🎃👻Happy Halloween 👻🎃

🎃Happy 👻Halloween 🎃 

Thanks for the views and shares, have a safe and fun night.🦇🌕🦇

Scandinavian Folklore: Mara.👻

The Mara is a female spirit like being from Scandinavian mythology.

One of the earliest mention and possibly the original origins of the tale comes from the Norse Ynglinga saga, a 13th century saga written by Snorri Sturlson, an Icelandic poet. 

In the saga King Vanlandi Sveigoisson of Uppsala is killed by a mara which is conjured by the Finnish sorceress Huld, hired by the king’s abandoned wife.

.....

–Ynglinga Saga, Verse 16..

“Driva bribed the witch-

wife Huld, either that she should bewitch Vanlande to return to

Finland, or kill him. When this witch-work was going on Vanlande

was at Upsal, and a great desire came over him to go to Finland;

but his friends and counsellors advised him against it, and said

the witchcraft of the Finn people showed itself in this desire of

his to go there. He then became very drowsy, and laid himself

down to sleep; but when he had slept but a little while he cried

out, saying that the Mara was treading upon him. His men

hastened to him to help him; but when they took hold of his head

she trod on his legs, and when they laid hold of his legs she

pressed upon his head; and it was his death. The Swedes took his

body and burnt it at a river called Skytaa, where a standing

stone was raised over him.”

....         

....... .

........

In Polish folklore the mara is described as a soul of a living person who leaves their body at night (astral projection) and are seen by others in the form of wisps of hair or moths. 

In Czech lore there are stories  of a “night-butterfly,” also thought to be linked to the mara legend. 

In Russian folklore she's  invisible but with the ability to also take the form of a woman with long hair. Other mentions of mara in Slavic folklore include descriptions of the her as a succubus-like creature that invades men’s dreams and lead them to their doom (Croatia) and as a spirit who enters through the keyhole and strangles you while you sleep (Serbia). 

In Turkey, the mara is called the Karabasan which translates to “ominous-presser.”

,.....

In the  Icelandic Vatnsdæla saga as a spirit connected to the fate of the person it is attached to and in the Eyrbyggja saga (also Icelandic in origin) where the sorceress Geirrid is said to assume the shape of a marlíðendr or “night-rider.”

In Germany there are records of charms and prayers to ward off the mara, such as the below:

Here I am lying down to sleep;

No night-mare shall plague me

until they have swum through all the waters

that flow upon the earth,

and counted all stars

that appear in the skies.

Thus help me God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!..

,..... . 

The legend of the mara is also connected to the legend of the old had or night hag, a story used in many cultures to explain sleep paralysis. 

The first definition of sleep paralysis appears in Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary under the term “nightmare”:

Nightmare n.s. [night, and according to Temple, mara, a spirit that in the heathen mythology, was related to torment to suffocate sleepers.] A morbid oppression in the night, resembling the pressure of weight upon the chest.

                        Old Hag, Night Hag.

.....

......

Other versions from around the world.

.. 

In Japan it is referred to as kanashibari, which translates as “to bind” or “to tie.”

In Mongolia sleep paralysis is called khar darakh, which translates to “to be pressed by the Black.” 

Thai belief describes sleep paralysis as being caused by a ghost called Phi Am.

Newfoundland and parts of the southern United States where the hag leaves her body and sits on the chest of the victim.

In Arab cultures it is referred to as Ja-thoom which means “what sits heavily on something.” It is believed sleep paralysis can be prevented by reading the Throne verse of the Quran.

......

The origins of the name comes from the Nordic word for nightmare (the Norwegian word for nightmare is mareitt, the Icelandic name is martroo, and the Swedish word  is mardrom). Mareitt and martroo roughly translate as “mare-ride”, referencing the original use of the term, while mardrom translates as “mare-dream.” 

...

🎃 Happy Halloween  👻

Japanese Yokai: Gashadokuro 💀

 

💀Gashadokuro💀

This Yokai is the physical manifestation of human regret, hunger and death.

The Gashadokuro is a towering monstrous skeleton formed from the grudge and regret of those that have died on the battle field or from starvation. It's body is made from the Bones of countless dead  individuals.

The earliest record of a gashadokuro goes back over 1000 years to a bloody rebellion against the central government by a samurai named Taira no Masakado. 

His daughter Takiyasha hime was a famous sorceress. When Masako was eventually killed for his revolt, his daughter continued his cause. Using her dark magic, she summoned a massive skeleton from the bodies of dead soldiers to attack the city of Kyōto. Her monster is depicted in a famous print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

. . 

In another vision of the story the Gashadokuro is formed from soldiers whose bodies are left to rot in the fields and victims of famine who die unknown in the villages or off in the wilderness and don't receive a proper funeral, unable to pass on, their souls linger as vengeful spirits these people die with anger and pain in their hearts. 

That energy remains long after their flesh has rotted away, As their bodies decay, their anger ferments into a grudge against the living, which twists them into a supernatural force. When the bones of hundreds or thousands of victims gather together into one mass, they form the giant, skeletal monster. This Yokai existence will last for however the rage and regret in the bone s it's made of still lingers. They are most often found around graveyards mass Graves or battlefields where there are a large mass of dead bodies or death.

This Yokai wanders around the countryside in the late hours of the night. Their teeth chatter and bones rattle with the “gachi gachi” sound. 

However they aren't always noisy. If they spot a human out late on the roads, the gashadokuro will silently sneak up and catch their victims, crushing them in their hands or biting off their head.

Be careful of you're next night walk you definitely don't want to run into one of these guy's... 💀👻

..  ...... 

Gashadokuro in anime.

............

💀🎃👻

Wyoming wolfman.

Eyewitness Dogman sighting in  Boulder Wyoming..

My name is Ken, 8 years ago my brother Jon was heading home from his girlfriends house off a county road outside of Boulder 11 miles south of Pinedale Wyoming. 

It was around 1 or 2 am when he saw what he said was a huge dog traverse down the slope on the south side of the road and commense to run along side his pickup.

 He was driving a 69-70 Ford F150 highboy which came from the factory lifted. The dogman was running with him at 35-40 mph. 

Theres a 2-3ft barrow ditch running along the road and the dogmans head was level with his as he was driving so Jon puts its height at 7 to 8 ft. 

It was dark in color with grey or white on its muzzle running from its nose to under its eyes which were amber in color. 

He sped up to 45 and the dogman kept up with him often looking inside the pickup. He said at around 50mph he lost it and thats all he would tell me.

,.....

Irish Folkore and Fay: The Pooka

 

 

 

 

The pooka (or púca) are  some of the most feared shapshifting  creatures in Irish mythology.  

 

They were believed to bring either good or bad luck to those who see them and were especially feared around times of harvest. As a good or bad harvest could mean the difference between life and death during a hard winter.

They often take the form of a wild dog, with red sulfurous eyes, but could also take the form of a goblin or human with animal features. According to Celtic mythology, they are often written as evil and devilish.

However, there are also tales of them warning humans of accidents or being called on for protection.

 

 A similar fairy entity appears in the mythology of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Channel Islands.

Often thought of as an animal spirit, some accounts believe it gets its name from Poc, meaning he-goat in Irish. In fact, Pooka is a changeling and can take an animal or human form; like a horse, donkey, cat, dog, bull, young man, or even a voluptuous young woman. The animal Pooka is usually jet black with fiery golden or red eyes. Some associate it with the devil!

 

 

They live deep in the mountains and hillside. Depending on the part of Ireland your in, Pooka was  either helpful or harmful. It's been known to help farmers for example, but it can also wreak havoc in a farm.

Though in general an encounter with y a poika usually seen as a bad oman. 

Poika is know for it's intelligence and deceptive nature and it's ability to lie convincingly to it's target. It is also considered a fertility spirit in some regions since it has the power to create or destroy.  Another one of it's abilities is  human speech, it is a gifted prophesier.

 

 November is the month of Pooka. In Ireland essentially at Halloween,  children went out dressed as pooka and collected treats or played pranks(early truck or treating) but others stayed indoors, fearful of stories they had heard of what Pooka did to children. The Pooka is considered a  bogeyman  in some places throughout Ireland.

 

 This  fay  is also  documented in the classic literature of Ireland and Britain. Irish poet and playwright W. B. Yeats depicts Pooka as an eagle, while Irish novelist and playwright Brian O’Nolan, who wrote under the pseudonym Flann O’Brien, was also so inspired. O’Brien’s masterpiece, At Swim-Two-Birds, features a character called Pooka MacPhillemey, a “member of devil class”. In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck is a mischievous and quick-witted sprite responsible for setting many of the play’s events in motion through his magic.

Often appearing as a horse, Pooka sometimes gallops across the countryside knocking down fences and gates and destroying crops. In this form, he likes to take a rider, usually a drunkard, on a wild ride all night and shake him off in the early morning. This person, already heavily inebriated, is also under the spell  and has no recollection of what happened usually. This often accounts for why some people who, having gotten very drunk, report that they have no idea what happened the previous night.

 

 

 The only man to ever successfully ride a Pooka was High King of Ireland and founder of O’Brien dynasty, Brian Boruma Mac Cennetig (941-1014), or more commonly known as Brian Boru. Brian managed to control the magic of the creature by using a special bridle that used three hairs of Pooka’s tail. Brian’s physical prowess meant he was able to stay on its back until it was exhausted Pooka then surrendered to Brian.

 

 

 

The king forced it to agree to two promises. First, it no longer tormented Christian people and ruined their property, and second it would never again attack an Irishman, except those who were drunk or were abroad with evil intent. Although Pooka agreed, it appears to have forgotten its promises over the years. 

There have been hundreds of pooka sightings all over the country throughout the centuries but the most famous story is an animal spirit that gave its name to Poulaphuca (Hole of Pooka) at the boundary of River Liffey between counties Kildare and Wicklow.

 Now a site of a hydroelectric power station, where the river flows through a narrow gorge before plunging 150 feet (46 meters) in three stages. Under the second drop there is a pool, and this is called Hole of Pooka. Irish author Padraig O’Farrell (1932-2004) tells a story which was inspired by the written account of an anonymous Kildare man. The writer also has an interesting postscript at the end:

 

   In November 1813, Kildare Hunt known as Killing Kildares set out. Having indulged in traditional stirrup cup at Tipper crossroads, near Naas, hunt failed to raise a fox until it was approaching Tipperkevin, north of Ballymore Eustace, county Kildare. Here a large fox appeared and led a course towards Liffey. Simultaneously, an un-mounted black horse appeared, that did not belong to any of riders. It was Pooka!
.
"The terrain was difficult and fox ran fast, so that near Liffey, only one of members of hunt, a man named Grennan, and horse, who was really Pooka, remained with pack. The gorge was in full spate but hounds were gaining on their quarry and started to pick their way across rocks. Seeing danger, Grennan attempted to recall hounds, but Pooka ahead of them was tempting them onwards. The fox headed for ledge on narrow part of gorge then, seeing Pooka’s red eyes spitting fire, fox jumped. It missed ledge, falling into turbulent waters below. The Pooka easily leaped across gorge, disappearing into woodlands, but pack of hounds hard on scent of fox went headlong into pool.
.

 "Looking down, Grennan saw fox and hounds trying desperately to swim to safety through swirling swell; other hounds dashed against rocks were yelping in pain and dying. He wept as most of pack went under. Suddenly his sorrow give way to terror, he heard a diabolical neighing, like an animal laughing – from woods opposite. Grennan knew then it was Pooka."

The writer of the original story describes how in the 1930s, as he stood above the valleys of Liffey and King’s River, a sudden sadness came over him and he wept at the sight of so many humble homes that would soon be submerged forever by Blessington Lakes, created to supply water for a power station at Poulaphuca.

Between 1938 and 1940 seventy-six houses were demolished and bridges at Humphreystown, Baltyboys, and Burgage were blown up before the entire valley was flooded for the hydroelectric power station. A Protestant church, St. Mark’s, built in 1682 was also submerged. To this day there have been many claims of people hearing bells tolling beneath the waters of lakes.

 ...

 

 

 

Japanese Yokai The Kejoro / keyuro

 

A kejōrō’s / keyuro is a Yokai that's most often seen around the red light district near brothels.

The name literally means Hair hooker / hairy prostitute..

Hair(ke) Hooker(joro)

Sometimes spelled yuro..

Her victims are the  men who frequent brothels.

As the story goes,.... A man will see a woman from  behind, he approaches her but when she turns around, her face and body are covered in thick hair, hiding her face. 

Once her victim is shocked by the sight before him, she takes this moment to attack, tangling him up in her hair and using it to slice and cut him up. Though kejōrō-related fatalities are very rare despite the many cuts.

Though her appearance to humans may be somewhat frightening, male Yokai find her very attractive.

In fact she is so popular that male yokai will Often  fight  for her affection.

 Kejōrō sometimes   return this devotion by cutting off some of her hair and sending it to her lover (human or yokai), or tattoo his name into her skin to prove her  love to him.

The earliest records of a kejōrō go back to Toriyama Sekien’s “One Hundred Demons of the Past and Present.” There is some debate over his original description as to whether the kejōrō has a normal face under the matte of hair, or whether she is a faceless monster, related to the nopperabō or the ohaguro-bettari, with various yokai researches weighing in on either side of the question.

In the original stories she's a prostitute whose face and body are hidden behind a curtain of long, black hair. She appears in red-light districts and brothels. In most stories, its only the hair on her head that is abnormally thick and long, but in other versions, her whole body is covered in thick hair, like an animal.

Her appearance is still disputed some say she's a woman with a lot of hair that drapes over her body, others claim she's a strange creature made entirely of hair with no body underneath . She has been depicted both ways, largely at the personal preference of the artist .

,....

The most common telling of the story and the earliest records of the kejōrō go back to Toriyama Sekien’s “One Hundred Demons of the Past and Present

A man is venturing into the Yoshiwara red light district one evening, when he sees a prostitute walking down the street. From the rear, he recognizes her as one of his favorites, and so rushes up to claim her. When she turns around, she reveals her entire body is made up of hair, with no skin visible. “

Toriyama may have been influenced by a similar monster from Chinese mythology, called the Hair Woman (毛女). The Hair Woman is also made up entirely of hair, although she does not have the same connection to the red light district and prostitution. She comes from an old Chinese book投轄録 (Tou Xia Lu-Yu Zhao Xin Zhi; A Grand View of Literary Sketchbooks in the Past Dynasties) and it is not know if Toriayama was familiar with her or not when creating the Kejoro.

More likely Toriyama was making some sort of commentary on the red light district, or playing word games with popular slang of the time. On the adjacent page to the Kejoro of the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki is another prostitute-turned-yokai, the Aonyobu (青女房; Blue Wife). “Blue Wife” was a derogatory term for a woman who had contracted the kidney disease jinkyo (腎虚; renal ischemia), and it is possible that “Kejoro” was a similar insult that Toriyama turned into Yokai.

Double, double toil and trouble 🍲🧹🪄

 

Round about the cauldron go. 

🦇🧙🧙🧙🎃

......

From Macbeth by Shakespeare.

... 

The three witches, casting a spell

Round about the cauldron go;   

In the poison’d entrails throw.   

Toad, that under cold stone    

Days and nights hast thirty one   

Swelter’d venom sleeping got,   

Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.   

     Double, double toil and trouble; 

     Fire burn and cauldron bubble.   

Fillet of a fenny snake,   

In the cauldron boil and bake;   

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,   

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,   

Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,   

Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,   

For a charm of powerful trouble, 

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.   

     Double, double toil and trouble;   

     Fire burn and cauldron bubble.  

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,      

Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf     

Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,     

Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark,     

Liver of blaspheming Jew,      

Gall of goat, and slips of yew     

Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse,     

Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips,     

Finger of birth-strangled babe      

Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,     

Make the gruel thick and slab:     

Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,     

For the ingredients of our cauldron.

     Double, double toil and trouble;   

     Fire burn and cauldron bubble