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SALEM, Mass. — Leave it to the Witch City — known for its monthslong celebration of Halloween — to find the dark side of Christmas. After all, Krampusnacht dovetails well with Salem’s infamous past, its witchcraft and spooky attractions.

Introduced locally in 2009, Krampusnacht taps the holiday tradition of Klagenfurt, Austria. According to tradition, on Dec. 5, Santa’s “evil” assistant called “Krampus” hosted parades in the streets, looking for children who have been naughty, not nice. Legend has it that the Krampus may beat children who had been bad with a stick and then stuff them into a sack or a basket.

This year, on Saturday, Dec. 2, the Krampusnacht Parade will traipse a parade route from Salem Ink to co-host Notch Brewing’s 283R Derby St., location.

Parade enthusiasts will join together for the Holiday Horrors art show reception at Salem Ink, 201 Derby St., at 7 p.m. From there, at a designated time, the Krampus will parade down Derby Street and end up at Notch Brewing for merriment and event vendors.

The Salem Krampusnacht is sponsored by the gothic-techno nightclub Darq Salem, Notch Brewing and Matt Richard, DJ and creator at Darq Salem.

In 2009, the owners of Fool’s Mansion in Salem introduced Krampus to the local “goth/industrial/alternative” crowd in Salem, with an annual art show and Krampusnacht party.

When they left Salem, DARQ continued the celebration, by arranging a night of live music, and eventually a small Krampuslauf, or small “pub crawl” with a few establishments joining the fun. Salem Ink adopted the art show and has held it annually throughout the month of December.

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