Tag Archives: legend

Hungry Ghosts: Mischievous Spirits

Arkane Curiosities

In Japan, ghosts can be much more than simply chain-rattling spirits. They hunger, and not only for the things you expect. Some of the hungry spirits (or Gaki) yearn for vomit or baby poop (yes, you heard me right). Many of the Gaki originate from sins people did while alive, a group of hungry ghosts are nothing more than mischievous spirits, called yasha.

Nature Spirits into Demons and Back

The yasha are supernatural beings that can range from caring to murderous. They began in India as benevolent nature spirits who watched over the earth and the forests. Yet as they migrated into China, they shifted into ghost-like spirits who preyed on travelers. 

Finally, as these spirits entered Japan, they were seen as a demon-god (kijin) to be worshiped and feared. They mixed with the legends of the amanojaku and oni.

The Last Twenty Gaki

In the last post, we explored the first sixteen hungry ghosts. Here are the other twenty to make the full consort of 36.

17 Underworld Ghosts

These spirits live in caves or with snakes in their burrows. They suffer from hunger and chills, a result of extreme thirst. These Gaki can also create epidemics. In life, they put someone in jail for personal gain. 

18 Supernatural-Power Ghosts

The most powerful of the Hungry Ghosts, these spirits may experience some joy. They inhabit the deep mountains, the middle of the sea, or other remote locations. Demons surround them, constantly staring at them. In life, they abused power by stealing other people’s property. 

19 Blazing Ghosts

The bodies of these spirits continually burn with a blazing fire, making them cry out in pain. They wander the countryside, desiring to loot villages or robbing people. In life, they looted and robbed. 

20 Infant-Excrement-Eating Ghosts

Only the excrement of babies will do for these spirits, who linger around cribs. They target mothers who let their babies sit in their own poop too long. When a child cries, people believe that the ghost has appeared to the child. These spirits are yakṣa rather than the  deceased.

21 Desirable Appearance Ghosts

These ghosts will shift appearance, becoming attractive or repulsive to gain access to food. They can prey on people’s lust. Additionally, they can transform into animals to swoop in to steal food. These spirits are considered yakṣa, a class of nature-spirits. 

22 Island Ghosts

These spirits are always thirsty and live on uninhabited islands. They slurp up the morning dew, but it offers them little respite. The heat of even a single winter day would feel hotter than ten-times a summer’s day. In life, these people abused those in difficult situations, like refugees or lost travelers. 

23 Assistant-to-the-Underworld Ghosts

Also known as Assistants of Yama Armed with Sticks, these hungry ghosts managed other ghosts and spirits. Yama, the Indian god of the Dead, record sinful acts committed by humans and bring these sinners back to Yama. Physically, they have scrunched-up hair draped over their faces and long ears with protruding stomachs. People pray to these ghosts on their deathbed, which means these Assistants linger between the human world and the underworld. 

24 Child-Eating Ghosts

These Gaki are malicious, feeding off the energy of infants. They wander in search of children to kidnap, but are often unsuccessful (thus their hunger). In life, they were healers who promised to cure a sick person with prayers, but abused their position. 

25 Energy-Eating Ghosts

These Gaki lurk around critically ill people and siphon off their energy. They might also target depressed people, gradually creeping into that person’s life to absorb their “vital energy.”

26 Brahmanic Rākṣasa Ghosts

These ghosts haunt crossroads and back all eyes. They linger and await the right opportunity to latch onto a victim and possess the body. While controlling the person, they will act recklessly in an attempt to kill the person. In life, these people were religious leaders who lost their faith. 

27 Hearth Ghosts

These Gaki loiter in kitchens or religious establishments to steal food. They also gorge on temple leftovers, mixed with coal. In life, these were people who stole food from religious sites. 

28 Dirty Street Ghosts

These Gaki live on dirty city streets, skulking in places where vomit and urine stains the streets. They dine off this refuse as their nourishment. 

29 Wind-Eating Ghosts

Each time this ghost reached for food or drink, it proves to be an optical illusion and vanishes with the wind. They are tormented by illusions of sustenance, only to have nothing in the end. In life, these people made empty promises and donations to charity. 

30 Coal-Eating Ghosts

These hungry ghosts wander through cemeteries, searching for the remains of a cremated body. They then scarf down the ashes generated from cremation fires. In life, they were in charge of prisons and let the inmates suffer from hunger. 

31 Poison-Eating Ghost

These ghosts nosh on poisonous fumes and toxic grass. Their food ends up killing them and then they regain their life only to hunger for these poisons again. They live in caves on mountains with extreme hot or cold weather. The mountains are home to wild beasts (lions, hawks or tigers) who pluck out the eyes of these unfortunate Gaki. Additionally, it can sometimes rain knives from the sky. In life, they poisoned someone to steal that person’s property. 

32 Jungle Ghosts

These Gaki roam the jungle, driven by intense hunger. As they traverse the wilds, branches and thorns cut their skin, jungle animals attack them, and fierce birds swoop down. When they finally arrive where they think there’s food, they discover it’s the wrong place. These ghosts are punished for a very specific punishment. Often, virtuous men would plant trees and provide people with water while traveling. These thieves steal the water, making the travelers thirsty and weak, and thus easier to rob. 

33 Living-in-Cremation-Grounds and Eating-Hot-Ashes Ghosts

Similar to the Coal-Eating ghosts, these long titled ghosts lug instruments of torture on their back to mimic the acts they committed in their former lives. In addition, they also carry red-hot irons on their head. In life, they stole offerings and flowers from temples.

34 Living-in-Trees Ghosts

These ghosts are reborn inside trees, where insects and animals chew away their bodies. Also, the weather that batters the tree also affects these ghosts. It’s believed that hermit monks, who live away from civilization, will be tormented by entire forests of these Gaki. In life, they stole wood from Buddhist temples.

35 Crossroads Ghosts

These ghosts reside in the classic haunted area of crossroads. People will make offerings to these spirits to ward off illness or difficulties at work. In life, they stole food from travelers who were crossing through remote parts of the world. 

36 Mara-Body Ghosts

These Gaki superficially feed off the confusion generated by the daily lives of Buddhist temples. They frighten monks with sinister sounds or nightmares. Their goal is to disrupt and undermine the entire community. In life, these people spouted false doctrines. 

Tim Kane

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Gods of Thieving

Arkane Curiosities

In the various mythologies around the world, we can find plenty of luck and gambling deities. Yet there are very few gods of outright theft. Saint Nicolas (yes, the Santa Claus guy) comes close with his breaking and entering, but he’s the patron saint of reformed theives. Who exactly are the gods of thieving and outright stealing?

Hermes the Trickster

One of the most famous gods of mischief and trickery is Hermes, who started his career in crime as a baby. It seems the infant god had a hankering for some beef and left his cradle to wrangle up fifty cattle belonging to his brother, Apollo.

To keep the theft secret, Hermes marched the cattle backward, thus disguising which direction the cattle were traveling. Hermes also invented sandals to hide the shape of his feet. All of this so he could roast up a good side of ribs.

He was eventually caught, but Apollo was so amused by the youngster’s trickery that the two became fast friends. Apollo even gave the trickster god a golden caduceus, becoming a symbol for Hermes ever since. 

Santa Muerte

The newest addition to the small pantheon of criminal deities is Santa Muerte, also known as Señora de las Sombras (Lady of the Shadows) or La Santísima Muerte (The Most Holy Death). The phrase Santa Muerte means good death and comes from a Catholic prayer asking for a peaceful passing into the afterlife. Since then, Santa Muerte has become the beloved saint of any who are dispossessed. 

Figures of death have been a common fixture  in Catholic iconography since the thirteenth century, originating with the European plagues. Santa Muerte’s first appearance was in a 1797 inquisition report on the practices of indigenous worshipers. She was mentioned again in the novel Los hijos de Sánchez by American anthropologist Oscar Lewis. 

However Santa Muerte exploded into celebrity with the season three episode of Breaking Bad (No Mas), depicting the Santa Muerte shrine. Since the early 2000s, the cult of Santa Muerte has grown exponentially.

She is popular with migrants as well as sex workers and those in LGBTQ communities. Santa Muerte is associated with those who live precarious lives or are engaged in dangerous undertakings. Worship of her derives from indigenous practices including elements of Spiritualism, Santería, and New Age ideas about spiritual energy.

Santa Muerte’s appeal lies in her non-judgemental nature. She will grant wishes in return for a pledge or an offering. She holds no moral judgment over your actions. 

Both the Catholic Church and the Mexican government oppose and outlaw the worship of Santa Muerte, despite the millions who pay homage to her. 

Laverna the Lost Goddess of Thieving

Laverna was the Roman goddess who answered the prayers of robbers and thieves. The Porta Lavernalis on Aventine Hill was named after her. 

Little is known of this ancient goddess. She may have originated with the Etruscans, where she was venerated as a goddess of the underworld. Since most thieving happens in the dark, the connection is obvious. The word Laverna derives from the Latin latere (to lurk) and levator (a thief).

To honor Laverna, you pour libations with your left hand. This ensures that you have a successful heist without getting caught. She might have also been a goddess of vengeance. In a Plautus play, a cook calls upon Laverna to seek revenge on some thieves who pilfered his tools. Perhaps Laverna served the person who called upon her first (or offered her the most). Or maybe she simply gets annoyed with thieves who were bungling enough to let their crimes be known. 

Tim Kane

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Three Bizarre Christmas Traditions: Poop Logs, Christmas Spiders and Evil Goblins

Arkane Curiosities

At this point, Krampus has become a well known phenomenon. There’s even an American Dad episode about the mischievous bringer of discipline. Krampus is a downright celebrity these days. Here are three lesser known strange and bizarre Christmas traditions.

The Poop Log of Catalonia

Tió de Nadal translates from Catalan to “Christmas log” or simply “tree trunk.” The other name for this Xmas tradition is Caga Tió, or poop log. Yes that’s right. It’s a log that poops out presents on Christmas Day.

It works like this, starting on the Dia de la Immaculada Concepció (Feast of Immaculate Conception, December 8th) you “feed” the Caga Tió sweets and candy. Each evening, after dinner, kids would save a peel from an orange or other fruit and place it in a feeding bowl in front of the little log. Bits of cookies and other sweets work as well.

Each night, you drape a blanket over the body of Caga Tió to keep it warm. We don’t want our gift-giving log to freeze in a cold winter home. This continues until December 24th, and gradually the log will grow in size (or maybe it’s the parents switching out the log for larger one). 

Then comes the beating. You gather around your log and hit it with a stick to make sure it poops, all while singing a cute little song…

Caga tió, (Poop log)
tió de Nadal, (Log of Christmas)
no caguis arengades (Don’t poop salted herring)
que són massa salads (They are too salty)
caga turróns (Poop turróns)
que són més bons! (They are much better!)

Then, like magic, presents and candies (called turróns) appear under the blanket.

Ukrainian Christmas Spiders

In Ukraine, you will often see spiderwebs decorating the Christmas tree. This comes from an old legend about some rather helpful arachnids. 

There was once a widow who lived in a tiny house with her children. One day, a pine one took root outside their home and the children tended to the growing seedling in hopes of having a splendid Christmas tree. Yet as the year slipped into winter, the widow knew that they would not be able to afford decorations. Finally on Christmas Eve, they set up the tree in their house, but its branches were bare.

That night, while they slept, the spiders of the house heard the sobs from the disappointed children. They went to work on the tree, spinning delicate webs on every branch. 

The next morning, the youngest child opened a window and the first rays of sunlight sparkled against the new decorations. The light of Christmas Day transformed the webbing into silver and gold. From that day forward, the widow never wanted for anything. 

Ukrainians still decorate their trees with spiderwebs to bring good luck for the coming year. So maybe don’t shoo that spider away too quickly on Christmas Eve. After all, they also need a warm and cozy place on a winter night.

Mischievous Greek Goblins

The Kallikantzaroi are mischief-making goblins who live in the center of the Earth. They spend the year trying to saw down the Tree of Life, which holds up the world.

During the Twelve Days of Christmas, they dig their way to the surface to bring their naughty tricks to our houses. This is the time, starting at the Winter Solstice, where the sun does not shift in the sky.

Tiny black creatures with long tails, the Kallikantzaroi are mostly blind owing to their life underground. Afraid of the sunlight, they only emerge at night, feeding on any small critters, such as frogs, worms and snails.

They sneak into your house through any cracked window, down chimneys, or through keyholes. Once inside, the havoc begins. They are not evil, per se, but impish and idiotic.

There are up to twenty different types of Kallikantzaroi and each specialized in a different type of mayhem. Some urinate on your cooking or imbue food with horrific smells. Others mimic voices to tease, torment or steal. 

You can keep the Kallikantzaroi away by leaving a colander on your doorstep. These little imps will have to count all the holes, but they can only ever make it to two and then are forced to start over. You can also burn an old shoe — the foul smell will keep these pests away. 

A link to the Norse tradition of Yule comes with a method to keep these goblins out of your chimney. You simply burn a log, but keep it going for all twelve days. Once you’ve reached January 6th, you are safe and the Kallikantzaroi return to the center of the Earth.  

Tim Kane

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The Cailleach: A Celtic Goddess Who Shaped the Land with an Apron Full of Rocks

Arkane Curiosities

The Cailleach was a Celtic goddess who traversed Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. She was responsible for the creation of islands and lakes. Seen as both a creator and destroyer, she was known as the “Veiled One.”

Cailleach means “old woman” or “hag” in Scottish and Gaelic. In fact, some scholars believe that this was a title given to any old woman. 

The Cailleach is often veiled, often depicted with a single eye. She has deathly pale skin with red teeth. Skulls adorned her clothing. Sometimes she was depicted as a giantess, leaping from mountain to mountain. The Manx believed she could shapeshift into a giant bird. 

The Shaper of the Land

As she leapt from mountain to mountain, she carried huge rocks bundled up in her apron. Dropping these could create new hills or even islands. She also managed several wells and could use these to flood the land. 

Her tools of creation and destruction included her hammer, with which she was able to control storms and thunder. In some legends, she also controlled a well that would occasionally overflow and flood the land.

Poet Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) included her in one of his compositions:

“Determined now her tomb to build,
Her ample skirt with stones she filled,
And dropped a heap on Carron-more;
Then stepped one thousand yards to Loar,
And dropped another goodly heap;
And then with one prodigious leap,
Gained carrion-beg; and on its height
Displayed the wonders of her might.”

Builder of Islands

One day, the Cailleach happened to be wading through the Northern Channel, between Scotland and Ireland. A French sailor maneuvered his ship between the giantess’s legs. The sail brushed her inner thigh and the sensation to this intimate area gave Cailleach a start. She dropped her load of rocks, forming the island of Ailsa Craig. (Source: Eleanor Hull in her article Legends and Traditions of the Cailleach Bheara or Old Woman (Hag) of Beare)

Hill Builder

In ancient times, many giants roamed the northern isles — the most famous being Gog-Magog and Cailleach-Mhore (Great Cailleach). Legends say that Cailleach-Mhore trudged over the hills, this time carrying massive rocks in a creel (a basket slung over her back). She halted to catch her breath and the creel ripped under the weight. Boulders tumbled onto the landscape, forming new hills. Many hills are known as the “spellings from the creel of the big old woman.”

The Cailleach (also known as Beria in Scotland) created the mountains to use as stepping stones across the land. They also provided houses for her many sons, called the Foawr, the stone throwing giants. These giant children always quarreled with each other. To punish any children who disobeyed her, Beria would close up their mountain houses so they could not leave.

Still angry with each other, her children would climb to the top of their mountain houses and toss boulders at each other. Many of these now lie on the steep slopes or scattered around the valleys of Scotland. 

Beria also used her magic hammer to shape the hills, splintering the rocks so that she could tell one hill from another. She would also strike the ground to form valleys.

Creator of Loch Ness

The Cailleach also had two wells that she managed. Each morning, she would uncap the wells to draw water and then shut them up at dusk. But the two wells were very far apart and she grew weary of trekking backing and forth each day.

She hired a maiden, named Nessa, to work the smaller well. One day, Nessa was late and found the water gushing out of the well. Frightened, she ran away, leaving the water flowing all night. 

Needless to say, Cailleach was displeased. She cursed the maid to forever run and never leave the water. Nessa was transformed into the river Ness, which flows into Loch Ness.

According to legend, once a year (on the anniversary of her transformation) Nessa emerges from the Loch and sings a sad song to the moon. Her voice is more melodious than any bird or the golden harps of the fairies. 

The Cailleach was also the goddess of winter, and we’ll explore that in the next post. 

Tim Kane

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3 Weird Ways to Confuse a Vampire

Arkane Curiosities

If a vampire has you on their menu, you can reach for a stake or garlic. But another solution is to simply confuse the vampire. Through the years, people have surmised various weaknesses of these nocturnal bloodsuckers and come up with different ways to perplex them. A confused vampire is one that won’t be feasting on you.

Force the Vampire to Do Some Math

Many cultures contend that vampires are obsessive to the point of compulsion. They will count various objects, no matter how many, until the job is done. We can use this to our advantage.

Germans would scatter seeds (poppy, mustard, oat or carrot) around the grave of a suspected vampire. The undead was compelled to count all the seeds before leaving the grave to seek blood. Although this seems like a simple task, often the vampire found themselves delayed till daylight. The Kashubs of Poland believed a vampire could only count a single seed a year, thus keeping it busy for centuries. 

Knots could also delay a vampire. Nets were often buried with the deceased forcing the undead to untie all the knots.

A more macabre practice was to leave a dead cat or dog on your doorstep. In this case, the vampire must count all the hairs on the animal. Personally, I would opt for the seeds. 

Trick the Vampire with Poop

Never has the poop emoji been so powerful. No garlic or crucifix at hand? Just shove a bowl of excrement in the vampire’s face.

In Europe, vampires were thought to exit the grave through small holes (the size a serpent might make). In Bulgaria, they placed bowls of feces (or poison) right outside these holes. The vampire, it seems, is so famished that it will consume the first thing it comes across, devouring the bowl of excrement. 

Get the Vampire Drunk

A happy vampire is one that won’t invade your home. Sometimes a bottle of whiskey was left in the grave with the corpse. If the vampire became too drunk, it might not be able to find the home of its relatives, preventing it from feeding on you. 

In Romania, people would bury a bottle of wine with the corpse. After six weeks, they dug up the bottle and drank it, offering a form of protection from the strigoi (a Romanian vampire).

Tim Kane

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