This book has been a labor of love for the last decade. It is driven by my love of many things -- most importantly Christmas, but also my love of legend, myth, and folklore. Our modern Christmas is a fine time, but sometimes I think the most interesting elements have been lost to the past in our rush to make Christmas paletable to everyone, everywhere. The Christmas Men, then, is my way to bring some of those old ideas back, and to do so in a way that plays to legend and folklore and the way traditions change with the times.


One element of this book will involve Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" whom has gained a measure of Internet popularity in recent years. Krampus is, in my story, one of the Christmas Men, but he is far from the only one; the dark and devilish companions of Santa Claus and St. Nicholas from across Europe make up the core of my dark Christmas horde. The one I find most interesting is Knecht Ruprecht, and it is in him I will be playing around with some other folkloric motifs, specifically the tale of the Trickster figure.


Hope you enjoy it.