M.B. Pedersen's Blog, page 4

Monster Mondays 3: Gorgol

Apologies once again for last week's unfortunate scheduling issue, but when there's a kitten missing you kinda feel compelled to do all you can to find it. Now, let's kick this week off with another Monster Mondays post!

Gorgol

A werewolf hailing from Wales, this creature is often described as a massive black wolf with sorcerous origins. Certain interpretations identify the Gorgol as a nature based witch or sorcerer with lycanthropic abilities. There are records dating all the way back to the 1790s detailing wagons between Denbigh and Wrexham being attacked and destroyed by a large, black wolf as large as a stage coach. Reports about large, black predators in Welsh regions continue sporadically, occasionally being separated by as much as a hundred years, all the way to the 1990s and early 2000s.

Good News! Kali's Home!

Just leaving a short post saying that Kali, my friend's cat, has returned home and happily resettling into her natural environment.

Unfortunate News: Monday and Tuesday Post Cancelled This Week

Hello everyone. I'm sad to say some personal things have come up that will keep me from working on my Monster Mondays and Reliquary Tuesdays posts. My friend has lost his youngest cat, named Kali and pictured below, and him and his family have been understandably distraught because of it. I've been helping spread the word and get flyers out, leaving me with little time to write. Monster Mondays and Reliquary Tuesdays will continue next week.

Reliquary Tuesday 2: The Belt of Peter Strumpp

Information about this week's dark relic comes straight from historical documents originating from 16th century Germany. It is a bestial artifact, which can now only be known as...

The Belt of Peter Strumpp

Peter Strumpp (also known as Peter Strubb, Peter Stumpf, or by the alias Abel Griswold) was a serial killer and cannibal operating near the village of Bedburg in Northern Germany, near the major city of Cologne, which operated as a sovereign city-state of the Holy Roman Empire. Reportedly driven to evil by the age of twelve, the majority of Strumpp's crimes took place between the years of 1564 to 1589. During this time he killed at least 18 people, 14 of whom were small children. He was also an insatiable blood drinker, consuming the vital fluids of his victims, as well as livestock he stole from nearby farms. When he was finally captured for his crimes he was put to the rack, a torture which quickly forced a confession from him. He stated that he had begun practicing infernal magic, necromancy, and sorcery in his youth, even going so far as to have intercourse with succubi. At some point the young sorcerer was contacted by the Devil himself. The Devil, seeing him as a perfect agent of chaos and malice, gifted him with a belt (or in some interpretations of his legend, a girdle) made from wolf's skin. When he put the belt on he would be transformed into a hellish, black wolf, allowing him to stalk the night for victims with impunity.

art by Lucas Cranach der Ältere

The belt was supposedly light of weight and easy to hide, which some of Strumpp's accusers believed was the reason he was able to terrorize the countryside for so long. He would often travel the country roads, or even the city streets of Cologne, relentlessly stalking any target that struck his fancy. His blood lust grew so great that one evening he took his own son out into a field and told him to wait for him to return. He recounted this act to his confessors, telling them that he put on his infernal belt and slaughtered the boy, feasting upon his brains in the dead of night. News of a great black wolf spread throughout the region, and a company of hunters soon formed to take down the beast. They found Peter Strumpp in his bestial form out in a field, ravishing a young maiden whom he quickly killed. Strumpp was unaware of their presence, and after his nightly killing was done he removed the belt to return to his human form. After seeing this act of witchcraft the hunters quickly encircled him and took him captive, dragging him back to town to face trial for his crimes.

art by Lukas Mayer

The Trial of Peter Strumpp became a public spectacle, drawing most of the aristocracy of Cologne. It has gone down in history as the most famous of the "Werewolf Trials" to be held in Europe during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Prior to his eventual sentencing, Strumpp implicated his daughter, who was reportedly a victim of his violent and perverted nature. The two were sentenced to death on October 31st, 1589. Strumpp's execution was noted as the most brutal on record in the Holy Roman Empire. He was tied to a large wheel where his flesh was peeled away by burning, iron pincers. His limbs were then broken by the blunt sides of an axe, which was done so that his villainous soul could not rise from the grave. After this, still alive and conscious, Peter Strumpp was beheaded and burned at the stake. His daughter suffered a similar fate, though it is not known if she lived through the whole process like him. After the execution, the wheel which he had been flayed on was held up by an iron post. An effigy of a wolf was placed at the center of the wheel, and on top of that the severed head of Strumpp himself, serving as a warning that the Holy Roman Empire would not tolerate more sorcerers and werewolves in their borders. The matter of Strumpp's occult crimes were described in a sixteen page pamphlet. Only two English copies of this pamphlet remain (one being held within the British Museum and the other in the Lambeth Library). Nothing is mentioned in these pamphlets about the ultimate fate of the wolf skin belt. Some believe it was taken and destroyed by the Empire, while others believe it still exists somewhere in the world...

Monster Mondays 2: Draugr

From the frigid, mournful burial mounds of viking legends come...

The Draugr



art by vikingmyke at deviant art

Hailing from Icelandic and Norse folklore, the Draugr, also known as draugen or draugar, are a variety of flesh craving corpse that has crawled out of its own burial mound. While draugr were often depicted as existing within a corporeal cadaver they were more often than not described as ghostly beings. They would posses their own corpse, or that of a nearby victim, and would either guard some treasure valuable to it in life or hunt down those who wronged him. The means by which draugr are made vary, but traditionally people who have died sitting up, or those who were extremely disliked in life, typically become draugr after death. There were many means to prevent a corpse from becoming a draugr, such as placing a pair of iron scissors on its chest, placing twigs and branches on its person, or sliding needles into the soles of its feet to prevent it from walking. Those carrying its casket to its mound would often lift and lower it in several locations to disrupt the corpse's sense of direction. By far the most popular, and supposedly the most effective, means of preventing a draugr was to create a "corpse door". This practice, believed to have begun in Denmark, was carried out by building a door into a burial mound and then placing the corpse in feet first. This was done because it was believed the dead could only enter a door through one direction and never leave the other way, though the corpse door would often be bricked up afterwards as a precaution.

art by dwinnen on deviant art

Supernatural powers are often attributed the draugr, such as manipulating the weather, altering their size and mass, passing through solid matter like phantoms, or even predicting the future. Traditional manmade weapons are ineffective against them, though those made from iron will at least damage its physical form. Ancient sagas say that only a mighty hero who can wrestle them back to their graves can defeat them, and even then their original corpse must be exhumed, decapitated, burned, and then have its ashes scattered into the sea for the spirit to finally move on. Norse Mythology and Icelandic Sagas are filled with mentions of the Draugr, and there have been sightings as recent as 1911. In this final recorded sighting a farmer was digging on his property when he unearthed a horrific, blackened head. The head spoke and told him if he did not stop digging six of his cattle would die, as well as six of his family members. The farmer continued to dig, and to his horror found that the head spoke the truth. His cattle were slaughtered in their field, and the farmer found his family left in a similar way in his home, though he never did see the draugr again.

art by Theodor Kittelson

Another variety of draugr found in folklore is the so-called "sea draugr". This variety of undead is distinctly different from its counterpart, though it does hail from the same region. Sea draugr are the reanimated corpses of drowned mariners and fishermen. They are often described as bloated corpses with lumps of seaweed instead of a head. Other sources describe them as headless seamen dressed in oiskin who sail the sea in search of victims in a boat that has been chopped in half. There is also a third, lesser known variety of sea draugr, known as a gleip, which stalks ports and shores, hitching themselves to unwary sailors and making them slip to their deaths on slick rocks. Records exist of these three types of draugr interacting with one another, arguing over corpses they've discovered.

Special thanks to http://visitcryptoville.com for additional information used in this post

Haiku Thursdays 2: Gods of the 41st Millenium

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Warhammer 40k universe, and the Warhammer Fantasy universe... and the Horus Heresy universe too, which is in and of itself a part of the 40k universe. Anyways, inspiration pulled me through a short case of boredom, and this is the result. I don't really think I need to say "guess which character" since its abundantly clear, and for the sake of legal purposes I must state these little mini-poems are a work of fanfiction, I do not own the characters, they are the property of Gamesworkshop and its affiliated companies. Now that my poor legalese is finished, enjoy...

Blood for the Blood God,
Skulls for his ossium throne,
A war without end.

There are secrets here,
Eldritch lies and magic truths,
The magic of change.

Blessings and poxes,
Unto you my maggot-kin,
Grandpapa loves you.

Submit to your lust,
Surrender to desire,
She Who Thirsts thanks you.

One zero one one,
All hail the Omnissiah,
zero one zero.

History is his,
Humanity is his clay,
Molding all our fates.

Reliquary Tuesdays 1: The Hand of Glory

Here's yet another of what I'm hoping will become a weekly feature here on my blog. Reliquary Tuesdays will be a showcase for dark artifacts coming from a variety of sources. Some will be found through fiction, others will be based upon occult and pagan lore. The first item to be thrust into the light is one of limitless necromantic power, it is...

The Hand of Glory

A Hand of Glory is a sorcerous tool originally created by necromancers and witches of France. It is made from the hand of a hanged man, often the left hand or, if the man was hanged for murder, the hand which committed the murder. Candles prepared from the fat of the same hanged man would then be prepared and inserted into the hand. In some interpretations hair from the dead man is often taken in order to form a wick at each fingertip, allowing each finger and the thumb to be lit separately. The smoke billowing from a Hand of Glory is said to be irresistible to dead and malefic spirits, making them easily tamed by the Hand's owner.

The powers associated with a Hand of Glory are more diverse than simply summoning wild spirits. They also have the ability to render people paralyzed, allowing its user to travel with impunity. They also are capable of unlocking any door they come across, making the item invaluable to thieves and other, less reputable characters. Their ability to summon spirits also makes them a powerful tool for raising corporeal undead, such as revenants or zombies of the voodoo variety. It is said the only way to extinguish the flames of a Hand of Glory is to either wait for it to burn out naturally, or douse it in milk.

Monster Mondays 1: Anthropophagi

Hello, and welcome to what I hope will be another weekly feature on this page. Monster Mondays will be a series of brief articles dealing with monsters and creatures from literature, mythology, the occult, film, and any other source I can use to bring to light the horrific and obscure. In the future I'll try to get these up earlier in the day, but this past evening I had a bit of car trouble. Now, without further adieu...

The Anthropophagi

The Anthropophagi are a race of mythical cannibals, described by Herodotus' Histories as being centered near ancient Scythia. When referenced within the Shakespearean work Othello, they are described as beings with faces between their shoulders, rather than having an actual head. Certain interpretations suggest they are capable of necromancy, raising the dead to herd them away, where their ghoulish masters can feast on them at their leisure.

New: Haiku Thursdays

Hello

So to help keep myself motivated and productive, I've decided to begin making weekly posts to this blog. I have a few ideas, but for now most of them will stay secret until I put some more work into them. For now, here's our first feature:

Haiku Thursdays

It's exactly what it sounds like. Every Thursday I'll post a few haiku I've written over the course of the week out of boredom or insanity. Please feel free to tell me what you think, and definitely tell me if I ever mess up on counting the syllables. I'd rather have someone point out my mistake so I can fix it than for that mistake to become permanent. Anyways, here's the first few haiku. A little side note: Two of these are based on Star Wars characters, see if you can guess which ones.

Violet Stars Glisten,
Inhuman cries herald her,
Our newborn Empress

Sibilant Whispers,
Haunt him as his shell closes,
His world turned crimson

Skittering Vermin,
Guard me as I tread below,
To greet my heart's joy

Blood rolls over her,
Dark eyes grinning into me,
Yet still I love her

All Schemes fulfilled,
The order crushed, the boy turned,
Yet my hatred grows

I am the new lord,
A noble shrouded in silk,
A witness to fear.

Her light burns my eyes,
She mocks me with her virtue,
I am but a worm

Splickety Prime: Wild West Issue

Splickety Prime's Wild West Issue

Hello again everyone.

After a short break (more imposed by some technical issues on my part, rather than by any actual choice) I am returning to the writing/reading community. I can think of no better way of doing that than by posting a link to the Wild West issue of Splickety Prime's flash fiction magazine. I had the good fortune of having a story published inside it, a short tale called "Cast Through Hell". If you're interested go pick up a copy, print or digital.