Valkyrie

 

 

ORIGIN

They are found in Norse mythology

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

There are stories as far back as the 11th century but there is not actual point as to where their legend came about.

 

APPEARANCE

They are extremely beautiful, with long flowing golden hair and skin as white as the moon. They wear helmets of either gold or silver and they also wear red corselets.

 

GENDER

Female

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Valkyrja (from Old Norse meaning "chooser of the slain"), óskmey ("wish girl"), Óðins meyjar ("Odin’s girls"), wælcyrge and wælcyrie (Old English), also spelt Valkyr. They are sometimes given very unworldly names such as: Skogul (raging), Hlokk (shrieking) and Gjoll (screaming).

 

REPELLED BY

N/A

 

MAGICAL POWERS/SKILLS

They have superhuman strength but their main power is to search out the hero’s of the battlefield and take them to Odin to be part of his army.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

They are a host of females who decide who shall live and die in battle. Once they have chosen their fallen warriors (usually the most heroic), they take them into afterlife to the hall of the slain, known as Valhalla. This is ruled over by the God Odin. They are often referred to as Odin’s special battle maidens. There are usually 9 of them. The love Goddess Freya, leads them to wherever they are needed. No matter what happens, they never lose their love for the earth, they can also never be tied down but they go on to elevate and inspire those who need it. Sometimes they are connected to either swans or horses but they are usually accompanied by ravens. In some legends, they carried out sacrifices for Odin. In earlier stories however, they were sinister spirits of slaughter, seen as dark angels of death.

 

CAN BE FOUND

Most of the time they are found on the battlefield (especially bloody ones). They can also be found in the halls of Valhalla, serving drinks to those who are there.

 

TALES

They appear throughout the poetry of Skalds. They were also featured in the Poetic Edda, a book of poetry published in the 13th century. They were also found in earlier traditional sources including: the Prose Edda, Heimskringla and Njals saga (a saga of Icelanders). There are also various runic inscriptions that they appear in.

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

Apparently in some archaeological excavations throughout Scandinavia, they have uncovered amulets depicting them. In some of the most recent wars, men who have been close to death have reported seeing female figures walking all over the battlefield. Some of these views are disregarded as delusions.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

The Norns, The Fates

 

Jiang Shi

 

 

ORIGIN

Chinese mythology/folklore.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

It is unknown what time they actually originated but there is apparently wooden ledgers dating back to about 2,700 years ago.

 

APPEARANCE

They can appear as either a normal man or a hideous creature. They generally have long sharp black fingernails, long tongues and greenish-white furry skin. Their hair is either long and white or bald. They are badly decayed (although, this tends to depend on how long they have actually been dead). They appear to be dressed in clothes from the Qing Dynasty. Their arms are always stretched out. They are blind.

 

GENDER

Male

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Chiang-Shih, Goengsi (Cantonese), Kyonshi (Japanese), and Gangshi (Korean), Simplified Chinese: 僵尸, Traditional Chinese: 僵屍 or Pinyin: jiāngshi. The translation literally means "stiff corpse" or Zombie.

 

REPELLED BY

They can be put to sleep by writing a certain spell on a piece of yellow paper and putting it onto their forehead. Another way of evading them is to hold your breath. They are blind so your breath is their way of detecting you. Like any other typical vampire, you can throw seeds or rice in their path, they will be compelled to count every grain before they carry on. Sticky rice is believed to draw out the bad spirit. Chicken eggs and the blood of a black dog are said to be used as repellents.

 

MAGICAL POWERS/SKILLS

They appear to have some sort of superhuman strength (not uncommon for a lot of these types of creatures). Rather than suck a person’s blood, they are thought to actually steal their breath. They also have a very vicious nature, everything from ripping off a person’s limbs to rape.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

They are reanimated corpses that, literally, hop around. They kill living creatures so as to absorb their life essence. Their name comes from a practice in Chinese folklore where, if a family could not afford the travel to get a family member from where they died, they would hire a Taoist priest to reanimate the corpse so that it would hop back home for its burial. This is known as "Travelling a Corpse over a Thousand Li" (千里行屍). The priest would be the only one to transport them to their town as it was deemed bad luck for anyone to set their eyes on them. They done this at night only, ringing bells as they done so. This practise was popular in Xiangxi, where they used long bamboo rods to transport them. They are said to be created when a person’s soul fails to leave their body. These can come down to many factors, such as, a violent death, murder, suicide, improper burial or, quite simply, them just wanting to stay around and cause trouble. They are considered vampires by westerners (although, western influence is what actually brought the blood sucking influence into it). They have no self-awareness or independent thought, this is why they are also called zombies.

 

CAN BE FOUND

According to legends, during the day they either rest in coffins or hide in dark places such as caves. Can also be found in a hollow tree.

 

TALES

There are 2 oral accounts of transporting corpses in Liao Yiwu’s "The Corpse Walker". A lot of people speculated that the tales were made up by smugglers so that they could disguise the illegal activities and scare off the law. Some believe that they are made and controlled by a necromancer.

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

In Mian County, in Chinas Shaanxi province, the rural folk never go out after dark.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Slavic Vampires

 

Banshee

 

 

ORIGIN

From Irish and Scottish Mythology (Celtic mythology). Also found in German, French, Welsh, American and Norse folklore.

 

FIRST SIGHTED/RECORDED

Accounts go as far back as 1380 in a publication by Seean mac Craith called "Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh (Triumphs of Torlough)". They can also be found in Norman literature at that time.

 

APPEARANCE

Wears white/grey clothing or loose robes, in the style of a dress. Long fair hair (generally white or grey). She can have a slight haggard appearance of an old woman or sometimes appears as a young girl. Her eyes are red from all of the crying that she does. Sometimes depicted as having long black teeth and long breasts. Sometimes she is depicted as an evil fairy with vampire like characteristics. Often seen dressed in green, red or black with a grey cloak.

 

GENDER

Female

 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Bean-sidhe (Gaelic), Bean Si (Irish for "Woman of the Sidhe" or "Woman of the Fairy mounds") Bean Shith (Scottish) Nean-shidh (Scottish) & Bean Nighe ("little washer by the ford"). Name can also vary depending on the region. "Washer woman" (German) & "Dames blanches" (France). Hag of the Mist (Welsh folklore).

 

REPELLED BY

Nothing can really repel it as they are omens rather than manifested spirits. There are tales however of people being able to capture them and control them as their own. This is hard to believe though.

 

SPECIAL POWERS/SKILLS

It is said that if you come between her and the water then she is required to grant you 3 wishes in the exchange of 3 questions answered truthfully. She has the ability to shape shift (usually into hares, stoats or hooded crows, animals that are associated with witchcraft in Ireland). In Wales and Cornwall, if a passer-by sees a washerwoman, they must avoid being seen by her. If she sees them, they must help her wring out the sheets. If they twist them the same way as her, their arm will be pulled out its socket, get pulled into the sheets and die instantly. If they twist in the opposite direction however, she is required to grant them 3 wishes.

 

HISTORY/ABOUT

She is typically perceived as an omen of death (or a messenger). She is attached to the noble families of Ireland, appearing when one of them are about to die, foretelling their death so to speak. She does this by either keening (a piercing, wailing cry) or by washing their blood stained clothes (this one occurs more in Scottish mythology). Even if you don’t see her, you will hear her. When several appear at once it is said that someone great or holy is about to die. She is thought to be the spirit of an undead woman who then attaches herself to a family. In some legends she is either the spirit of a murdered woman or a woman who has died of a broken heart. They are often seen brushing their hair with a silver comb; this has led to them being confused with Mermaids.

 

CAN BE FOUND

Usually near lonely spots such as pools and streams. Also in any other secluded spots. They also hang around natural forms such as trees, rivers and stones. In Waterford, Monaghan and Carlow, there are wedge shaped rocks known as "Banshee’s chairs".

 

TALES

In one centuries old Irish legend, it is said that if you find her comb on the floor, you must NEVER pick it up otherwise they will lure you away forever. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seer, who was later revealed as a banshee, who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. There are many other tales of banshees attending the great houses and courts of the Irish kings. There have been tales found in America from the late 18^{th century.}

 

ANY SIGHTINGS?

Apparently she has been haunting the Tar River in Edgecombe County, North Carolina (in this instance, she has been reported as more of a ghoul rather than a messenger). Some alleged sightings have been reported as recently as 1948. In Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman). Her wail is reported as being so piercing that it can shatter glass. In Kerry, they have reported hearing a low, pleasant singing at the time of someone’s death. Apparently, in the Badlands of South Dakota, a banshee is said to wail upon a hill near Watch Dog Butte. Traditionally, they only cried for 5 great Celtic families (O’Gradys, O’Neills, O’Briens, O’Connors and the Kavanaghs). In the middle of the 19th century, Reverend Charles Bunworth of County Cork became deathly ill. A servant knew he was going to die as he heard the wail a couple of days before he actually died.

 

SIMILAR CREATURES

Cailleach, La Llorona, Rusalka