For the past thousand years or more, an army of hairy monsters has descended upon Germany’s southernmost town on the same night every winter, but instead of running away, townspeople welcome them with open arms. 

These monsters are the Klausen, young men dressed in frightening-looking fursuits topped with animal horns and a massive cowbell strapped to their waists, wielding long switches to scare away evil winter spirits. It’s a pagan tradition that traces its roots back to Celtic times, still practiced in many towns in the Allgäu region of Bavaria. In Sonthofen, it has become an annual celebration where thousands of spectators come every December 5 and 6 to cheer on the monsters while trying to avoid getting whacked by them.

On those evenings, close to 150 of these shaggy creatures stalk the streets in a traditional parade known as the Klausentreiben. It’s like seeing the monsters from Maurice Sendak’s famous children’s book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ come to life or, if you prefer a slightly more recent cultural comparison, imagine a parade of shaggier and scarier-looking versions of Chewbacca and his Wookie friends from ‘Star Wars.’

Matthias Hecht, the deputy chairman of the association for the annual event in this town of 20,000 inhabitants, explained that the costumes are scary because the Klausen need to look even scarier than the demons they are intended to frighten.

The reality, he added, is that these costumes are all unique and hand-made by their owners at considerable expense using real fur and animal horns. They often use motorcycle or ski helmets as the foundation for the heads and the massive cowbells strapped to their midsections are not only heavy and expensive but remarkably loud, especially when a huddle of Klausen rings them in unison during the festivities.

Hecht noted that membership in the town’s Klausen association is growing despite being limited to unmarried men and boys aged from 16 to 26. Women are not excluded from the association, but instead of dressing as Klausen, they don creepy looking witch costumes and are known as Bärbele in memory of Saint Barbara, a martyr of the early Christian church. The Bärbele parade separately the night before the Klausentreiben on December 4, the feast day of St. Barbara.

On the dark winter nights when the Klausentreiben takes place, townspeople and visitors line the parade route to witness the spectacle, the bravest standing in the front row to taunt the monsters while trying to dodge the blows from their switches.

“We usually only hit people who invite it,” said Hecht, “However, it is not always that easy to separate those who want to take part and those who just want to watch, so everyone should really expect to be hit now and then.”

If you don’t want to get hit (and it can really hurt!) Hecht suggests standing further back in line and says you’re safe if you’re holding a cup of glühwein (mulled wine.) He added that small children and older people are also safe from the blows of the monsters and senior Klausen patrol the streets to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

The official parade lasts from 8 to 10 pm, but the Klausen will spend the rest of the evening traveling from pub to pub. There’s no worry about getting smacked while you’re enjoying a drink as they put their switches away and instead enjoy the free beer offered by fellow patrons as a reward for frightening away the evil spirits for another year. 

No one I spoke to would say whether they truly believe in evil spirits, but considering the headlines in the news these days, the Klausen aren’t taking any chances.

• The author was a guest of the German National Tourist Office which did not see or approve this story before publication.