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Folklore

a person wearing a costume of horns, fangs and fur, carries a woman over their shoulder

Is Christmas demon Krampus losing his edge?

Krampus, St. Nicholas’ scary sidekick, is as popular as ever. But some say he’s been tamed for a modern audience.

Nick Spitzer on Artistic Places

Arts, Culture & Media
Joanna Ebenstein, founder of Morbid Anatomy, in a Krampus mask.

Meet Krampus, the guy who really gets you if you’re naughty

Arts, Culture & Media

Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel gets superhero upgrade

Arts, Culture & Media

Cryptozoologist explains his studies of mysterious creatures — like the Loch Ness Monster

Environment

Track Santa as he moves across the world

It’s Christmas Eve and across the world, some are waiting for Santa’s arrival. NORAD is tracking his movements so good little boys and girls know when they need to go to bed.

Halloween science

Environment

Spine-tingling chills, haunted houses, vampires and werewolves — exploring the science behind scary stuff, and debunking some myths.

Design for the Real World: Santa

Arts, Culture & Media

Design guru Steven Heller explains how Father Christmas became branded as a jolly bearded old man in a red suit.

The World

The Village of the Mermaids

In 1942, the Surrealist painter Paul Delvaux painted a seaside fantasy scene called The Village of the Mermaids.   The foreground shows several women sitting soberly along a small village street; in the distance, along the beach, there’s a surprise.  Judith Kampfner  went into the vaults of the Art Institute of Chicago to see Delvaux’s painting and discuss […]

New Movie Releases: ’21 and Over,’ ‘Jack the Giant Slayer,’ ‘Phantom’

This weekend, three very different movies hit the big screen: “21 and Over” is the latest offering from the writers of “The Hangover.” “Jack the Giant Slayer” is  a modern-retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” And “Phantom” is a Cold War thriller. The Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in. In addition to […]