A warning might be appropriate for one of the stops on this year's City of Murrieta Holiday Home Decorating Contest map.

At least one concerned parent would say so. "As my family was driving the Murrieta house lights contest...we came up to house number 10," wrote the concerned parent, who wished to remain anonymous. "I was appalled that the City of Murrieta would allow someone to enter a home with a theme representing the devil. My 3-year-old was frightened by the home and I was disgusted. I'm asking that you help make this disrespectful issue known to the residents of Murrieta."

Murrieta resident Stori Nagel, credited with handmaking entry No. 10, said the monster perched on the second-story level of her family's home at the end of Floral Creek Circle was meant to be educational. "Greetings From Krampus, XOXO," reads a large sign installed next to the creature that is carrying a doll on his back and holding a broomstick in his gnarled hand. Krampus is a mythical creature whose association with Christmas dates back centuries, an Internet search revealed. "Forget the Grinch and Scrooge – there's an older, scarier Christmas villain," wrote one website, Bizzaremag.com. "According to European legend, the Krampus was St Nikolaus' servant who was sent to terrorise naughty children. If they were lucky they only got a beating but, if they were very, very bad, they'd be cast into flames."

Nagel explained that in an attempt to instill some tradition in her and her husband's three children—ages 15, 13 and 9—she first came across the legend of Krampus about six years ago. Her husband is German and Dutch and she is German and Swiss, and she was seeking to found out what their heritage's holiday traditions were. "Most Christmas traditions are German, like the Christmas tree and St. Nicholas," Nagel said she rediscovered.

Then she ran across the European folklore surrounding Krampus, which attracted her because of her fascination with monsters that began in childhood. Because she developed too quickly and her parents did not have a lot of money, she said she identified with monsters such as Wolfman, who were often "misunderstood."

"So how does Santa know if you have been good or bad?," Nagel said. "Well if you have been bad, Krampus comes to see you and hits you with a switch and if you are real bad he kidnaps you. So it is basically like a warning: 'Be good or Krampus will come and see you.'"

Nagel believes that Krampus was "omitted (from contemporary traditions) because it was a little too scary." Further, she said she finally made the Krampus decoration this year to fulfill a promise to her children—and because one never knows how long they are going to live. There were no decorations at the Nagel home last year, because on Dec. 15, 2012, she had a radical double mastectomy after she was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer.