The Yule Cat is known for centuries as Christmas Folklore, known Iceland as Jólakötturinn.
With the festive holiday of Christmas comes a jolly cast of beloved icons. Santa Claus, Mrs Claus, The Elves, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer have all embedded themselves into Christmas folklore across the world.
But what not many people realize is that while Christmas is the most jolly and festive of all the holidays, that doesn’t make it immune to having its own roster of villains. What? Villains? On Christmas?
Whether you want to believe me or not, they exist and the villain we have in store is particularly morbid. This terrifying creature goes by the name of Jólakötturinn (Iceland Name) also simply known as the Yule Cat.
Jólakötturinn’s Origins
Jólakötturinn or Yule Cat first hit the Christmas folklore scene in 1862 when an Icelandic author by the name of Jon Arnason made the first collection of Icelandic folktales. So what’s so horrifying about a cat? Oh boy where do we start?
Yule Cat’s Frightening Appearance
Jólakötturinn on the surface has many similarities to your average house cat. It is covered in a sheet of black fur with yellow eyes and sharp black pupils. Elongated whiskers are at the front of the face and a long tail at the rear end. Pretty standard traits for any cat but that’s where the similarities end.
Jólakötturinn is an enormous feline the height and length of a one story building. Talk about a colossal growth spurt. Yule Cat’s claws and fangs are much larger than any other cat. The exact size of the claws hasn’t been confirmed by any source but it isn’t far-fetched to believe the claws could range anywhere from 8 to 12 inches.
The Yule cat probably doesn’t enjoy Christmas music. Or maybe I’m wrong and research its favorite songs.
Jólakötturinn’s Bizarre Obsession
Out of all the mythical creatures’ motivations for their actions, Yule Cat has one of the most puzzling motivations I’ve ever seen. Jólakötturinn will devour its victims but only under one extremely puzzling condition. It will only devour you if you don’t receive any clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.
Uh…..what? It’s a motivation so out of the blue. Seems pretty classist to me. Do human’s taste better if they didn’t change clothes before Christmas Eve? It’s believed that Yule Cat was a bribe for Icelandic parents to get their children in line. Good behavior rewards comfy Christmas clothes and poor behavior punishes you by getting devoured by a colossal monster cat.
Jólakötturinn is a really bizarre yet terrifying creature on the prowl for anyone who doesn’t meet its puzzling obsession. Be ready to wear new Christmas clothes before Christmas Eve. Otherwise the most wonderful time of the year could turn into the most terrifying time of the year.
