Krampus: The Yule Lord

“Terrific. A wild ride….I loved it. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down.”
—Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy

"Brom is that rare breed: a person who is skilled in more than one area of artistic expression. Here's hoping that he will continue to share his dark and often beautiful dreams with us for many years to come." --Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon

Acclaimed author and artist Brom raised eyebrows and pulse rates with The Child Thief, his grim, brilliantly audacious, gorgeously illustrated reimagining of the Peter Pan legend. So what does this innovative fantasist do for an encore? He tinkers darkly with the beloved mythology of Santa Claus.

Set in Appalachia, Krampus the Yule Lord is a twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon. Krampus the Yule Lord is Gregory Maguire (Wicked) meets Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) in the realm of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, as Clive Barker (Mr. B. Gone) works his dark sorcery from the shadows. Once again featuring Brom’s chillingly beautiful artwork throughout, Krampus the Yule Lord is a feast of wonder straight from the kitchen of Sweeney Todd.

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Published Oct 27, 2015

381 pages

Average rating: 7.44

113 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

oh_let3
May 16, 2023
8/10 stars
part holiday horror, part appalachian gothic. lots of fun
Jonathan Willis
Jan 13, 2026
8/10 stars
What a fun story that ties the Santa Claus and Krampus mythos together in an interesting way! I was surprised that I liked Krampus quite a bit in this story. Santa was cool too and the ties into the old Norse mythology were so well done that I could totally see it being that way. I enjoyed Jesse as a main character more than I expected after first meeting him and dug Krampus’ belsnickels a lot! Overall definitely a fun read!
ragepaige93
Mar 10, 2025
9/10 stars
This was perfect for the holiday season! I enjoyed the plot and the characters. Very emotional, deep, and action-packed.
Summer1108
Jan 22, 2025
6/10 stars
Meh...I think my hopes were higher because of Slew foot. I will say the pace was excellent and I was invested. I think it just fell short for me, I was hoping for a more complex lore heavy Krampus story (not just a weird Krampus monologue while someone dies).
Breeni
Jan 05, 2025
10/10 stars
Another great tale from an author who's quickly become one of my favorites. This fun, yet thought-provoking take on ancient lore and the gray areas that lie beneath our perceptions of good and evil brings us a bit of holiday horror and a lot of room for reflection. It's the perfect time of year for this read and as someone who's grown to despise the holidays as beacons of unconstrained consumerism, I love the idea of embracing Krampus traditions.

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