I've heard about these carnivals in Germany before but never seen them. Do you know what the story is here with the girls being carried off and their shoes stolen but those fright masked characters?
No I don't. The common thread is that their shoelaces are stolen, but they get their shoes and/or socks back. There are some of these in the Renfaire section of mainstream, and a boatload of clips on youtube. FASNET.TV