Creature Feature Ep 4 : The Dead

Hello Bookworms,

Welcome to another episode of Creature Feature, where you will know about the most unique, unheard creatures ever (plus some creepy legends).

Today we are going to talk about the dead. Don’t be confused: I don’t mean the gruesome zombies eating your brains, and neither the fast ones in World War Z. As you already know, the first episodes are focusing on Albanian Mythology (later we will continue to other countries) Also, these legends aren’t taken from books, or internet, I got them from asking people.

Now let’s talk about our topic. The Rising Dead, in Albania, is supposed to be someone,
who did a sin in his life, and now the grave can’t hold him. According to the mythology, God punished him by not letting him repose in his grave. That’s why, when humans walk near the graveyard, sometimes they hear dead people talking (Now, that is creepy!). They talk about the sins they have done.

They might even come to their houses, crying and screaming at night. Let me explain something. Death Rituals in Albania may vary, but all in all they are pretty much the same. The family passes one night in the dead human’s house. They put his body in another room. They lock the door of that room. My grandma says that is because in that night, the dead is supposed to wake up, meet God, and confess his sins. Now, in Albania, there are a lot of religions, and even though the rituals may vary a bit, they are pretty much the same.

Even after the dead is buried, people keep coming at the house of his family for 5 weeks. I repeat for five weeks!

Anyways there exists a legend in North Albania. A man was dead, and his body was put in a room, locked in. His family was staying at the living room, when downstairs screams and screeches were heard. It was supposed to be the dead, whom had committed a grave sin.

“How can they be freed from their sins?” You may ask.

Well, the answer is going to surprise you. Basically they can jump on human’s necks, and instantly the sins pass to them. The dead is free, and the human is not, because he carries another sin on his back. To be protected, the human should be covered in oil, this way when the dead tries to jump, his hands slip, and he can’t pass the sins to the human. And also the human should clean the place, where the dead had appeared.