Encyclopedia of the unde.., p.32
Encyclopedia of the Undead, page 32
There was really only one way to defeat a draugr and that was to cut off its head and consign its body to flames. The Church, however, argued that a Ritual of Absolution was just as effective but there were many who questioned that. Avoidance was probably the best resort and so, as the Nordic night darkened down, many people stayed close to their hearths, refusing to venture out for fear of meeting a draugr—that violent member of the restless dead—upon the road.
Baba Yaga
Whilst the Scandinavians and, to some extent, the English kept close to their houses, terrified by draugrs and the Mara—the Russians feared yet another type of visitor who came most (though not always) at night. This was the deadly Baba Yaga—an eternal Witch. In many respects Baba Yaga, embodied the evil hag or crone who terrified many societies all across the world. There are many descriptions of her—usually as a wizened, black-faced creature, stooped and with a thin, evil countenance. She was also credited with having iron teeth and hooked bird-like, razor-sharp claws. She was also said to have a taste for human flesh, particularly the flesh of young children. Indeed, she may well have been the prototype for the “cannibal hag” who appears in such stories as the Germanic tale of Hansel and Gretel. Although classed as an “undead Witch,” she did not travel about on a broomstick as a conventional Witch is said to do. Rather she cruised about the skies in a giant mortar in which she squatted with her bony legs wrapped around her thin body, propelling it through the air with a great pestle. As she travelled, she was accompanied by fierce winds and tempests and by a throng of wailing spirits, which signalled her coming.
Chicken-leg house
As with the Mara, old people and young children were especially susceptible to her attentions and she could descend from the clouds and down the chimney of a cottage in the blink of an eye, to snatch them away. Only prayer warned the Church would keep the Baba Yaga away. She would then carry them away to her hut, deep in the Russian forests from which they would never escape. This, of course, was no ordinary hut but a magic dwelling, balanced on four thin chicken legs. When anyone approached it, it would turn away from them, emitting ear-splitting cries and shrieks. Its windows seemed to act as eyes. Sometimes the place was said to be surrounded by a fence of bone, topped by skulls with blazing eyes, which bit and snapped at those who tried to cross. No matter what sort of entry was sought, the chicken-leg house always managed to avoid it. The inside of the dwelling, however, was filled with horrors—mainly bodiless hands that grabbed, pulled, and pinched those who managed to enter. These were said to be the hands of the evil dead—those who had died without making a final confession. The house was also filled with the emaciated bodies of the dead that attacked those who came through the door.
White, Red, and Black
Baba Yaga was also surrounded by other supernatural beings. There were, for example, three horsemen who rode around the dwelling protecting it from intruders. These were known by their colours—white, red, and black. White represented Bright Morn, Red the colour of Blood and Fire, and Black deepest midnight. All were heavily armed and would slay any trespasser on the Baba Yaga’s property.
Koschey the Deathless
Baba Yaga’s most terrifying “servant,” however, was her huntsman Koschey. He was sometimes known as Koschey the Deathless or Koschey Bassmerty (meaning lean or boneless) and he was well-known throughout the Caucus Mountains. He would gallop, completely naked, on his magical steed, through the frozen mountain wastes, carrying away those whom he encountered to be eaten by the Baba Yaga. Although he was described as “deathless” or immortal, it was possible to slay him but this could only be done by a hero who could find his soul. Koschey’s spirit, it must be noted, did not reside with his body and this made him difficult to kill. His soul, or life force, resided within a large egg, which had been placed in a massive chest, bound with iron chains that had been buried amongst the roots of a tree in the middle of a dense forest that grew in the middle of an inaccessible island that lay in the centre of a subterranean ocean. If, after much searching, a hero were to find the egg, he should break it open and inside would be a pin upon which Koschey’s soul was speared. The dread huntsman would then be in his power. If he were to destroy the pin then Koschey himself would be destroyed forever.
In some descriptions of the wild huntsman, he was described as wearing the flayed skin of some of his victims, which he cast off him as he rode. When naked, he was at the height of his magical powers and nothing could stand against him. He invariably fought naked because all along his hairy arms were a number of venom glands containing a deadly poison that would snap and bite at his attacker. One bite from them could cause intense pain and eventual death.
Koschey’s voice might also be used as a kind of weapon because he could modulate it to imitate any other sound. Thus children, playing on the village edge at twilight might be lured away into the forest by what they assumed to be the voice of their mother or of some relative or friend. They would then be captured by the huntsman and delivered to the Baba Yaga. He was also a master of twisting words in order to gain his way over people, especially women and if necessary, could be particularly charming, However, he secretly despised women and, his favourite “put down” to the female gender ran thus: “Foolish woman, long of hair but short of wit.”
His relationship towards the Baba Yaga (who was always considered to be female) was always ambiguous. Although officially described as her “servant,” it was believed throughout the Caucuses that Koschy had powers and status in his own right. It is, of course, possible that both of these entities were folkloric remnants of ancient deities—undead and undying gods and goddesses—that were once worshipped in Eastern Europe. There was little formal protection against either of them but they could be repelled by love—particularly the love of a mother. This would strip both the Baba Yaga and Koschey of their powers and protect the person who was loved against their advances. Nevertheless, this did not stop the people of Russia and of the Caucuses from locking their doors late at night against the supernatural terrors that lurked outside in the snowy dark.
Yuki-Onna
Further east in Japan, the snow and gloom brought other terrors to the doors of isolated dwellings. In remote mountain areas, the Yuki-Onna or Snow Woman was greatly feared. The Yuki-Onna has become one of Japan’s most famous demons, mainly through the works of the writer Lafacio Hearn (1850–1904) who portrayed her as a kind of ghost who appeared during storms and blizzards. In recent folklore, she was portrayed as a beautiful woman, always deathly pale, who appeared in a snowstorm and who lured travellers to their doom. In order to destroy her victims, the Yuki-Onna acted similar to a vampire, drawing the breath from them and into herself. Her touch was extremely cold, cold enough to freeze the blood in their veins. When she had feasted, the Woman of the Snows melted away like a white mist. Similar to other Japanese ghosts she is portrayed in art, without legs, simply drifting through the shows like a phantom in search of her victims and gliding up to the doors of mountain dwellings seeking to gain admission. Once she did so, she could change the temperature of the house and freeze the inhabitants to death. In fact, the Yuki-Onna became the embodiment of the mountain blizzard. Hearn depicts her as incredibly lovely and tells a story of two woodcutters in Mousashi district—one old and one very young—whom she attacked. She slew the elder of the two but her heart was moved by the handsome younger one and she spared him, making him promise that he would tell nobody of his escape. Later he grew up and married a beautiful girl from another Province and brought her to live with him. He was so comfortable with her that, one night, he broke his promise and told her of his encounter with the Yuki-Onna. To his horror, she became incredibly angry, even furious, and revealed herself as the Woman of the Snows and in her rage, killed him. In this way, she completed the task that she had begun many years before.
Tengu
Although Hearn described her as a type of ghost, the idea of the Snow Woman was probably much older than the folklore that he had heard. In some parts of Japan, the Yuki-Onna was usually described as a form of tengu, very ancient Japanese demons. She was specifically classed as one of the marak-aykas, a type of Japanese minor demon that sometimes preyed on humans. Similar to the Tengu, it had a red (not a pale) face, sharp, rending teeth, and a long nose and could be extremely vicious if provoked. This class of demon sometimes took the form of a yamabushi (hermit) or else as an attractive girl for the purposes of waylaying travellers on the road. Many of these creatures tended to inhabit the lands around Mount Takao, near Hachoiji City. There, they attacked pilgrims on their way to the shrines and prevented individuals from fulfilling their religious obligations.
Whether the Snow Woman was one of these monsters or whether she was an undying ghost as Lafcadio Hearn has suggested, is a matter that is open for debate, as is the question as to whether she is actually a vampire or a demonic monster. Whatever her nature and origins she is still greatly feared in the remoter areas of Japan when the wind starts to blow and the snow begins to fall.
The previous examples are only a few of the undead terrors that have frightened us across the ages and may still hold a certain horror for us all. Many more are lingering in the deepest recesses of our own minds and imaginations. Although it is easy to dismiss them in the full light of day or when we are surrounded by friends and companions; when the light starts to fail and we are alone with the darkness crowding around outside, it is a different matter. Who knows what inhuman things may lurk in the gloom—werewolves, vampires, zombies—a veritable carnival of the Undead. The things that have the power to horrify us may be closer than we imagine. Maybe they’re waiting no further away than just beyond the outermost edge of the comforting lamplight, waiting to pounce! You have been warned!
Index
Abbot Natalis, 87
Abhartach, 29
Acadia, 82
Adam Kadmon, 184-186, 206-207
Adam, John, 153-154
afreets, 13, 190
African Methodist Episcopal, 175
African Pagan rites, 13, 129
Afro-Caribbean lore, 127
Age of Enlightenment, 12, 260-261, 263
Akkadian legend, 80
alchemy, 260
Algiers district, 140, 159
algol, 195, 248
al-Haddin, 189
Alhazerad, Abdul, 250
Allah, 188-190
al-Lit, 188
Alphabet of Ben Sira, 185
Alsace, 258
Altneuschule, 210
al-Uzza, 188
Amazons, 95
American colonies, 54-55
American Ethnological Society, 228-229
Anthropophagi, 95
Arada pantheon, 128-133
Arcadia, 82-83
Argosy, 218-219
Aristophanes, 18
Arkham House Press, 224-225
Arkham, city of, 225
Armagh, 27
Artemis, 18, 80-81, 83, 85
Arthurian legend, 92-93
Astomi, 95
At the Mountains of Madness, 223
Atlantis, 241-244, 248
civilization of, 241-242
Authune, town of, 101
Auxerre, France, 24
Avery, Laurensky, 158
Azotus, city of, 247
Aztec civilization, 246
Baba Yaga, 295-299
babalawo, 141-142, 167
Baby Doc, 138-139
Ballintrae, 106
bar-bar, 95-96
barbarians, 96-96
Baron Cemetiere, 135
Baron Samadi, 135
Barony of Kilkerron, 28
Barthory, Count Stephen, 68
Bathory, Countess Elizabeth, 66, 69, 71-75
Bayou Road, 141
Bean, Alexander, 106-108
Bedbur, town of, 99
ben Bezalel, Judah Loew, 209
ben Dosa, Rabbi Hanina, 23
berserkers, 81-82, 294
Bethnal Green gang, 48
Bidel, Benoit, 105
Bishop of Moray, 43
Bishop, John, 48
Bishop, Zeliah, 223
Black Constable, 167-171
Blavatksy, Helena Petrovna, 244, 257
Bloch, Robert, 215, 224
blood
bathe in, 73
drink as a restorative, 73
Blue Ridge Trackway, 239
Bodin, Jean, 259
Boguet, Henri, 106-108
Bohemia, 33, 37
legends, 211
bokor, 130, 182
Book of Solomon, The, 263
Book of Splendour, 21
Book of the Magus, The, 276
Book of the Pouis, The, 185
Boroughs, Edgar Rice, 235
Bourbon Street, 156
Bourgot, Pierre, 102
Bovet, Richard, 11
Bridewell, town of, 268
Bright’s Disease, 224
British Board of Film Censors, 204
British Museum, 249, 263
Bulwar-Lytton, Edward George, 235
Burgundy, 104-105
Butler family, 43
Byzantine saint, 32
Cabildo district, 147
Cabot, Reverend Amos, 58
cadavers, 12, 26, 48
Call of Cthulu, The, 223
Calmet, Antoine Augustin, 37, 63-65
Cambre, Antoine, 155
Camden, William, 81
Campbell, Joseph, 79
Campbell, Ramsey, 215, 224
Canaanites, 187, 231
Carpathian Mountains, 15, 69
Cathain, Chieftain, 29
Catholic imagery, 164
Ceili Dei, 255
Celts, 25-27
Cercopes, 19
Cerebus, 81
Cesarius of Arles, 84
Chaney, Creighton, 123
Chaney, Lon Jr., 64, 123
Chapman, Israel, 48
Charlemagne, Emperor, 65
Charleston, South Carolina, 167-182
charm of protection, 200
Chastenoy, town of, 101
Chattahoochie River, 227
Cherokee Indian, 238
Chevillon, Madame, 154
Choctaw Indians, 237
cholera, 55
Christian element, 24
Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 165
Churchwarden, James, 246
Circleville, town of, 230
Clan Altan, 87
Clavis Alchemae, 269
Clingman, Thomas Lanier, 240
Clingman’s Dome, 240
Clossey, Dr. Samiel, 48
Coglin Grange, 49-53, 63
Collinsville, town of, 229
Compendium Malificarum, 21, 259-260
Comte d’Erlette, 266
Comtesse, Marie, 166-167
Congo
Queens, 139
River, 168
Square, 139
conjure men, 167
Connecticut, 57, 61
Constantinople, 66, 250
Coptic Egyptian, 252
Corvenus, Matthias, 68, 73
County of Ireland
Carlow, 31
Clare, 46
Derry, 29
Kerry, 28
Meath, 87
Offaly, 43
Roscommon, 31
Sligo, 46
Tipperary, 43, 81
Tyrone, 44
Wicklow, 87
Covenanters, 43, 254
Creole
housewives, 146
proverb, 127
society, 146
Croix, Dr. John, 140-141
Csejthe Castle, 72
Cthulhu, 248
mythos, 225-226, 259, 266,
creation of, 223
Culdees, 255
Cults
of Ancient Heros, 17
of the Dead, 17
Cumberland, town of, 282
Cutler, Manasseh, 229-230
Cyclops, 95
Czech
literature, 211
Republic, 36
Dambala-wedo, 133, 181
Dark Princes of Ely, 43-44
Davis, Edwin H., 228-229
Dawn of the Dead, 182
de Barri, Giraldus, 87, 98
de Fieux, Charles, 233
de France, Marie, 89, 94
De Furtivis Literarium Notis, 269
de Gevaudan, Bette, 116
de Glapion, Christophe Dunimy, 149-151
De masticatione mortuorum, 37
de Medici, Catherine, 110
De praestigiis, 120
de Shertz, Charles Ferdinand, 36
de Soto, Hernan, 228
De Vermis Mysteriis, 267
Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields, 182
Declaration of Independence, 44
Del Rio, Martin, 98
della Porta, Giovanni Batista, 269
Delmedigo, Joseph, 207
Delphine Paysandu, 172
Demonoltary, 108
Denmark Vesey slave revolt, 167
Der Golem, 212
Derleth, August, 224, 266-267, 268
Deslisle, Anthony, 153-154
Devil’s Courthouse, the, 239
Devil’s Sabbat, 104
Diana, 18, 80-81m 85
Dimond, John, 278
Diokoros of Aphrodos, 252
Discours des sorciers, 106
Discoverie of Witchcraft, 121
disease, 194-195
djinni, 13
Doctor
Antoine, 172
Beauregard, 144
Buzzard, 175
Cheveneux, 145
Jim, 158
Theophile, 162
Yah-Yah, 143
Dog Heads, 95-97
Dogtown, 271-272
