This guy tho👇
Hans Trapp🌾🧟♂️
Hans Trapp is a fearsome scarecrow figure from Alsatian folklore (France/Germany), a shadowy companion to St. Nicholas who appears at Christmas to punish naughty children.
Unlike jolly saints and glowing angels, Hans Trapp stalks the season in silence, watching, waiting.
🪶 The Man Behind the Monster
Hans Trapp is rooted in a real historical figure: Hans von Trotha, a powerful German knight in the late 1400s. Known for his cruelty and defiance, he feuded with a monastery, dammed a river to flood an entire town, and openly challenged the Pope.
His actions led to excommunication and being declared an outlaw by Emperor Maximilian I. Though he later died of natural causes and had charges dropped after death, the damage to his reputation had already taken root.
From Knight to Nightmare
After his death, folklore transformed Hans von Trotha into Hans Trapp; a cursed Black Knight doomed to wander.
Stories claim he made deals with the Devil, withdrew into the forest, and became obsessed with human flesh.
In the most chilling tale, he captures a young boy, prepares to eat him, and is struck dead by lightning as divine punishment.
The Christmas Boogeyman
Hans Trapp now returns each Christmas as a scarecrow-like specter, with a white beard and hollow gaze.
In places like Wissembourg, France, he still appears in parades alongside the Christkindl, armed with fire, cages, and fear. reminding children that not all holiday visitors bring gifts.
Stay close and see who’s next👀
Jen🌙
xoxo
📷 Photo Credit: @v.khrustaleva_art