Hallein gets ready for Halloween?

With nothing but a very lazy Saturday ahead of me, I decided to hop on a train and head to Hallein to see what I could find. I had forgotten that this weekend the Krampusausstellung would be on display. Now, if you know me, then you probably know that I love Halloween.


See, that's me loving Halloween, or rather, me being upset that Austrians don't seem to love Halloween, nor really understand what it is, sadly. Anyway, though I love Halloween, I unfortunately scare very easily. Reading Bram Stoker's Dracula has caused me more than my fair share of nightmares this week, though I won't give it up. Dracula, however, is nothing compared to Krampus. Now there's a being that's really effing terrifying.


At the Krampusausstellung, they had over 600 of these little beasties on display to scare the bejeebus out of every little kid, and a few big kids, too. But like I said, Austrians don't really do Halloween. So why here, why now with all the scary and the creepy and the horns and the fangs? Well, if you know Alpine folklore, you already know the answer. Krampus is associated with a holiday, but no, not Halloween. Krampus's holiday, rather, is Christmas. Yes, Christmas. You see, in mid-continental Europe, bad little children don't get coal in their stockings to let them know Santa has been paying attention. Instead, St. Nicholas sends his goons, a.k.a. a "Pass" of Krampuses, to beat the bad little children with a fist full of branches. This is apparently what Krampus looks like in the farm willage I'm living in, Kuchl. I best be good this year.


This next one, however, was the Krampus I found most terrifying. I think it's the fact that he was one of the few without eyes, since his teeth and horns were by no means the largest or sharpest. It really robs him of any humanity, or any perceivable life (as opposed to death), that a Krampus may otherwise have. Not to mention the fact that the skin had been partly ripped away from his face. Really, if the Austrians wanted to Halloween well, they easily could.


I had to wash those images out of my mind, so I headed off to take pictures of my second two schools. This one is a Gymnasium. Of all Austrian schools, I think a Gymnasium is most like an American high school. It doesn't specialize in a specific vocation or area of interest, and every student who walks through its doors will have the chance to go to college (some schools, usually vocational schools, do not prepare students for the Matura, and without the Matura, an Austrian can't go to college). This is also the largest school I work at with about 700 students. I don't think I'll ever learn any of their names.


This is the third school I work at. It's a fashion design and marketing school - yes, one of the vocational schools in Austria. About half the students will take the Matura, and the other half won't. They have classes on sketching and design, also on the history of fashion. But no, the students, and the teachers, do not have noticeably better fashion than at the other two schools. You'd expect it, though, wouldn't you? It's also the smallest school I work at with about 200 students, and only 5 of them are male. Ha. Maybe I'll be able to learn their names.

This school also happens to be a Catholic school, so every morning they begin the first lesson with a prayer. I was told not all the students are Catholic and that not all are Christian, but I haven't noticed anyone skipping out on the morning prayer. I join in, too, though I haven't been Catholic for years. Since I never got baptized anything else, though, I think if you held a black light up to my forehead, you could still find a Catholic stamp there. Maybe saying the prayer will help keep the Krampuses away. After all, he is pals with St. Nicholas, and the old-school Catholics sure do love their saints.