#perchten

[palaeoplushies]

Perchten... in JULY??? This mossy reindeer friend has turned up very early, or very late.

They're currently looking for a home over on my website: https://www.palaeoplushies.com/shop/perchten

This plush was constructed from a (not public) pattern by @barksbog, with modified legs by me. Bark also kindly embroidered the face and paw pads for me, and I'm selling this plush with permission!

[theatrum-tenebrarum]

As we're moving away from the dark seasons, in the period where spring is only just preparing for its first steps, I created this journal entry on the Krampus and the Perchten, famous Alpine winter spirits.

It's a compilation of text excerpts from scientific articles and printed photos/stickers, arranged in a way that reminds me of zines. I've always wanted to create zines on folklore, cryptozoology, mysteries and similar topics so maybe it does happen someday 😁.

[lunegrimm]

It's winter solstice today

The ibex is an ancient solar symbol of the winter seasons across many different cultures, since thier mating season is usually starts around December. In case you wondered why so so many winter or demonic folkore figures have goat like features

[dendrilart]

This is a Schnabelperchten, an entity local to the Rauris Valley in Austria. They’re similar to Perchten, serving as motivators for good behavior. In the Schnabelperchten’s case, they come to check you’ve kept your home tidy. If it’s not, they have huge shears to enact their punishment and cut open your stomach to ‘clean’ you out! ✂️🧹💨

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[bekkathyst]

A quick look at some of the Perchten! I will edit all my videos tomorrow so this is just a quick look ❄️

[bowelfly]

season's greetings

[zal-cryptid]

what did krampus look like as a baba/child

[blamensir]

schnabelperchten again

[nocnitsa]

Morgan Silk

via

[schweizercomics]

Companions of Christmas 9: Perchta and Holda!

This pair of magical sisters have been in Germany since ancient days; Perchta (left, in both images) in the north, Holda (right in both), the south. The first spinners, they taught people how to make thread and yarn, an art they still consider their purview. Every year on Christmas eve, they visit the homes of fellow spinners to bestow a blessing: wishing to reward industry and productivity, they will grant as many months of good luck as there are threads on the spindle. BUT they return twelve days later, on Epiphany, leading bands of wild Perchten, and will inspect those same spindles. Should a spinner have failed to be industrious, the sisters will, instead of a granting a blessing, lay down a curse: as many months of bad luck as there are unused threads remaining on the spindle. Though as old as Christmas itself, the sisters have the ability to appear young (and beautiful), but never at the same time. Even though both yearn to take romantic partners, they can only do so on the three Thursdays preceding Christmas, and as neither is willing to let the other have a monopoly on youth for whole night, this virtually always leads to the prospective partner seeing their paramour’s true form before anything goes much farther than mistletoeing. So, if you're in Germany during Advent and find yourself captivated by the attentions of a lovely young woman, be sure to check if her right foot is splayed like a swan’s from centuries of pedaling a spinning wheel (that’s Perchta!) or if she has an iron nose (that’s Holda!). Contrary to common belief, the sickle that Holda carries isn’t a weapon to used against kids whose rooms have been left untidy. It is, instead, a symbol of the sisters' dominion over the Perchten. The Perchten are a retinue of wild creatures, child ghosts, and those romantic conquests unlucky enough to have failed to recognize the sisters for who they really were, driven mad by their trysts and bound in their service. The two sisters frequently run afoul of the Clauses. Whereas Santa reforms the shaggy wild beast-men that roam the Alpine region (like our friend the Krampus), the sisters subjugate them, and in her annual attempts to protect the more meek hidden creatures of the world from being the targets of the Wild Hunt, Mrs. Claus often finds herself up against the sisters, who are regular participants and sometimes leaders of the terrible fray, and all three bear the scars of these sometimes ferocious encounters.

[palaeoplushies]

The Perchten has been reduced again from £350 to £280 and now to £250! Available here! I post world-wide, with free shipping in the UK. This one had a lot of work and effort put into them, I just really would like them to find a new home soon!!

[tinyflything]

Today was Perchtenlauf in our little town ✨ the BEST austrian christmas tradition~ (you may know them as Krampus)

[orderofthejackolantern]

Have you heard of the Perchten?

In the alpine regions of Eastern Europe, terror is very much alive throughout the winter season. However, during the Twelve Nights of Christmas, a witch and her minions (children? Cohorts?) wreak havoc through villages. The Perchten, led by Frau Perchta, are very similar to Krampus, and may be the origin of our beloved Holiday Devil.

Some villages hold parades and processions in costumes of these wicked creatures, called Perchtenlaufen! And it does indeed look like a ghoulishly good time!

We wish the Perchten well in their mischief! May they bring good holiday fear to all! 👹🎄❄️

[mydollcave]

The Percht

Perchten are creatures in Austrian and Bavarian (among others) folklore. They roam from December to January and rattle with bells and chains to cast out the evil spirits of winter. They are not the same as Krampus! But in my experience there is a lot of overlap visually.

I am beyond excited about how this guy came out. Started a year ago and he was chilling as a wip for a long time but now i've finished him just in time. Mask and horns are air dry clay, hair is a mix of doll hair (underneath) and yarn wefts on top and for the beard. i kept the sneakers from the base doll (a jimin bts doll lol) and just painted them because this is not really an animal spirit creature - it's a guy in a costume :P

more pics and details under the cut

wire in the tail for posing; hands painted and claws added, they kinda get lost in the big sleeves tho haha

perchten masks usually have horns from real animals, often ibex, which was the reference for these

[bekkathyst]

Perchtenlauf - Unterach am Attersee 2023

[lunarmaruna]