Nachzehrer: Difference between revisions
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In [[German folklore]], a '''nachzehrer''' (also spelt '''nachtzehrer''') is a |
In [[German folklore]], a '''nachzehrer''' (also spelt '''nachtzehrer''') is a type of ''wiedergänger'' ([[revenant]]) which was believed to be able to drag the living after it into death, either through malice or through the desire to be closer to its loved ones through various means.{{sfn|Geige|1974|pp=812}} The word ''nachzehrer'' came to use in the nineteenth century, though belief in the creature the label is applied to precedes this by several centuries.{{sfn|Bohn|2019|Pp. 32-33}} The nachzehrer was prominent in the [[folklore]] of the northern regions of Germany, but even in [[Silesia]] and [[Bavaria]], and the word was also used to describe a similar creature of the [[Kashubes]] of Northern [[Poland]].{{cite needed|date=November 2023}} The nachzehrer was similar to the Slavic vampire in that it was known to be a recently deceased person who returned from the grave to attack family and village acquaintances.{{cite needed|date=November 2023}} |
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==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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A nachzehrer was thought to be able to drain their victim's life-force remotely. This could involve devouring their own funeral shrouds and clothing - thought to be a very common sign of a nachzehrer.{{sfn|Bohn|2019|Pp. 32-33}} The danger was thought to be particularly great if the living had given the deceased some of their own possessions (e.g. as grave goods).{{sfn|Geige|1974|pp=812}} Another belief was that if a person's name was not removed from his burial clothing, that person would be a candidate for becoming a nachzehrer.{{cite needed|date=November 2023}} Open eyes or mouths, red lips, and a soft corpse were all seen as signs of a nachzehrer.{{sfn|Geige|1974|pp=813}} Further evidence was the corpse holding its thumb in its opposite hand.{{sfn|Geige|1974|pp=813}} |
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A Nachzehrer is created most commonly after [[suicide]], and sometimes from an accidental death. According to German lore, a person does not become a nachzehrer from being bitten or scratched; the transformation happens after death and is not communicable. Nachzehrers are also related to sickness and disease. If a large group of people died of the [[Plague (disease)|plague]], the first person to have died is believed to be a nachzehrer. |
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They were associated with epidemic sickness, but this was not a necessity for their existence.{{sfn|Bohn|2019|Pp. 32-33}} |
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Typically, a nachzehrer devours its family members upon waking. It has also been said that they devour their own bodies, including their funeral shrouds, and the more of themselves they eat, the more of their family they physically drain. It is not unlikely that the idea of the dead eating themselves might have risen from bodies in open graves who had been partly eaten by scavengers like rats. |
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The nachzehrer was similar to the Slavic vampire in that it was known to be a recently deceased person who returned from the grave to attack family and village acquaintances. |
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{{quote|Some Kashubes believed that the Nachzehrer would leave its grave, shapeshifting into the form of a pig, and pay a visit to their family members to feast on their blood. In addition, the Nachzehrer was able to ascend to a church belfry to ring the bells, bringing death to anyone who hears them. Another lesser known ability of the Nachzehrer is the power it had to bring death by causing its shadow to fall upon someone. Those hunting the Nachzehrer in the graveyard would listen for grunting sounds that it would make while it munched on its grave clothes.<ref>Bunson, Matthew (1993). ''The Vampire Encyclopedia'', p. 185,186, Gramercy, {{ISBN|0-517-16206-7}}.</ref>}} |
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It usually originated from an unusual death such as a person who died by suicide or accident. They were also associated with epidemic sickness, such as whenever a group of people died from the same disease, the person who died first was labeled to be the cause of the group's death. Another belief was that if a person's name was not removed from his burial clothing, that person would be a candidate for becoming a nachzehrer. |
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The official killing myth says a nachzehrer can be killed by placing a coin in its mouth, and then chopping off its head. |
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Finding nachzehrer in order to kill them is not difficult; it is characteristic of a nachzehrer to lie in its grave with its thumb in its opposite hand, and its left eye open. Additionally, they are easily found while eating their burial shroud due to the noise they produce doing so.{{cite needed|date=September 2021}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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{{German folklore}} |
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==Bibliography== |
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*{{cite book|title=The Vampire: Origins of a European Myth|last=Bohn |first=Matthew |year=2019 |publisher=Berghahn Books}} |
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*{{cite book|title=The Vampire Encyclopedia |last=Bunson |first= Matthew | year=1993 |publisher=Gramercy |ISBN=0-517-16206-7}} |
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*{{cite encyclopedia |title=Nachtzehrer |encyclopedia=Handwörterbuch Des Deutschen Aberglaubens Vol. 6: Mauer - Pflugbrot |year=1974 |last=Geige |editor-last1=Bächtold-Stäubli|editor-first1= Hanns |editor-last2=Hoffmann-Krayer|editor-first2=Eduard|publisher=Walter de Gruyter| url=https://archive.org/details/handworterbuch-des-deutschen-aberglaubens-vollstandig-band-01-bis-10-berlin-1987/page/n2497/mode/2up}} |
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| ⚫ | *{{Cite web |url=http://www.focus.it/curiosita/storia/Il_vampiro_di_Venezia_2902191746_C12.aspx |title=Vampire woman of Venice |access-date=2012-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530011436/http://www.focus.it/curiosita/storia/Il_vampiro_di_Venezia_2902191746_C12.aspx |archive-date=2013-05-30 |url-status=dead }} |
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[[Category:Corporeal undead]] |
[[Category:Corporeal undead]] |
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[[Category:German legendary creatures]] |
[[Category:German legendary creatures]] |
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Revision as of 20:36, 30 November 2023
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2011) |
In German folklore, a nachzehrer (also spelt nachtzehrer) is a type of wiedergänger (revenant) which was believed to be able to drag the living after it into death, either through malice or through the desire to be closer to its loved ones through various means.[1] The word nachzehrer came to use in the nineteenth century, though belief in the creature the label is applied to precedes this by several centuries.[2] The nachzehrer was prominent in the folklore of the northern regions of Germany, but even in Silesia and Bavaria, and the word was also used to describe a similar creature of the Kashubes of Northern Poland.[citation needed] The nachzehrer was similar to the Slavic vampire in that it was known to be a recently deceased person who returned from the grave to attack family and village acquaintances.[citation needed]
Overview
A nachzehrer was thought to be able to drain their victim's life-force remotely. This could involve devouring their own funeral shrouds and clothing - thought to be a very common sign of a nachzehrer.[2] The danger was thought to be particularly great if the living had given the deceased some of their own possessions (e.g. as grave goods).[1] Another belief was that if a person's name was not removed from his burial clothing, that person would be a candidate for becoming a nachzehrer.[citation needed] Open eyes or mouths, red lips, and a soft corpse were all seen as signs of a nachzehrer.[3] Further evidence was the corpse holding its thumb in its opposite hand.[3]
They were associated with epidemic sickness, but this was not a necessity for their existence.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b Geige 1974, pp. 812.
- ^ a b c Bohn, 2019 & Pp. 32-33.
- ^ a b Geige 1974, pp. 813.
Bibliography
- Bohn, Matthew (2019). The Vampire: Origins of a European Myth. Berghahn Books.
- Bunson, Matthew (1993). The Vampire Encyclopedia. Gramercy. ISBN 0-517-16206-7.
- Geige (1974). "Nachtzehrer". In Bächtold-Stäubli, Hanns; Hoffmann-Krayer, Eduard (eds.). Handwörterbuch Des Deutschen Aberglaubens Vol. 6: Mauer - Pflugbrot. Walter de Gruyter.
- "Vampire woman of Venice". Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2012-07-06.