Christmas isn't all jingle bells and jolly old St. Nick.
There are darker and creepier figures we need to mention, and they don't come from the North Pole.
Many of these scary figures hail from pre-Christian traditions and folklore and have become enveloped in Christmas over time.
Where Santa is about rewarding well-behaved children, some of these entities are focused on the naughty list.
If threatening your kids about Santa won't get them to behave, perhaps a story about an ogre coming to cook them in a stew will.
Of course, not all these horrific holiday figures are evil.
Some are more mischievous and benevolent, despite their more-appropriate-for-Halloween appearances.
Still, if your kid cries upon meeting Santa, maybe don't tell them about the Krampus.
1. Belsnickel. "Bels" roughly translates as "fur" in German and nickel here refers to jolly old St. Nikolas, so Belsnickel is St. Nick in furs or pelts. And this figure from German folklore does indeed dole out the occasional gift like Santa Claus. He even carries a sack filled with candy and nuts for good little children.
That, however, is where the similarities end. Instead of a nice coat, Belsnickel's furs are grimy, or sometimes just outright dirty.
And while St. Nick will just leave a lump of coal for naughty children, Belsnickel will whip them on their backs with a switch.
2. La Befana. Just because someone is scary-looking doesn't mean they always are.
La Befana may look like a hag, but this Italian witch is not a creature of Halloween.
She is actually associated with the Epiphany, a post-Christmas observance that celebrates the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem.
Exhausted on the eve of their arrival in Bethlehem, she threw herself under a tree and a branch from that tree became a magical broomstick that allowed her to fly, looking for the baby Jesus.
Today, the Befana appears during and just before Epiphany events, giving treats and small gifts to good children, or leaving the gifts at their houses, much like Santa Claus.
3. Grýla. Of course, not all witches that appear at this time of year are good witches. Grýla hails from Icelandic folklore and is more interested in eating children than giving them things to eat.
Come Christmas time, Grýla is said to come down from her mountain and seek out naughty children.
She gathers them up in a sack and carries them back to her mountain in order to make them into a stew.
While the Befana is often a kind-looking witch, Grýla is truly a hideous-looking one, with horns on her head, many tails and a very large, wart-covered nose. This is one Christmastime visitor you don't want to see.
4. Krampus. Perhaps the best known of scary Christmas figures is the Krampus. This creature hails from central European traditions.
Though the exact origins are muddled, scholars agree Krampus dates back to a pre-Christian time.
The name derives from the German word "krampen," which means "claw."
An appropriate name given that Krampus is often a demonic-looking figure with claws, horns and a very long tongue. Like Grýla, the Krampus hauls off naughty children in a sack to use later as food.
People celebrate Krampus with festivals before Christmas, dressing up as scary figures as a way to balance the now very sweet traditions of Christmas.
"The Krampus is the yin to St. Nick's yang," Jeremy Seghers, organizer of the first Krampusnacht festival in Orlando, Florida, told Smithsonian Magazine in 2015. "You have the saint, you have the devil.
It taps into a subconscious macabre desire that a lot of people have that is the opposite of the saccharine Christmas a lot of us grew up with."
This not-so-festive feline towers over houses, peeking in to see if children have gotten new clothes since last Christmas or for the holiday this year.
If they did, it was safe and the cat would move on to the next house.
If not, the child would be gobbled up (provided Grýla didn't get there first, we suppose). So the next time you're bummed about getting socks for Christmas, just think that they helped to protect you from the yule cat.
6. Mari Lwyd. As if you weren't scared enough, here comes a Welsh skeletal horse spirit. Mari Lwyd, or Y Fari Lwyd in Welsh, is a custom in which revelers will visit your home while carrying a horse skull that's been decked during the holidays with ribbon, bells and a sheet to give the whole affair a ghostly appearance.
The Mari Lwyd troupe will engage the owner in a battle of verses and insults.
If the troupe has the cleverest rhymes, they're allowed in for drinks and food while Mari Lwyd will scare away anything unwanted from the year. (Even if the owner wins the verse battle, they still let in the troupe for this reason.)
Like many of the creatures on the list, Mari Lwyd's origins are lost, though there's a long history of white horses in British folklore, with horses themselves representing power.
