👹One Final Demon of the Season👹
Introducing a new, never-before-seen demon (not even in the book!)
You thought we were done with holiday demons for the season, didn’t you? Well, we’re wrapping up the yuletide with one of the most pesky, irritating demons of them all… the Kallikantzaroi. This comic is all new, meaning it’s not been posted anywhere else on the Internet, and it didn’t make it into the book. In fact, I finished drawing it only an hour ago!
The Kallikantzaroi—found in the Anatolian region—are known to turn up on Christmas Day and don’t leave until today, January 6th. That’s why they felt like an appropriate demon to leave you with—they’ve been sticking it out this whole time, like a crusty old Christmas tree. One part nuisance, one part disgusting—whole part fire hazard.
The Kallikantzaroi, like so many of our other demons, are most likely pre-Christian. Some folklorists think they may be related to the Greek god Dionysus, because they often appear like crazed, impish little satyrs. Their name could be related to the Greek words for “beautiful centaur,” which feels like a bit of a stretch, but it at least explains the fur and hooves.
Other scholars think they’re more like the pagan shapeshifters of old—that their name actually means something more like “black werewolf” or “black bloodsucker,” which is a fun image for the holidays. According to those traditions, the Kallikantzaroi spend most of the year as humans, and transform into wicked little goblins during the so-called “unbaptized days.”
Most traditions also locate these little fiends underground, where they supposedly are hard at work chopping down the Tree of Life. This tree, according to legend, supports the world as we know it. Each year, the Kallikantzaroi try to chop the thing down and end existence itself.
Each year they nearly get there, but that’s when Christmas Day arrives, and they’re allowed to roam the mortal realm with all the other demons and witch folk. They get so distracted doing mischief on the surface that they leave the Tree of Life alone until January 6th. By that point, the tree has healed itself, and the Kallikantzaroi must start all over again.
Such is the life of a wicked little goblin man.
If you want to be rid of the Kallikantzaroi this season, you can either wait them out (January 6th is almost over) or, as the comic says, toss a bunch of sausages and donuts on your roof. The idea is, they’ll be distracted by the food and forget to slip down the chimney to wreck your place. In some regions, sausages and meats were strung up inside the fireplace instead of thrown up on the roof.
Another rumor says that if you place a colander outside your door, the Kallikantzaroi will stop to count the holes in it. But, because three is a holy number, they have to stop at two each time and so lose count over and over again. Some stories say that they’re just so stupid that they can’t count all the holes and get stuck until morning.
In my research, I couldn’t find the original sources that linked the colander to the Kallikantzaroi, so it’s a little uncertain whether it’s actually part of Kallikantzaros lore. Still, using a colander to ward off wicked beings is a fairly common old wive’s tale, so it may turn out to be true for the Kallikantzaroi as well.
You’ll have to try it out and let me know if it works.
Despite being so very wicked, I have a bit of a soft spot for these nasty little goblin men. If your house is anything like mine, these past few weeks have probably felt like living in a house overrun with hordes of Kallikantzaroi—my little goblins have been staying up too late, wolfing down all the leftover ham, and tossing up the house like a chef salad. It’s all I can do to keep myself from throwing a pile of donuts on the roof and letting them have at it until the rooster crows.
The messy chaos of it is delightful and exhausting and so very real. There’s too much food and mess and tears and driving—and somehow, not enough of it all. I wonder if this is how it’ll always feel during the holidays, or if this is just what being in the sticky middles of parenthood feels like.
I wonder if you can relate, you out there. ❤️
I hope you enjoyed reading a few new festive comics this year, as well as the Christmas Demons book, for those of you who’ve bought it. I’ve been blown away by the positive response to the book—it’s been such a delight to hear about you sharing these stories with your families. I hope to have another collection out before next season, so let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see included.
Speaking of sharing, before I go, I want to mention an awesome opportunity to win some free stuff this week. It’s my dear friend Ashmae’s birthday and she’s running an incredible giveaway over on instagram. A signed copy of my book and some Haunted Librarian stickers are in the mix, plus some amazing activity books, a hilarious adult coloring book about dirty birds, some all-natural salve and skincare, and (star of star prizes) free entry into Ashmae’s extremely popular writing course, Mine to Tell.
If you know me in real life, you know that the folks who make all these wonderful things are dear friends of mine—it’s such a gift to be included alongside them in Ashmae’s giveaway, and winning all this would seriously make your entire year. Every single thing is made with love, so hurry and enter before January 12th to get a chance at it.
I hope you’re recovering well from the excesses of the holidays, and that your resolutions are both daring and wicked, and that your new year is stuffed with all the best things—like a fat Christmas sausage. You made 2022 the best year yet—I’m so glad we’re going into 2023 together, come what may.
In wickedness and health,
👹Becca Lee, Haunted Librarian👹
Love this new demon!!