Why Does Santa Bring Bad Boys And Girls Coal?

Have you ever wondered why Santa Claus would bring coal to the bad boys and girls? I mean, I get it, they were bad....but why coal?

All over the internet, there is only speculation on why Santa does this. Mental Floss had a pretty interesting theory:

The tradition of giving misbehaving children lumps of fossil fuel predates the Santa we know, and is also associated with St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas and Italy’s la Befana. Nothing that I can find in the legends or history about any of these figures gives a concrete reason for doling out coal, but the common thread between all of them seems to be convenience. When filling the stockings or the shoes, the holiday gift givers sometimes run into a kid who doesn’t deserve a present. So to send a message and encourage better behavior next year, they leave something less desirable than the usual toys/money/candy. It seems to me that the fireplace makes an easy and obvious source of non-presents."

That does make a lot of sense. Nothing scared me growing up more than thinking I was getting coal. Some sources on the internet claim that Santa doesn't do this anymore, but I beg to differ.

Another, not as reliable, source on the internet had an interesting theory that ties Santa and Coal into evil. Apparently this tradition started in England:

This tradition originated in England and receiving coal from Christmas was seen as a sign from the devil. The devil was all about temptation, and giving someone coal but not a lighter was like tempting and teasing the child. "

So is Santa still teasing bad children by doing this?