Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline stands in front of the display window at The Studio, owned by Grayling Cunningham on Lisbon Street in downtown Lewiston. In the background, middle, is Krampus, a horned anthropomorphic figure who, in Central and Eastern Alpine folklore tradition, is said to accompany Saint Nicholas on visits to children before the Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Who is the infamous half-goat, half-demon folklore figure known for scaring children into behaving?

If you were thinking the answer was Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, you’d be wrong. But, judging from some online reaction to Sheline’s  promotion of a holiday “Krampus” event this weekend at a downtown bookstore, the mayor might as well be his right-hand man.

On Dec. 1, when Sheline posted a photo of the horned Krampus — wide-eyed with a long tongue hanging out — to the popular Lewiston Rocks community Facebook page, it was met with some unexpected outcry. “Pure evil,” “disgusting,” and “disturbing” were just some of the reactions.

One commenter, Debbie Chabot, said Sheline’s post was “promoting evil,” and that he should be ashamed of himself. Another, from Kathy White, said the event is “a horrible idea for the children.”

Dottie Perham-Whittier, the former longtime communications manager for Lewiston, also weighed in, stating that the event “seems very contrary” to the idea of Christmas to promote “a scary-faced Krampus who represents punishing bad children.”

Some of the feedback became so heated that the moderator of the page turned off commenting, and deleted a select few. Thankfully the comment “I can take a picture with my sister anytime” made the cut.

On the flip side, however, some said the “Holiday Photos with Krampus” event at Quiet City Books, taking place this Saturday, is their “favorite event of the year” — a fun alternative to the traditional visits and photos with Santa Claus.

Krampus, after all, is simply a mythical creature originating from Alpine European countries that dates back centuries, and despite his horns, he has no ties to Satan or devil worship.

According to regional folklore, he’s been the bad cop to Santa’s good cop. Krampus supposedly accompanies Saint Nicholas on visits to children during the night of Dec. 5, on the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas, where as Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with gifts, Krampus punishes badly behaved ones. Think of a medieval version of “elf on the shelf.”

In countries like Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovakia, parades and celebrations on Dec. 5, or Krampusnacht, are immensely popular, and that popularity has increasingly made its way to America via pop culture. One commenter on the Lewiston Rocks post said they are trying to organize a Krampus parade next year.

Courtney Haven, owner of Quiet City Books, said some of the online reaction to the event has been “silly” and that “no one is required to come.” But she said this is the third annual event for a reason: People love it.

“Enough people understand it and have fun with it that I keep doing it,” she said, adding that Krampus is part of Christmas lore.

Frances Flanagan, 10, center, and her sister, Maira, 7, consider having a photograph taken Dec. 4, 2023, with Krampus at Quiet City Books at 124 Lisbon St. in Lewiston. Krampus is part of German and Austrian folklore and is known to assist Santa Claus during the Christmas season by scaring children who have been misbehaving. The sisters, who said they were being good, posed fearlessly with Krampus, who was portrayed by Adam Schlachter. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Haven said the first year they held the event, in 2022, the response blew her away. Some people come in dressed in formal attire, and use the photos as their family Christmas cards. People bring kids, some of whom really have fun with it. She said last year one girl had photos taken in several different poses, including one in which she was scaring Krampus.

“Expressing creativity and imagination is part of the whole bookstore thing, and this is just another way to express that,” she said.

Another commenter on Lewiston Rocks, going by the name of Mulysa Mayhem, said Krampus parades in Europe are “fabulous.”

“European children don’t get freaked out because they understand the folklore and the tie into the story of St. Nicholas,” she said. “In fact, many times Krampus throws candy to the children. Why are people here so scared of a mythological/folkoric character? Krampus is fun!”

When reached this week, Sheline said — as he often does — that he’s simply trying to help promote a downtown business.

“There seems to be a lot of angst over this German Christmas character when less than two months ago every kid in town was dressed up as something scary,” he said.

On Halloween, Sheline dressed up like a member of the band KISS, which was also met with some negative reaction online. Maybe some people just don’t like the big tongue thing?

“There are multiple opportunities to get your photo with Santa, but as far as I know, Quiet City Books will be the only place in Maine where you can get your picture taken with Krampus,” he said. “I hope to see everyone there.”

The Krampus event, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., takes place during Lewiston’s “Holiday at the Plaza” event down the street at Dufresne Plaza, which includes live reindeer, photos with Santa, wagon and horse rides, ice skating and more.