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DRAUGR, NORSE UNDEAD

Draugr, the undead of Scandinavian folklore. The origin of the word is not entirely clear, but its meaning and what it represents: the undead, the one who walks again. Related to the High German gitrog, the Old Norse draugr or the Indo-European dhreugh. Draugar are those who come back to life to protect the treasure with which they were buried. Also called Hel-Blár (blue death) or nár-fölr (pale corpse). Several stories about the Draugar and their cruelty appear in the sagas. They come back to life, emerging from the mounds where they were buried. They attack cattle, shepherds and anyone who is a threat to get what they want. They have supernatural strength, they are intelligent and their greed and hunger for meat knows no bounds. They can shape-shift, and their mental powers allow them to enter people's dreams, make them go mad or even see the future. To prevent transformation into a Draugr, open scissors should be placed over the chest of a recently deceased person, and twigs and straw between their clothes. The thumbs of the foot should be tied with needles, to prevent the Draugr from walking. The coffin must be carried and lowered in three different directions while being carried out of the house to disorient the Draugr, and will be carried feet first so that he cannot see which way is the way. When the deceased is taken out of the house it should not be done through the door, as the Draugr upon returning from death will remember where the entrance to the house is. The body must be taken out through an open hole in the wall of the house, and once outside, the hole will be sealed so that the Draugr cannot enter. They say there is only one way to kill a Draugr: by burning his body...But maybe for that you have to be very close to him...so close that maybe his strength and ability will turn you into another Draugr before you can burn his body....


 
 
 

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