Edited by MCK Sokół | Lesser Poland
The shrew has been bitten, or where the bruises come from
Country: Poland
Region: Lesser Poland
Type of inspiration: Beliefs
Inspiracja
Among the demonic creatures that troubled people in the villages of Beskid Sądecki were strzygonie (ghouls) and zmory (nightmares), often treating them as one. These creatures appeared at night, usually at twelve o'clock, to torment sleeping people: strangling, biting, sucking blood or putting their tongues into their mouths and sucking out saliva. They were invisible, but you could feel the effects of their presence: heavy, restless sleep, a feeling of suffocation and pressure in the chest, fatigue upon waking and bruises on the body. The nightmares were most likely to torment those sleeping on their backs. They would sit on the chest (hence the name saddleback, used interchangeably to describe these creatures), squashing and making breathing difficult.
To free oneself from the annoying demon, all one had to do was turn on one's side, make a prayer, cross one's arms over one's chest or wiggle a toe. It was said that the nightmare avoided those who put one foot in front of the other while falling asleep. The way to ward it off was light, so it was good to place a lit candle covered with a pot near the bed and quickly uncover it in case of a demon attack. A prayer said before bedtime or holy herbs held by the sleeper in a pouch on the chest also provided protection.
According to local accounts, the bane (ghoul) was said to originate from an unbaptised, one of two human spirits. It was believed that some people were born with two spirits. Since one name was given at baptism, the sacrament involved only one spirit. The one that remained unbaptised left the body while still alive to harm people, sometimes including the person to whom it belonged. After the death of such a person, the unbaptised spirit became a shrew. A person with two spirits could be recognised by knitted eyebrows or two rows of teeth; sleepwalking and talking to oneself were also clues. The deceased suspected of being a ghoul was buried in a coffin with his face to the ground and his back up, so that he would not walk on the ground after death.
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Nowy Sącz
Poland Lesser Poland
