The legend of Swampus begins many, many years ago in a small village nestled in the Alps where there lived a small boy named Fritz Schütz. Now, Fritz was not a normal boy. He was naughty. Far more than any other child from his village, Fritz had a knack for causing mayhem and testing the patience of adults. Among all the young holy terrors who faced Krampus each year for their deeds and behavior, Fritz stood out as the naughtiest of the naughty over many years. He drew Krampus’s ire as no other child could and topped the list for earning harshest of punishments each year. As every Krampusnacht grew nearer, Krampus looked forward to the opportunity to finally punish Fritz. Year after year, Krampus vowed he would one day meet little Fritz and punish him once and for all. And year after year, the boy grew faster and wiser, always able to avoid the wrath of Krampus.

Yet, it wasn’t to be. You see before Krampus could get his claws on Fritz, the Shütz family packed up and immigrated to Louisiana. Safe for now in his new land, Fritz continued in his devilish ways far from the reach of Krampus.

Finally, after years of missed opportunity, Krampus knew this was his chance. He learned of a ship that was traveling to the port of New Orleans and all he had to do was find a way to stowaway on that ship and little Fritz would be his. With the help of the other Krampuses of the region, Krampus was able to make the journey undiscovered and landed safely in the darkness of the night here in New Orleans.

The legend says that Krampus has been working on that plan and waiting patiently for his fateful moment. All those years of hiding in the hot, wet swamp have physically changed Krampus. His Alpine fur had greyed over time and thinned to adapt to the heat. Out of necessity, his features evolved to resemble local creatures. He shed his ibex horns and grew swamp deer antlers, and now his tongue forks like water moccasins in the bayou. And his eyes now glow like a reptile on the hunt. To local folk in his new stomping grounds, he is known as Swampus.

As Swampus plotted, planned and evolved, his resolve to unearth his wrath on Fritz grew strengthened with each passing year. With such an exclusive focus on Fritz, Swampus knew he needed reinforcements so that he wouldn’t be outnumbered when the right Krampusnacht arrived. So put the call out to all creatures of the dark to assist him. No one knows exactly how long Swampus and his band of fiendish friends have been hiding in the shadows conspiring to unleash a night of unrelenting and unforgettable punishment on all the naughty children of south Louisiana. But there are rumors that every Halloween, Swampus and his band of creatures will emerge from the swamp and into the streets of New Orleans to punish Fritz and all the naughty that dare to step out that night.

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Look for the number of Swampus creatures to grow as Swampus Returns October 5, 2024!