You may have heard of Krampus as the goat-headed goblin from Alpine folklore. Every Dec. 5, he and his counterpart, Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), ride the skies together visiting children all over the world.
This night is known as Krampusnacht. Krampus plays fiendish tricks on naughty kids in the dark, but on the morning of Dec. 6, good little children wake to find coins in their shoes left by Saint Nick.
To celebrate this haunting tradition, the Storytellers of Appalachia Book Club is hosting a local dark fantasy/horror author book fair 1 to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at Conquest Books, 323 15th Street in Ashland.
This event is an opportunity to find the perfect book for the gremlin on your holiday shopping list, while supporting local authors and a local bookstore.
The lineup includes:
1-3 p.m. Gwen Alyce Clayton, an Ashland-based paranormal fiction writer whose books center around a haunted winery. Krampus is a character featured in her second book, Zinfandel’s Grimoire.
3-5 p.m. Charles D. Romans, author of Shadows, a collection of dark stories in the genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Romans also hosts the podcast, Shadows of Legend.
5-7 p.m. Edwin Talmadge Callihan, a Flatwoods native and owner of Conquest Books. He is also the co-creator of the underground horror magazine, Gravely Unusual, and contributor to several horror anthologies and magazines.
Follow the Storytellers of Appalachia Book Club on Facebook for updates. The group meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Conquest Books. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8 and will discuss the book, “Mumblings” by West Virginia author Caitlyn Pace. The public is welcome.
Gwen Alyce Clayton 