Proof that the world has lost its mooring and is flying headlong into the dusk of its existence is never hard to find. But a German advent calendar for children has become a hot seller since word got out it has a picture of a notorious serial killer on it. And that my friends is the latest proof of the apocalypse.

The cartoon calendar shows Fritz Haarmann, who murdered 24 young men and boys in the 1920s, lurking under a tree with a hatchet next to the door for December. Below him, Santa Claus hands out presents to children.

A local tourism office included the serial killer alongside 23 other celebrities in the northern city, including philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and hard rock band The Scorpions.

This whole debacle leads me to ask two pertinent questions: Are the Scorpions celebrities? And why isn’t David Hasselhoff in it? (Is it because of the burger incident? )

Because of the presence of the killer in the calendar, “People are queuing up to buy the calendar now,” said a surprised Hans Nolte, director of the city’s tourism board.

Nolte said he expected the initial 20,000 copy run of the calendar to sell out soon as orders were pouring in from Berlin, Vienna and other parts of Austria. Proceeds from the sales are going towards a local charity for children with cancer.

Now maybe if you had the killer going after David Hasselhoff I’d be up for it but not dear old Santa. I’ll send my check directly to the American Cancer Society.