Legend of the Christmas Scarecrow 😱 For as long as there has been a jolly old Saint Nick providing gifts for well-behaved children, there has been someone–or something—else filling the role of his counterpart: punishing the naughty ones. These fearsome figures range from the iconic horned Krampus to Perchta, the shape-shifting Christmas witch who fills disobedient children’s bellies with straw. The terrifying Hans Trapp is possibly the worst of all, though. One story, in particular, describes an instance in which he stabbed a child, sliced him into tiny pieces, and cooked and ate his flesh! The legend of the Christmas scarecrow is well known in the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine. Hans Trapp, according to the story, lived in the 1400s; a rich, powerful, and merciless man who was feared by the people of Alsace. His thirst for power was so great that he turned to deals with the Devil to enhance his power and status. Hearing of this, the Pope himself excommunicated Trapp, after which he was banished from Alsace and his wealth and lands confiscated. All of which is nothing compared to what came next! Trapp was reduced to constructing a makeshift home in the mountains of Bavaria in Germany, and the legend goes on. Here, he continued to brood and his evil desires festered. He developed a hankering to try the taste of human flesh. Finally, he became the dreaded Christmas scarecrow: adorned in straw as a disguise, he waited on lonely roads for a victim. A boy aged around ten happened across his path one day, and Trapp stabbed the unfortunate shepherd’s boy with a vicious sharp stick. With the body safely back at his lair, Trapp sliced it into pieces and roasted it, but before he could eat, he was struck by a divine lightning bolt and killed. Today, naughty children are warned that Hans Trapp’s spirit lingers on and that he may visit them in his scarecrow disguise if they don’t mend their ways. A popular boogeyman and a frightening tall tale, you may think, …
Today, naughty children are warned that Hans Trapp’s spirit lingers on and that he may visit them in his scarecrow disguise if they don’t mend their ways.
#HansTrapp #Christmas #ChristmasScarecrow
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