'Krampus' Trailer Gives A Sneak Peek At The Mythical Christmas Demon In Action [VIDEO]

Santa Claus isn't the only one who knows if you've been bad or good. People everywhere will find another reason to be good for goodness sake this holiday season when Michael Dougherty's "Krampus" comes to theaters in December. The first sneak peek at the movie was released in an online trailer Wednesday.

In this Christmas-themed horror movie, a boy has a bad Christmas with his family and somehow ends up summoning a dark force or a "Christmas demon," into his family's home to terrorize them. Can a family that hasn't been getting along find their holiday spirit and come together to try and survive the Christmas monster?

See the trailer below:

The trailer begins by showing a dysfunctional family, which includes "Parks and Recreation" star Adam Scott and "Anchorman" actor David Koechner, arguing over the cooking of Scott's wife, played by actress Toni Collette. Scott believes it's delicious, while Koechner believes it's dry. "Do you want to trade?" Scott's character asks sarcastically.

As the family continues to fight with one another, Scott and Collette's son, played by Emjay Anthony, is shown ripping up a letter to the North Pole, which he throws out the window. After he does this a strange darkness descends upon the house and all of the power goes out.

Strange noises begin to be heard around the house and Krista Stadler's character says: "St. Nicholas is not coming this year, instead a much darker ancient spirit. His name is Krampus." She goes on to say that he and his helpers didn't come to give or take, but he is the shadow of St. Nicholas. A strange hook is shown dropping down the fireplace, demonic-like elves chase after family members, Christmas trees burst into flames, and the family is left fighting to survive.

According to National Geographic, “Krampus” is derived from the German word “krampen” meaning “claw.” With roots in Norse and Greek mythology, Krampus acts as the evil counter to jolly old St. Nicholas. He's described as being half-goat, half-man with some demon thrown in.

As of late, Krampus has made his way into pop culture as more and more people explore alternative ways to celebrate the holidays. In addition to the upcoming film, some iteration of the mytholigical Christmas devil has been on TV shows like “Supernatural,” “American Dad,” “The Office,” and “Grimm.”

"Krampus" won't be the first time Dougherty turned to a holiday to make a horror film. In 2007, the writer/director released "Trick 'r Treat," which consisted of four different stories which are all connected and take place on Halloween. The film combined horror, comedy and captured the spirit of Halloween.

"Krampus" will arrive in theaters on Dec. 4.