The Dead – part I

The  (un)dead play quite an important part in Romanian folklore. Such creatures are feared even  today, and great precaution is taken when it comes to threats from beyond the grave. I will have a lot of writing to do on this topic, so there will be a second part some day, perhaps even a third one.

The generic name for an undead in Romania is “strigoi”  if it’s male, and “strigoaică”  if female. There are two types of strigoi, the living and the undead. We shall only talk about the latter in this post, as we shall cover the first later on. The living are a completely different story, so to speak.

It is said that children born with the placenta stuck to their heads become strigoi, and so do the ones born with a tail ( a prominent coccis).  Such children are born out of women that drink unclean water (The Devil’s Drool) during their pregnancy or women that don’t cover their heads when going  out at night.

Moreover, individuals that die an untimely death (suicide, murder) people that committed evil deeds during their lifetime  also become strigoi. If a cat, dog or rooster jumps over a dead body, it will rise as a strigoi.

The strigoi are repelled by incense, garlic and onions. Legend has it that people born in a Saturday (being, therefore, connected to Saturn) can see the strigoi if they spend a whole night in a graveyard.

The 30th of  November is the night when the undead are the most potent.