The living dead or ghoul is the closest relative of a vampire.
In Ukraine, it was believed that the ghouls possessed two souls, one of which remained with him after death. Moreover, ghouls could be both living people and the dead who emerge from their coffins at night.
Congenital ghouls appeared with a small tail or with six fingers.
Prerequisites for becoming a living dead
The origins of the ghoul can be very different, but it usually boils down to three main reasons:
- "Incorrect burial", that is, leaving the body without burial or burial not "according to the rules", without proper rituals - whether it be a mistake or outside interference in the funeral ritual.
Even if the deceased was a good person during his lifetime and died peacefully in his bed, he could become a ghoul if a cat jumped over his domino or a chicken flew over. Also, if the coffin accidentally touched the door jamb, or raindrops fell on the coffin, hail. Sometimes a buried person, according to all the rules, could turn into a ghoul, if his relatives grieved too much about him, called him by name, that is, in fact, they called him.
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- "Wrong death" - first of all, death is unnatural. A ghoul could be one who died at night, committed suicide or froze to death in a field. Often ghouls are the dead, whose murder was not avenged: anyone who died a violent death could leave the grave and restore justice (although there is a term "revenant" for such an entity).
- "Wrong life" - are endowed with the ability to rise from the grave and those who were somehow noticeable during life. This "mark" can be as hereditary - children born "in a shirt", as a result of incest, fifth sons in families where there are only boys, as well as children born with teeth. According to Romanian legends, illegitimate or unbaptized children, witches, sorcerers and the seventh sons of the seventh sons are doomed to become ghouls.
In Slavic countries, redheads were often considered potential ghouls (it is believed that Judas was also red), as well as those people who slept with their heads to the door and feet to the images; after death they had black blood flowing through their nose and mouth, and their eyes did not close.
And in Greece, where people are mostly dark-eyed, vampires were considered those who had blue eyes.
The character and lifestyle of a person could also lead to the fact that after death he did not lie quietly in the grave: angry and irritable people became ghouls, constantly preoccupied with something, not repaying debts and not fulfilling their promises. In the Slavic countries, it was believed that potential vampires could be evil and cruel people or those engaged in black magic, as well as perjurers, cursed by their parents, the corpses of those who died in sin. The same list includes excommunicated sinners.
In most folklore stories, the living dead does not attack everyone - his anger is directed at specific individuals, be it his killers or relatives who made a mistake in the funeral ritual. As a rule, ghouls prey on members of their family: husbands - for wives, wives - for husbands. Young girls are looking for ex-suitors. The victim of a ghoul very often becomes a ghoul itself.
How does a ghoul leave the grave? He is endowed with superhuman strength and can lift a tombstone if desired. But on the night before St. Andrew, the Moldovans can make him wear his own gravestone on his head. Some ghouls don't need to break through to the surface. They know how to "seep" upward through the earth and, once on the surface, take their previous form …
Ghoul differences
Montague Summers describes the collective image of the European ghoul as follows: “He is neither dead nor alive, but lives in death. He is an anomaly: an androgynous in the world of ghosts, a pariah among monsters. In reality, he is skinny and hairy, and when he is pumped, he becomes so fat that he almost bursts with satiety. Fresh blood oozes from his mouth, nose and ears. His body always remains icy: loose skin always retains a deathly pale and phosphorescent hue: but his lips are red and sensual, and protruding sharp fangs sparkle between them. Nails curled like the claws of a bird of prey are dirty and oozing blood. Its monstrously fetid breath spreads the smell of decay, rotting flesh. Finally, his hair is red, like Cain and Judas."
The pure East Slavic ghoul is more likely not a living corpse, but an "evil sorcerer". It is no coincidence that in Central Russia the ghoul is often called a "heretic", explaining his transformation by the rejection of the correct faith. By themselves, "posthumous walks" are explained in different ways: either these people are "not accepted by the earth", or, having concluded an agreement with evil spirits and dying prematurely, a person rises from the grave, as if living out the rest of the years as a living corpse. During the day, the ghoul usually sleeps in its grave, waking up at midnight. He sucks the blood of the sleeping and is horrified by the cry of the cock. The light is not fatal for him, but makes him flee to the shelter …
Among the Western Slavs, a ghoul is more of a dead man than a sorcerer, although in each country his appearance and abilities were slightly different. In Poland, it was believed that the ghoul does not bite, but has a forked tip of the tongue, with which it pierces the skin. Bulgarian vampires had only one nostril, a pointed tongue, and were "incapacitated" by placing roses around their graves.
Most ghouls are not exclusively bloodsuckers: they just "eat their victims (although they can eat something else), and also drink blood." Their periods of activity can vary, often from midday to midnight, and more closely resemble the daily routine of the average person. Some sleep in a coffin filled with blood, but this is not always the blood of the victims. Some in a critical situation turn into a flock of rats or other small disgusting creatures (larvae, etc.), which scatters in different directions, and in order to kill him, you must destroy everyone …
Prevention and methods of destruction of ghouls
Preventive measures include "reprimanding," that is, reading aloud the Holy Scriptures near the tomb of the deceased for three nights after death. To prevent the deceased from becoming a ghoul, a piece of parchment was placed under his tongue with a fragment of the Gospel of Luke written on it.
On the territory of Europe, it was believed that the undead could not approach the church at the distance at which the bell ringing was heard, and the ringing itself harmed or put to flight.
Cock's blood burns a ghoul like holy water. In general, many sacred objects act on spirits in an incorporeal form, including the Taoist fly-swatter whip, which cuts them down. According to Russian beliefs, the ghoul was afraid of the lutoshka (freshly cut linden stick, peeled from the bark), incense, and the herb of the "chertogon".
Many thought that the antidote for vampires could be their own blood. Hence - the conspiracy dough, where flour was mixed with the blood flowing from the vampire's body. In Poland and Prussia, they preferred to moisten a handkerchief in the blood from a corpse and give it to all relatives - either in pure form, or by mixing a little in the drink. In other places, they ate the earth from the ghoul's grave and smeared his chest with blood.
Naturally, almost everywhere ghouls were afraid of fire, as they burned in flames.
Having found the ghoul's dwelling, it was possible to use several methods to end him forever: shoot him with a consecrated silver bullet or tie him in a coffin with special knots. The dead were turned on their faces, additionally mutilated or rolled over with a large stone. In Eastern Europe, the grave of the "suspected ghoul" was filled with straw, the body was pierced with a stake, and then set on fire. Often the head was separated from the corpse using a gravedigger's shovel, spade, or a silver hatchet. The head was then placed at the feet of the deceased or near the pelvis and, for reliability, was fenced off from the rest of the body with an earthen roller.
V. Protasevich. “Interesting newspaper. Incredible №7 2012