Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “You Better Watch Out,” a look at terrifying holiday folklore around the world, with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University and co-founder of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.

Today, the December holidays are all about joyous magic, warm evenings curled by the fire, and celebrations of the good in the world. Traditionally, however, the winter season also ushers in the terrors of the dark and the cold, teaching us to bar doors, whisper warnings, and, above all, to be “good for goodness’ sake.”

While many are now familiar with the holiday terror of the Krampus, this talk will explore a few less familiar, but no less frightening, folkloric characters of the season.

You'll hear tales of the Icelandic Jólakötturinn, a gigantic cat that devours naughty children, and learn how to best the Welsh Mari Lwyd, a skeletal horse with a taste for song and poetry. You'll get to know the Eastern European Christmas witch Frau Perchta and trace the history of the sometimes mischievous, sometimes terrifying Yule Lads and their monstrous mother, Grýla.

Join Brittany Warman as she explores the scarier holiday traditions around the world. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A statue in Iceland depicts the troll Grýla next to the pot in which she prepares her meals of naughty children.