Dale the Doll’s Bedtime Story: Frau Perchta, The Christmas Witch

 

🎭 Dale the Doll’s Bedtime Story: Frau Perchta, The Christmas Witch

(Lights dim. A single candle flickers. Dale’s voice is soft, sing-song, with sudden sharpness.)

[Whispering] “Children… while you dream of Santa’s sleigh, let me tell you of another visitor. She does not laugh, she does not jingle. She creeps. She waits. Her name… is Frau Perchta.”

(Pause. A slow creak of wood, as if footsteps on the floorboards.)

Act I: The Two Faces

[Voice rising, theatrical] “She wears two masks. One, the White Lady—beautiful, pale as snow, gliding like a ghost. The other, the Iron Hag—wrinkled, cloaked in rags, her nose jagged iron, sniffing out your sins.”

(Rustle of fabric. A sudden knock echoes in the dark.)

Act II: The Rewards… and the Knife

[Soft, almost kind] “If you are good… she leaves silver coins in your shoes. A blessing in water. A gift for the diligent.”

[Sharp, cutting tone] “But if you are lazy… if you lie… if you eat more than fish and gruel on her feast day…”

(Long pause. Knife unsheathing sound.)

“She slits open your belly. She scoops out your insides. She stuffs you with straw and pebbles. Heavy. Hollow. Forever cursed.”

Act III: The Processions

[Chanting, rhythmic] “Even now, her children march. The Perchtenlauf. Masks of wood, shaggy skins, bells clanging, torches burning.”

• Schönperchten: Beautiful spirits, blessing crops, whispering of spring.

• Schiachperchten: Ugly demons, stomping, shrieking, driving away winter’s ghosts.

(The sound of bells grows louder, then fades into silence.)

Act IV: The Lesson

[Somber, deliberate] “She is winter itself. The beauty of snow. The terror of hunger. The reminder that survival once meant discipline… or death. She is the blade that keeps order. The whisper that keeps you working.”

[Final whisper, candle sputters out] “So sleep, children. Work hard. Eat your gruel. And never be lazy… for Frau Perchta walks in the dark.”

(Silence. Then a faint laugh—high, hollow, doll-like.)