Scary-looking demons, called Krampus, take over the Bavarian village of Kiefersfelden during an annual rite in southern Germany. According to central European folkloric traditions, the demons visit children on 5 December, the night ahead of Saint Nicholas Day, to punish those who have been badly behaved, beating them with birch rods. Wearing a frightening Krampus mask during a parade, Daniel reassures, "We take off the masks, and then the children are no longer afraid. And sometimes we hand out chocolate, and then things are fine again." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES