‘The anti-Santa' Krampus to visit The Mariner theater in Marine City

Bryce Airgood, Port Huron Times Herald
·2 min read
Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic figure in Alpine folklore who scares misbehaving children during the Christmas season, will visit The Mariner theater in Marine City Dec. 3.
Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic figure in Alpine folklore who scares misbehaving children during the Christmas season, will visit The Mariner theater in Marine City Dec. 3.

While Santa Claus is making the rounds and making kids smile in the Blue Water Area this holiday season, someone a little darker will visit Marine City Friday, Dec. 3.

Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic figure in Alpine folklore who scares misbehaving children during the Christmas season, will visit The Mariner theater in Marine City Dec. 3.
Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic figure in Alpine folklore who scares misbehaving children during the Christmas season, will visit The Mariner theater in Marine City Dec. 3.

From 7 to 9 p.m. at The Mariner, people can visit Krampus, a horned, anthropomorphic figure in Alpine folklore who scares misbehaving children around Christmas.

“Krampus is kind of like the anti-Santa,” said Paul Merchant, owner of the theater's collectibles and hobby shop Black Guard Reserve.

Santa and Krampus visit children in December and while Santa rewards the well-behaved children with gifts like oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, Krampus hands out birch rod lashings as punishment to those who have misbehaved, according to The Mariner website.

Merchant said there won’t be any lashes at the event but Krampus will be handing out coal and taking photos with visitors.

The theater stage will be candlelit as people approach the creature and explain if they’ve been naughty or not. Krampus will decide if they’ve been “impish” and if so they might get coal, he said.

How can Krampus tell if someone has been naughty? If someone shows up to this event they’re basically setting themselves up for the impish part, Merchant said.

This is a free event and reservations aren’t required, but visiting Krampus is not recommended for children under 10, he said.

“He does have horns, so he is a little devilish in his looks,” Merchant said.

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He said he had the idea to invite Krampus to visit during Merrytime Christmas last year.

“I’m just trying to change things up a little bit,” he said.

Paul Merchant’s wife and owner of The Mariner, Laura Merchant, said the theater is excited to have Krampus visit with this “very out of the box” event.

“It’s just unusual,” she said. “We like unusual.”

People can contact The Mariner at (810) 765-5155 or mariner@fineartmodels.com.

Contact Bryce Airgood at (810) 989-6202 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

The Mariner theater in downtown Marine City.
The Mariner theater in downtown Marine City.

The Mariner Christmas events

Dec. 2

  • 4 to 5:30 p.m.: Pottery Nativity Scene with Virginia Bur

Dec. 3

  • 7 to 9 p.m.: Photos with Krampus

Dec. 4

  • 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Merrytime Christmas

  • 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Olivia Christmas Concert

  • Noon to 2 p.m. Santa at The Mariner theater

Dec. 11

  • 8 to 10 p.m. Christmas Music Trio

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: ‘The anti-Santa' Krampus to visit The Mariner theater in Marine City