Creepy collection of Victorian Christmas cards feature sinister snowmen, dead robins and a Santa kidnapping a child
The cards showed that the Victorians did not give up their dark sense of humour during holidays, not even for Christmas
THIS creepy collection of Victorian Christmas cards proves that the festive season wasn't always about a red-cheeked Father Christmas, mulled wine and turkey.
From a murderous snowman to Santas kidnapping little children, this series of nineteenth-century seasonal cards reveal the twisted side of Christmas.
We've come to expect happy families and Christmas puddings on cards today, but the Victorians revelled in bizarre and often macabre oddities on theirs.
In Britain, the custom of sending Christmas cards was started by Sir Henry Cole in 1843.
A senior civil servant, Cole helped set-up the new 'Public Record Office' - the modern day Post Office.
In a bid to encourage more people to use the Public Record Office, Sir Henry and his friend artist John Horsley came up with the idea of Christmas cards.
These three creepy snowmen wouldn't look out of place in a horror film, but are snowmen that appeared on Victorian Christmas cards.
The Terry Gilliam-esque print emerging from the centre snowman's abdomen isn't a comforting sight either.
This German-language Christmas card from 1900 shows a Krampus kidnapping children.
According to folklore, the half-goat, half-demon would visit children during the Christmas period and punish those who misbehaved.
A terrified child shields herself from a large emu in a bizarre 'Christmas' card from around 1900.
It is likely this is an Australian Christmas card given the inclusion of such a rare bird.
A dead robin lies on its back - a popular style of Christmas card in the 1880s.
The macabre message reads: "May yours be a joyful Christmas."
An egg with arms and legs but no head is an odd choice for a Christmas greeting card.
It's possible they had them left over from Easter and decided to make use of them.
A terrified child is thrown into Santa's sack in this bizarre work of art.
It's unclear if this was a children's card designed to warn them against bad behaviour or for adults dreaming of stress-free festivities.
These four screeching cats appear to be annoying a man in his bedroom.
The message reads: "In silvery accents, whispering low - a happy, happy Christmastide!"
Two lovebirds slide down the side of a hill on a sleigh with chicken heads on their shoulders.
This card was produced around 1880 by the London-based company Raphael Tuck & Sons.
Another creepy Krampus creation that again reads: "Greetings from Krampus!" - this time he's behind the wheel of a strange car.
The girl in his sack is presumably a wrongdoer getting her Christmas punishment.
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A disembodied goat head comes to visit a child eating apples in an orchard.
It is believed the goat is Krampus and he is visiting a child who is eating apples from the tree without permission.
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