIES! You two will say anything to avoid judgment.” She pushed them away and pointed right at them. “Your souls are MINE!”

The girls started crying now. 

“You’re wrong!” Annie shrieked. “You’re wrong! We never plotted against you.”

“We would never do that,” Margaret agreed. “I admit we didn’t always agree with everything you did, but we always stood by you.”

“Remember last Christmas when you wanted us to watch It’s a Wonderful Life with you?” Margaret recalled. “We ended up staying up all night watching Christmas movies together. That was so much fun.”

“We spent so much time together, Kat,” Annie said. “It wasn’t just because we’re in this godforsaken sorority together. We both love you. We . . . we . . .” Then she started crying more. “What happened to you, Kat?”

Margaret held Annie as she cried. Then Margaret began to cry again. She looked to Krampus. “Whatever we did to piss you off, we’re so sorry.”

Krampus felt that these girls were telling the truth. She snorted and slowly backed away from them. She really wanted to claim their souls, but they had been telling the truth. They had never once conspired against her. Now, she was the one who had hurt them. 

Kathy was ready to relinquish the power, but then the face of her father came back into her mind. Griffin Betcher was a very naughty person. It was time for Krampus to settle the score with him once and for all. 

Krampus burst right through the front door of Kathy’s childhood home and found them all in the living room: Lorraine, Ruth, and . . . 

Krampus pointed right at Griffin. “You! I’m here to claim your soul . . . DADDY!”

She leaped at Griffin and picked him up. “Still think I’m weak? Look at how YOU cower like a naughty little child at knowing it’s too late to repent when I come for them.”

“Yes!” Griffin replied quickly. “Yes, you’re right, Kathy. I am weak. I am a piece of shit. I’ve given in to the sins of female flesh too many times. I put it even above my own family—my own wife.”

“And then there’s all the money you’ve spent on luxuries for your whores,” Krampus added. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for your wife to have to raise two children without the help of a deadbeat daddy who cared more about his cock than his own children?”

Krampus lifted him up and threw him across the living room next to the fireplace. She was back on him almost immediately. She lifted him by his pressed shirt collar and brought his head close to the fire. 

“Kathleen, no!” Lorraine beckoned. 

“You can’t save him,” Krampus told her. “People like Griffin are beyond saving. He had many opportunities to do the right thing.” She redirected her attention back to Griffin. “Remember how you betrayed me to take Whitney Plaza as your mistress? And it wasn’t just once. You betrayed me MANY TIMES. You chose HER over your own daughter.” She roared with enough anger to shake the whole house. “But now . . . you’re going to find out what hurts much worse: betrayal . . . or FIRE!”

“Kathy! No!” Griffin shrieked. “No! Please!”

“TOO LATE!” Krampus growled. 

She shoved his head into the fireplace and held him there as his head caught fire and started burning quickly. Griffin screamed as his pain seemed to last for eternity. Lorraine tried to pull Krampus off him, but it was much too late. His soul now belonged to Krampus and was now stored in the snow globe with the others she had claimed. 

Krampus turned her attention to Lorraine and Ruth. She seemed surprised when Ruth was right there in front of her. 

“Please, Kathy! No more,” she begged her older sister. “Please, come back.”

Krampus was about to push Ruth away, but then Ruth hugged her. “Kathy, I love you.” She looked up into Krampus’s face. “Please come home. I miss my big sister.”

Lorraine looked at Krampus. “Ruth’s right. You and Ruth are both my baby girls, and I gave you both the best years of my life to raise you right. I did it because I love you both so much. Maybe your father only cared about himself, but you always had your sister and me. You will always have the two of us. You will always have a home here with us. We’ll never stop loving you.”

“No! No, it’s too late!” Krampus stammered. “I’ve already taken lives and souls. There can be no redemption for me now.”

“You have the souls,” Lorraine agreed. “But you can give them back. You can still do the right thing, Kathleen. Don’t let your soul be damned like this. Is this really what you want?”

Krampus began to cry now. Then she growled and tried to shatter the snow globe. Instead of breaking, the snow globe came off the staff and right into Ruth’s hands. 

Suddenly, the snow globe glowed bright white as Ruth willed the souls Krampus had taken to be returned to their owners. Krampus roared as he found himself being pulled out of Kathy and back into the snow globe to be returned to his lair. Once his spirit was gone, there was a bright flash of light and everything had changed. 

Christmas morning came. Kathy was standing at the front door of her family’s house with Margaret and Annie. Kathy knew her two friends would be in the sorority house alone, so she invited them to come home with her for Christmas. Lorraine didn’t mind in the least. Kathy even brought presents for her mother and sister. 

When Ruth opened her gift from Kathy, it was a big snow globe that had Santa Claus sitting on his throne at the North Pole. She shook it to make the artificial snow move around in the water. In fact, only Ruth knew of the events that had happened with the Krampus snow globe. Upon returning the souls to their owners and restoring them to life, she willed that the previous day’s events be forgotten. Kathy would never come to be in possession of the Krampus snow globe from Tinker’s. 

In the new reality, Kathy ended up reconsidering her stance against ignoring her family and decided to return home for the holidays. After the spring semester started at Strickfield University, she resigned as president of the ADK sorority and left the house. To her surprise, Margaret and Annie wouldn’t let her go alone and left with her. Kathy no longer needed a sorority. Not when she had her two best friends, her mother, and Ruth. 

In fact, Kathy moved back home to be with her family. Margret and Annie moved in with the Betchers as boarders to help with expenses. Kathy could now spend quality time with both her two friends and her mother and sister. 

About a week after Kathy had settled in back home, Eisley Tinker stood outside the Betcher house with the Krampus snow globe in his hand. Seeing little Ruth playing with Kathy, he both admired and detested the little girl at the same time. 

“Children unfortunately still prove to be innocent, even in this day and age,” he said out loud. “That’s what saved your soul on Christmas Eve night, Kathleen Betcher. You may have your family and friends.” He looked into the globe and saw the figure’s eyes glow bright red. “Krampus will simply seize another vessel to carry out his judgment against the wicked, or perhaps return for you . . . next Christmas Eve.”

From there, he turned and walked away, leaving the Betcher house and its occupants in peace. 

At least for now . . .