Draugar

In Old Norse they are an undead creature, the Old Norse meaning of the word is revenant. The creatures live in their graves, often guarding the treasure that was buried with them. They are not like ghosts, they have a physical body and abilities that they would have carried in life. There is a clear distinction for those that live in the sea or land as either Sea-draguar or landdraugar.

They possess superhuman strength and can, at will, increase their size. They bring with them the unmistakeable stench of death and they will look swollen, blackened and are generally revolting to look at. In mythology they also keep some semblance of their intelligence, perhaps to ensure they can do their best at guarding their treasure or optimise how they wreak havoc on the living, namely taking revenge on those that have wronged them in life.

According to folklore these beings have a variety of ways to despatch of their victims too, so they can crush them with their enlarged forms, devour the flesh or perhaps swallow them whole when they are large. Some will kill them via driving them mad or maybe even drink the victim’s blood.

They prefer to be active at night but are not restricted like many other revenant styles, but some are immune to weapons and only a hero with the right sort can take them down. Final despatch appears to be preferred by beheading the creature, burning it and then finally dumping the ashes in the sea.

After a person has died the most common indication they will become one is that the corpse is not in a horizontal position, it may be found sat upright indicating that they want to come back. Mean or nasty people are most likely to become one and those who have unfinished business, someone so evil they have a serious impact on those around them.

Preventions include grave binding, a stone with an inscription that will keep them in place or an open pair of iron scissors over the chest of the corpse. Some have tied big toes together, or driven needles through the soles to stop them being able to walk. The coffin should be rotated at least three times when carried to confuse their sense of direction. An effective method is also called the Corpse Door, a special door was built and the corpse carried through feet first, it was surrounded by people to stop it seeing where it was going. The door was then bricked up to prevent any return.

A variation to the creature is also the Haugbui, a mound dwelling creature, where the dead body lives on within its tomb. It cannot leave its burial place but those that enter are free game. The haugbui is usually found in the Norse saga’s and said to swim alongside boats to sail and pick off the men as the boats are semi-submerged.

The barrow-wights in Middle-Earth are based on the legend; they linger around their gold after death.

They are featured in the game The Elder Scrolls V, they are usually those from someone who is of legend and speak in an ancient dragon language.

You can find ‘Draug’ in the game The Secret World, they wander ashore in the fictional Solomon Island, New England.

For World of Warcraft players you can find the Vrykul Race around Northrend, they are heavily influenced by the draugr, and there are two sorts commonly seen. You can spot undead vargul or their blueskinned warriors.

Pennanggalan

This is a ghost of South-eastern Asian mythology and is like a vampire myth, the name is derived from the meaning to remove or detach. The lore in this case is that the creature looks like a beautiful woman during the day, at night the head detaches from the body and she flies around with her intestines and lungs floating like a jellyfish, where she then hunts for blood.

Stories of the origins of the Pennanggalan are that a woman has made a pact with the devil, used black magic or some mystical approach to get beautiful features. Often it’s believed the woman was a midwife, who has been charged with the pact of starving for 40 days but has broken the pact. With the broken pact comes a curse where she must then become a bloodsucking vampire. She will keep a vat of vinegar at home and after flying around all night will be engorged with the blood, she then has to put the entrails into the vinegar to shrivel them so she can reattach to her body. Sounds… lush doesn’t it? But that’s how you can spot one too, the smell.

Victims are usually pregnant women and young children, she will search for a woman in labour and land on the roof letting out a shriek. She can then use a long invisible tongue to get into the house and then laps up the blood of the new mother, the victim is then struck with some unknown disease that is fatal. Even if the creature cannot feed the entrails brushing over the victim cause horrid sores and they won’t heal without the help of a Bomoh (healer).

The Mengkuang plant is recommended to be scattered around the area, this will trap the exposed lungs and intestines. Once the vile thing is trapped she can be killed with parangs (sort of sword) and machetes. A precaution would also be to keep scissors or betel nut cutters under her pillow as she is afraid of these items. Another action is that brave men can take up vigil at night and trap her as she flies.

Another way, non-lethal, to sort out the Pennanggalan is to turn the body over whilst she flies and then she will reattach with her head the wrong way around, that way she is easily identified by others.

The below picture is thanks to a version in the Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons.

By Source, Fair use, Link

 

Georgia Guidestones

Elbert County, Georgia has a large stone monument that has eight modern languages inscribed on it, with shorter messages at the top in ancient languages, Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit and Egyptian Heiroglyphs. It has also been referred to before as the American Stonehenge, and a capstone stands on the top of it making the whole thing astronomically aligned.

In 1979 an unknown person/s under the pseudonym of R C Christan (arsey Christan?) hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build it. In 2008 it was defaced with slogans such as “death to the New World Order” and Wired magazine called it the first serious act of vandalism against them.

The list of things inscribed are as follows: maintaining humanity to under 500,000,000 to keep in perpetual balance with nature; to guide reproduction wisely with improving fitness and diversity; to unite humanity with a living new language; ruling passion, faith, tradition and all things with tempered reason; protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts; let all nations rule internally and use a world court to resolve external disputes; avoid petty laws and useless officials; balance personal rights along with social duties; prize truth, beauty, love, seeking harmony with the infinite; don’t be a cancer on the earth, leaving room for nature.

There is a stone nearby explaining the size and dimensions etc of the stones. There is also mention of a time capsule buried under the site, but the fields there for the dates are not listed and so there is speculation that this never came into fruition.

Albert County owns the site of the stone, and the land registration says that they purchased the land October 1^st, 1979. Two accounts of the unveiling say it was March 1980 in front of 100 people and another says 22^nd March 1980 in front of 400. It has been praised by some as a good call for rational thinking, others have said it sounds like the commandments of the Antichrist.

Whatever they are, and whoever really was behind it might well be a mystery but the words are there and it’s a seemingly permanent feature and roadside attraction.

By Own work of commons:User:Ptkfgs, Public Domain, Link

 

A curious stop in Rome

It is called The Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory but it is not so much a museum as a collection. The small room sits inside the church of the Sacred Holy Heart just along the Tiber River not too far from the Vatican.

The display centralises on the Catholic idea that souls go to purgatory, they are purified of their remaining sins before they can ascent to heaven. To help souls go to heaven quicker the faithful can offer prayer, before the reformation it was a common practise to buy loved ones swifter entry with the good old value of mortal cash.

Amongst the cases you can see the nightcap of a man who discovered asking him to pray for her. Another is from 1789 where there is a hand-print on the nightshirt that Joseph Leleux had, the mark was made by the tortured soul of his mother who appeared to him and reminded him of his duties to go to mass and begged him to change his behaviour and go back to church.

The museum/collection is mentioned on the website Atlas Obscura and a few other sites, they say the collection comes from the French Missionary, Father Jouet. They story is that there was a painting, Our Lady of the Rosary, that caught fire from candles around it. Witnesses said they had seen the face of a man in the altars burning walls, he was convinced that it was a message from a soul buried in the area and that he should build a church there, and make it a place to pay tribute to the souls in purgatory.

Admission is free but they will welcome any donation to the church that you can make. If you have been, or do go, please let me know and share your experiences.

The museum is in the Church of Sacro Cuore del Suffragio, 12 Lungotevere Prati, Rome. Open 7.30-11am and 4.30-7pm.

Mujina

Japanese immigrants brought the legend with them to Hawaii, the legend is of the faceless creature. In Japan a famous Mujina was Kozo, he took the form of a monk and would travel the roads at night, he would ask passers by for tea or water.

In 1959 at a drive-through in Kahala, Hawaii, a woman was reported to have come into contact with one of these creatures. The local woman went to the restroom and noticed a red-headed lady brushing her hair. She got close enough to see the woman had no facial features, she had to be treated at the hospital for a nervous breakdown over the event.

A local radio show host, Glen Grant, picked up the story and gave it to his listeners in 1981. The woman involved called up to recount the tale and told him the previously unreported detail about the red hair, since then it seems other witnesses have come forward about the Mujina.

A story about the Mujina here.

 

According to Japanese Copyright Law the copyright on this work has expired and is as such public domain. According to articles 51 and 57 of the copyright laws of Japan, under the jurisdiction of the Government of Japan all non-photographic works enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the creator (there being multiple creators, the creator who dies last) or 50 years after publication for anonymous or pseudonymous authors or for works whose copyright holder is an organization.