Krampus

With the disclaimer that I don't live in Salzburg...I've seen Krampus many times on TV, and to double-check my impressions I've just watched 473 (approx) YouTube videos. My impression is - many of these videos, magazine articles, etc., use the term 'beatings' very loosely, as in 'beating' you with a wet noodle. Most of these gatherings require willing participants, as in you have to actually 'harrass' the Krampus to engage in any 'beating'. Not unlike heckling a comic - you have to volunteer yourself. The 'beatings' are conducted with a bunch of fanned-out twigs, like a very bad broom - more a visual deterrent and prop than pain-inducing. Like going to a 'haunted' house - fake scary. NOT roving maniacs on the loose, scouring the village for young maidens to beat. Of course, any time you have people in costume and a mob of people who feel anonymous, things can get out of control... Just tell her to avoid the crowds this weekend if she's still freaked out...Everything I've ever seen and read shows this to be a street performance-type event, and not a roving-down-the-streets-and-back-alleys-looking-for-victims type of experience. Anything else would be bad for tourism... Please, others who know more about the Krampus first-hand correct me if I'm wrong. "You better watch out, you better not cry..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqN5Lwsm6Q (if this doesn't work, just search "TKR 2008" on YouTube) This is the most 'vicious' video I came across... Another, much more representative, one is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogv22gDmRFQ (or, search for "Krampuslauf in St. Leonhard, Nov. 30, 2008" - just outside of Salzburg)

Thanks for the replies. Apparently the girls were led to believe that if the Krampus caught them out they could be hurt.
As in blood being drawn. And that it is no use to complain to anyone. Humorous, huh. Anyway, thanks again and the comment about tourism is very important.

Kathleen, I grew up in Austria and Krampus Day was one of my favorite events of the year. For children it's one of the days when St. Nicholaus brings you gifts. He is accompanied by Krampus who is ready to carry you to hell in his basket if you were bad. Seriously, that's the tale parents tell children. There were also Krampus groups out on the streets. If a Krampus saw you, he would try to chase you down and spank you with his bundle of willow switches. That made for a cat and mouse sort of game and it could be a lot of fun. But like many such things, it got out of hand and in larger cities, like Salzburg, people were actually beaten. Then the police stepped in, Krampus Posses became regulated, and now it's unlikely that anyone receives any kind of spanking or beating. Krampus Runs have become a spectacle. Folklorical groups prepare all year for them, and Krampus masks are becoming more and more artistically inspired. Dec. 5th is the traditional Krampus Day, but nowadays Krampus Runs are held as early as the end of November. Salzburg had at least one already, and I'm sure there are more to come. Tell your daughter not to worry too much and enjoy the season. Her friends are merely teasing her.