foggcouture:

One of my articles that appeared in the Paranormal Inquiry! I believed it appeared in the April edition. Since I’m finishing up the fairy shoot today I felt it was appropriate to share:

Fairy lore versus Cryptozoology

It’s springtime! Flowers are blooming. Baby animals are being born.  Leprechauns are abound playing with the butterflies. All of that good stuff. It’s the time of St. Patrick’s Day and Ostara, a pagan holiday. Both of these welcome the spring and have a lot of fairy influence. Fairies abound this time of year.

What does this have to do with the regular cryptozoology article? It would seem at first glance fairy lore would pertain more to the mythological/spiritual/metaphysical realms whereas cryptozoology pushes into the anthropological/scientific/physical realms but a lot of times fairy lore and cryptozoology overlap.

Many cryptids sightings first start as fairy tales. You have to remember that not all fairies are cute little humanoid beings with gossamer wings and are all smiles and sparkles. Fay creatures can be nasty and mean and just down right evil bordering on demonic. Most of the time a fairy’s temperament reflects their surrounding environment, whether physically or socially.

The fairies previously described are usually found in calm wooded clearings beautiful and pristine. Others like trolls came from a darker, usually higher harsher climate. Most cryptids are also found in these harsher climates with a lower human population density. There are also some fays that are found world round like many of the cryptids.

Take for example the werewolf. Were-creatures are found all of the globe. There’s were-jaguars, were-snakes, were-bulls, etc. We all know the Britannic werewolf, the cursed creature that cannot control their bloodthirsty urges come the full moon. The Irish werewolves are actually much different. They are considered guardians and protectors of children, wounded men, and the lost. According to some legends they were recruited by kings for war. Irish werewolves also lived in clans. This is also an example of differences to social environment. This belief was strongly held before Christianity pushed into Ireland. It wasn’t until later that it became a curse from St Natalia from some vague pagan reason.

Even Bigfoot has been grouped in with the Fay folk being a forest guardian spirit. In some Native American tribes Bigfoot is also considered a shape shifter, much like a werewolf, contributing to the fact that he has never been captured or a body has never been discovered. 

We have to remember that many creatures we now have at the local zoo were once just legend.  It might be best not to count the fairies out just yet.

fuckyeahstrangemythology:

Huitzilopochtli

AKA: Uitzilopochtli

Pronunciation: Weetz-ee-loh-POSHT-lee

Origin: México

History:

One of the main Aztec gods, he was the god of war, sun and human sacrifice. His name either means “Hummingbird of the South” or “Left-handed Hummingbird”, seeing as how he is the god of war it’s very fitting, because the Aztecs believed that hummingbirds were the departed souls of warriors. He is typically portrayed with blue paint on his skin and hummingbird feathers on his left arm and leg and his serpent-shaped spear called an atl-atl.

When the Aztecs got kicked out of their home Aztlan Huitzilopochtli promised to watch over them. He foretold that the Aztecs would reach the place of their future capital when they see an eagle sitting on a cactus with a serpent in its beak in the middle of a lake. He was pretty specfic and the Aztecs soon found the eagle and made an artificial island there and named in Tenochtitlan “place of the cactus fruit”, now known as Mexico City. (Oldest capital in the Americas)

The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli was the eagle they found, seeing as how one of his animals was the eagle. This story is also shown on the modern Mexican flag.

What’s so weird about him?

What makes him strange would probably be his birth. His mom,Coatlicue, was minding her business when suddenly his dad comes up to her and impregnates her. His dad was a ball of hummingbird feathers.

When his sister, Coyolxauhqui, found out that their mother got pregnant in that shameful way, she plotted to kill their mom and their 400 siblings. Four hundred siblings, I’d like to see Octomom beat that. Just as his sister was about to stab their mom, Huitzilopochtli bursted out of the womb, fully-grown and ready to fight. He dismembered his sister and threw his other siblings into the sky where they became the stars, when he saw how his mother cried over Coyolxauhqui’s death he threw her head into sky and gave her the job of being the moon and its goddess.

Family reunions must be so awkward.

On another note, when the Aztecs built a pyramid in his honor, they sacrificed over 25,000 prisoners of war over four days. Some historians argue this fact and say the actual number was much smaller. Either way the Aztecs knew how to party.

What if I see him?

Despite being the god of human sacrifice, he was a very approachable god and cared a great deal about his people. So if ever you come across him and you’re not fighting against him, you should be fine.

And don’t try to pronounce his name if you know you’ll probably butcher it, I doubt he would like that.

(Art belongs to El-Walrok)

ancientpeoples:

Rag Doll

Roman, 1st-5th century AD
Made in Egypt

This doll is fairly well-proportioned, and has a head and a body. The arms are made from a long roll of linen attached at the back. The doll is made of made of coarse linen and is stuffed with rags and pieces of papyrus. Coloured wool, now faded, was applied to parts of the face and body. The gender* of the doll is unclear, although the presence of a small blue glass bead attached to the proper left side of the head suggests a hair ornament and therefore that it is probably intended to be female. As well as dolls, children had a wide range of toys and playthings, such as toy animals, soldiers, doll’s houses with miniature furniture, spinning tops, hoops and marbles.

In the ancient world dolls were usually made of rags, wood, bone or fired clay, and ranged from simple home-made playthings such as this example to miniature works of art, with finely worked features and jointed bodies. There is no reason why dolls should not have been as popular in the Roman period as they are now, but relatively few have survived because of the perishable nature of their materials. This doll survived as a result of the very dry conditions in parts of Egypt, which helped to preserve organic artefacts of all types, from sandals, furniture and baskets to brushes, boxes and even hairpieces.

(Source: The British Museum)

fuckyeahstrangemythology:

Incubus and Succubus

AKA: None found

Origin: Medieval Europe (that’s when the legend become popular, the idea of them existed since Mesopotamia times)

History:

Similar to the Alp, an Incubus is a demon that comes at night and sits on sleeping victims. Medieval European priests said that an Incubus was a fallen angel who was kicked out of Heaven because of his lust for women. The same goes for the Succubus, the female counterpart of the Incubus. Priests of the time, said for every nine Incubi there is one Succubus, so attacks by a Succubus is much rarer. Some say that the Succubus is actually just an Incubus who can change its sex, but the idea that they are both separate beings is much more well-known and accepted. Some say that an Incubus is bisexual and that it’s an Incubus that is sexually assaulting a man, not a Succubus. Others say that Incubi find male victims sexual unappealing and prefer females. But it all depends on whether or not you believe that Succubi exists, not just Incubi.

What’s so weird about it?

Remember when I said they were similar to an Alp? I was right but there’s one little difference. They rape their victims in their sleep.

Okay so maybe that’s a big difference. The Incubus rapes his victim in order to father a child, the same goes for a Succubus. Another thing is that priests used to say that an Incubus/Succubus didn’t have a body of their own so they had to used a corpse or use human flesh. Some of the more crafty ones can also take the appearance of a human.

About the whole “fathering a child” thing, there’s a name for a child born of that, they call them a Cambion. One of the most famous stories about a Cambion is Merlin, the famous wizard is said to be the result of his mother getting pregnant from an Incubus.

What do I do if I see one?

Well first off, there are two big ways to tell if your lover is one. First, they have the power to put other members of the household into a deep sleep. Second, they’re cold to the touch so the victim will feel extremely cold. They’re also very nasty to the people and besides intercourse they don’t care much for the human.

Now that you know the signs, consult an exorcist. An Incubus/Succubus is no laughing matter and, if you believe in this sort of thing, you should talk to a priest.

And if you don’t believe in this and want a more scientific explanation, historians say that the myth of these demons arise from sleep paralysis and nocturnal arousal are likable explanations for these apparent attacks. Not to mention that at this time sex for anything other than creating offspring was seen as a sin.

Whether or not you believe in these creatures, we can all agree that having sex with a reanimated cold corpse isn’t the best thing and most likely is not on the top of people’s “to do” list.

theoddmentemporium:

“Necropants”

The necropants, as they’re called, are at the center of a very strange legend that’s part of an exhibit at Iceland’s Holmavik Witchcraft and Sorcery Museum (a macabre little pit-stop where you can learn the stories of 17 people burned at the stake in the 17th century — for supposedly “occult” practices like cursing someone with uncontrollable farting). The necropants were made from the skin of the bottom half of a dead guy — but that’s not the weird part, if you can believe it. From Lonely Planet Iceland:

It was believed that the necropants would spontaneously produce money when worn, as long as the donor corpse had been stolen from a graveyard at the dead of night and a magic rune and a coin stolen from a poor widow were placed in the dead man’s scrotum. [Source]

And from the Museum’s website:

If you want to make your own necropants (literally; nábrók) you have to get permission from a living man to use his skin after his dead. After he has been buried you must dig up his body and flay the skin of the corpse in one piece from the waist down. As soon as you step into the pants they will stick to your own skin. A coin must be stolen from a poor widow and placed in the scrotum along with the magical sign, nábrókarstafur, written on a piece of paper. Consequently the coin will draw money into the scrotum so it will never be empty, as long as the original coin is not removed. To ensure salvation the owner has to convince someone else to overtake the pants and step into each leg as soon as he gets out of it. The necropants will thus keep the money-gathering nature for generations.

[The ‘uncontrollable farting’ link is left in there for your reading pleasure too]

coelasquid:

byeproductivity:

headlikeanorange:

The Guillemot is a seabird that lays its eggs on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. When an egg is accidentally dislodged, its shape causes it to spin in a tight circle, which prevents it from falling off the ledge into the sea. (Springwatch - BBC)

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how fucking awesome this is?

These eggs no doubt started out like all other avian eggs, but they had the problem of rolling off the cliffs. The eggs that were slightly more oblong tended to roll off the cliffs less, and thus the genes contained in those eggs lived to be passed on. Fast forward a few million years, and BAM tight-circle eggs. 

Naturally selected for your viewing pleasure. 

That was probably where that line of seabird diverged into two new ones, those that were lucky enough to lay oblong eggs and the ones that were smart enough not to lay eggs of bare cliff faces.

fuckyeahstrangemythology:

Rusalka

AKA: Rusalkar, Rusalki, Russalka, and Vodyanik

Origin: Russia

History:

All over Eastern Europe, there exists a version of the Rusalka. They are most often compared to mermaids and demons. A Rusalka is said to be the ghost of a young unwed girl who was murdered near a body of water. A Rusalka’s appearance varies with each Slavic country. Some say they are beautiful creatures with glowing green eyes and long hair. Others describe them as hideous looking monsters with long claws and rotting skin. With the first accounts it says they don’t leave the body of water where they died, that they come out at night and play with their friends, the water sprites. Later on, they are said to climb trees and sing in the moonlight.

What’s so weird about it?

A Rusalka, like stated above, is the ghost of a killed woman near a body of water. They never stray far from their homes but instead sing a beautiful song to attract people to them. When their sweet voice finally does bring somewhere near to their home, they reach out and drown them. They drown them as revenge because of their own anger at their death. They don’t care who they drown, men, women, or children, so long as someone pays for their death.

What if I see one?

Rusalka are doomed to resign in the waters where they spent the last moments of their lives, unless someone avenges their death. If you avenge it, their spirit will be at rest and no more midnight drownings.

fuckyeahstrangemythology:

Huldra

AKA: Skogsrå, Skogsfru, and Skovfro

Origin: Scandinavia

History:

Huldra are gorgeous elf women that live in the woods throughout Scandinavia. While there are men as well, it’s more common to see females. Huldras are extremely human-like in appearance, you can only tell them apart from the fact that they have a tail. It’s either a cow or fox tail depending on which region you’re in. Some say that they have a hollowed out back filled with rotten flesh and if you see that, you’re dead.

What’s so weird about them?

Aside from the whole tail and killing you if you see their back, or lack thereof, they’re very seductive. They lure men into the woods and make them into their sex slaves. If you cut off their tail, the Huldra turn human, so they often trick men into marrying them in order to become human.

You might be thinking “Hey, if I cut off a Huldra’s tail, I get a hot wife who only wants to have sex with me! Sounds like a good deal!” And sure there’s that, but if you mistreat a Huldra or if you anger her in anyway she’ll turn into an old ugly woman who might just kill you.

What if I see one?

Nothing is really said about how to escape one. Mainly because it’s hard to tell them about from regular women, and most men wouldn’t want to escape the grasps of a beautiful seductress.

Just run like mad, there’s no other option.

catawampuscreations:

More bats in folklore and myth (source)

The origin of bats is prominent in the folklore of several North American Indian tribes. In a Cherokee fable, an eagle, a hawk, and other birds fashioned the first bat and the first flying squirrel from two mouse-like creatures. These small creatures wished to participate in a ball game in which the “animals” challenged the birds. Because they were four-footed, the mouse-like creatures first asked if they could play with the animals, which included a bear, a deer, and a terrapin. But the larger animals made fun of how small the creatures were and drove them away. They then appealed to the eagle, the captain of the bird team. The birds took pity on the creatures and fashioned wings for one of them out of the head of a drum made from a groundhog skin, thus creating the first bat. Because not enough leather remained to fashion another bat, the birds then stretched the skin between the fore and hind limbs of the other creature, making the first flying squirrel. With the help of the bat and the flying squirrel, the birds won the ball game, with the agile bat scoring the winning goal.

In a Creek Indian variation of this tale, the bat first asks to play with the birds but is rejected by them and accepted by the animals’ team. The animals then give teeth to the bat to make it more animal-like. Using its new teeth to hold the ball, the bat helps the animals to win the game.

Apaches tell a different tale about bats. In this story, Jonayaiyin, a hero who battled the enemies of mankind, killed several eagles and gave their feathers to a bat who had helped him escape from the eagles’ nest. Repeatedly, the bat’s feathers were stolen by small birds, and repeatedly the bat returned to Jonayaiyin to ask for more. Frustrated, Jonayaiyin eventually told the bat “You cannot take care of your feathers, so you shall never have any.” “Very well,” said the bat, “I deserve to lose them, for I could never take care of those feathers.”

Traditional Navajo folklore places the origin of bats in the earliest world, when all was dark: twelve insects and the bat revolved in darkness. The bat serves as mentor of the night and is identified with Talking God, one of the foremost deities.

Folklore from Fiji, in the South Pacific, tells us that flying foxes originated when a rat stole the wings of a heron, while another Fijian tale relates that it was the rat that first had wings while flying foxes walked on four legs. The flying fox obtained his wings when he borrowed them from the rat and refused to return them. The rat now tries to retaliate by climbing tees and eating the flying foxes’ young, and this is why flying foxes carry their pups with them. Samoan folklore tells of a similar origin for bats.

{Photo not mine}

artsandsmarts:

Pandora’s Pithos: Mistranslations Rewriting History

An artist’s rendition of the Greek origin story known as “Pandora’s Box.”
Done by John William Waterhouse in 1896, this painting is simply called “Pandora”.

In the commonly known story, Pandora, the first woman, is given a box by Zeus and told never to open it. Zeus then also gives her curiosity. Pandora, of course, opens the box as Zeus intended and releases all the evils of the world unto man (not unlike Eve biting the fruit of knowledge and unleashing sin upon humanity.)

What is less commonly known is that Pandora’s box, was never originally a box but actually a large jar.

“The original Greek word used was pithos, which is a large jar. It was used for storage of wine, oil, grain or other provisions, or, ritually, as a container for a human body for burying.” “The mistranslation of pithos is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam who translated Hesiod’s tale of Pandora into Latin. Erasmus rendered pithos as the Greek pyxis, meaning ‘box’”.

Pandora’s Large Jar just doesn’t have the same ring to it though, does it?