It’s only a little less than a week until Halloween, and I thought I could bring you all along on a journey through scary legends and monstrous folklore creatures hailing from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. As you might know, many of the countries in continental Europe don’t have their own Halloween tradition— or at least, not in the way the United States and other English-speaking countries do. Pretty much all we know about Halloween — the jack o’ lanterns and the trick or treating and the dressing up — we have imported straight from America.
However, that doesn’t make that the days between the end of October and the start of November are completely devoid of meaning. A good chunk of the Christian confessions throughout Western Europe — Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican, for example — celebrate All Saint’s Day on November 1st, with families getting together to remember their loved ones who passed away and visit the places where they’re buried.
And also, the fact that Halloween isn’t exactly a local tradition doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy a good scare as the days get shorter and the weather chillier. Sometimes a good thrill is exactly what you need. And European folklore definitely delivers in terms of monsters, witches and similar unnerving stories—so here are the six scariest from my home country, Italy.
The Babau, from all over Italy
The babau, also spelt as babao or baubau, is pretty much the Italian version of the boogeyman—in fact, that’s how the character is called in the Italian dub of Nightmare Before Christmas. This mysterious creature is generally identified as a terrifying monster without a defined shape or particular look. It could be humanoid but it could also very well be an animal since its name could come from the onomatopoeia mimicking a dog’s barking in the Italian language. In case you’re wondering, in Italian dogs say “bau” instead of “woof.”
The babau has become such an omnipresent figure of Italian folklore that it appears pretty much throughout Italy to scare children into being good—with the recurring (but by now a bit old time-y) threat being that “I’ll call the babau if you misbehave!”
The Krampus, from Trentino-Alto Adige
Common throughout the entire Eastern Alpine region — so you’ll find some variation of it in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Germany as well — the Krampus is definitely one of the most terrifying figures that Italian folklore has to offer. It might surprise you to know that it’s actually more tied to Christmas than it is to Halloween, but indeed the Krampus comes out to roam the streets once December rolls around.
According to legend, the Krampus was a demon that bishop Saint Nicholas was able to defeat. Because of that, the demon is now doomed to serve the saint and accompany him wherever he goes. That means that the Krampus arrives in town around the celebration in honor of Saint Nicholas — at the beginning of December — and hunts for misbehaving children.
It’s a good thing most people believe that it’s Santa Claus the one making the rounds around Christmas— at least he only delivers coals to those on his naughty list rather than sending a monstrous half-man half-goat after you to punish you for your evil deeds.
The Gata Carogna, from Lombardy
The gata carogna looks like a massive red she-cat, with shaggy fur and eyes filled with anger— according to the folklore of the Northern Italian region of Lombardy, it stalks through the cities of the provinces of Bergamo and Cremona to attack children and steal their soul. If by now you’re starting to guess that most of these creatures are meant to keep children safe and indoors, well, you’re probably on the right path.
The Borda, from Emilia-Romagna
Hailing from the central region of Emilia-Romagna, the Borda is one of the many kinds of witch-like figures that populate Italy. The Borda in particular is known for her frightful appearance and for always wearing a blindfold. She appears once it’s dark or on foggy days around waterways and bogs, where she drags everyone who has the misfortune of passing by her.
Considering how one of the most defining features of that area of the Po Valley is exactly bogs and canals, you can see how the Borda came to be as the personification of the fear of these places—and once again, meant especially to keep children safe.
The Thyrus, from Umbria
There’s obviously a pretty decent number of various dragons and worms popping up throughout Italy— but none as terrible as the Thyrus, who was said to haunt the outskirts of the city of Terni, in the region of Umbria. Its most formidable weapon was his breath, so terrible that whoever inhaled it was definitely going to die within a few days.
The Thyrus was ultimately defeated by a brave young man from Terni, which actually has a green dragon on its official city emblem, as a reminder of what its people can do.
The Ammuntadore, from Sardinia
One of the two major islands off the shore of Italy, Sardinia is incredibly unique in many ways, from its dialect, which is an actual language completely separate from Italian, to its traditions. Among its many myths and legends, one of the most terrible is that of the Ammuntadore, a creature that overlaps in some ways with the Incubus and that has very likely originated from this Roman legend being passed on through the generations even after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Ammuntadore attacks its victims’ dreams, sitting on them as they sleep and filling their heads with anguish and nightmares. An Ammuntadore visit can end with the victim waking up troubled by what they have seen in their dreams—but in some of the most extreme cases, the weight of the Ammuntadore on the victim’s chest leads to their death by asphyxiation.
This is, obviously, just a small taste of the larger corpus of Italian folklore. Italy’s history makes its traditions incredibly diverse, often varying from town to town within the same region, so there’s definitely more to explore if you’re intrigued!
(source: Monster Movie Italia; image: Getty Images)
