Episode 30 | Soul Theft

Episode Transcript

Hello my friend, to another episode of your favorite spooky history podcast, Strange Origins. If you haven’t noticed, this is my thirtieth episode! Since each season consists of fifteen episodes, I will be taking a much-needed break after this. But don’t worry, I will be back in just a few weeks with a third season of Strange Origins ready to go, as well as some new episodes of a project I've been working on for quite some time. I've been having a lot of fun putting together episodes, and I want nothing more than to explore different styles of podcasting. The new episodes will only be available through Patreon, so be sure to go to patreon.com/FascinatingProductions, which will be listed in the description, to be able to listen, see all the behind-the-scenes, and even get a few merch items with exclusive designs. The lowest tier is only $2 a month, and will also include some personalized gifts. 

Whether you’re new here or not, I want to thank everyone who has been listening to me for allowing me to do something that I truly enjoy. And now, on to the show. 

Belief in Souls

Souls are a tricky subject. In a recent study, it was shown that while around 50 percent of people believe in life after death or in the concept of heaven, it was a much larger 70 percent who believed in souls. 

So what exactly makes up a soul? Is it something that can be measured or perceived? According to a lot of religions, philosophies, and mythologies, it’s an incorporeal essence, meaning it’s not something we can see or touch, or even smell. Rather, it’s something we are made up of, and something we can sense in other people. It makes up our character, our consciousness, some even think our reasoning. This is probably due to the fact that ancient philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle passed on theories that the soul was logical, and located primarily in the mind. What controlled our anger was located in the heart, and what controlled our desires was located in our stomachs. These parts should work together, but sometimes appetite, spirit, or reason can overrule the other areas and put one's life out of balance. 

Before the theories of philosophers, though, the Egyptians seemed to be the first ones to have considered the concept of a soul. A stone slab monument carved to commemorate a person's life, referred to as a stele, which is kind of like a headstone, was created in the 8th century for a royal official. Into this slab was carved a message counseling his mourners to celebrate his life and soul, which resides in the stone slab, with feasts. It’s an important find in that it's one of the very first records of the specific word Soul. 

Furthermore, the Egyptians were important in bringing forth ideas concerning the soul's placement in the body, which would later have a big influence. This would specifically be the theory that different parts of the soul reside in five different parts of the body for different purposes. These separate parts of the soul are called the Ba, Ka, Ren, Sheut and the Ib and each play an important part of making up the entirety of a human soul. 

The Ba is the personality and spirit of a person, and in Egyptian hieroglyphs is represented by a hawk with a bearded human head that flies away when a person dies. 

The Ren is the name given to a person at their birth, which was thought to have a great influence on them throughout their lifetime. In fact, it was thought that as long as one's name was spoken of aloud, their spirit could continue to live. This is why there is such a large amount of carvings depicting the names of royals. 

The Sheut is the shadow aspect. Just as our shadows are eternally connected to us, we cannot live without them. 

The Ka is the life force, and that which leaves permanently when a person dies. 

Lastly, is the Ib, which is considered to be the thoughts, emotions and behaviors of a person. Think of it as a melting pot that all the different parts of the soul are thrown into. Most importantly, it’s thought to be located in the heart of the person, and it was what was measured against the weight of a single feather in order to determine whether a person was worthy or not to join the afterlife. 

An interesting part of this ceremony was that waiting by the side was an Egyptian pet called Ammit, which means devourer of the dead. It was said to be a mixture of the three largest animals in Egypt at the time, the lion, the crocodile, and the crocodile. If a person was not found to be worthy of the afterlife, their soul was to be eaten by Ammit, and they would suffer what was called a second death. (11)

Soul Eaters

Throughout history, the idea of soul eaters has flourished in different cultures. 

A popular myth in the Slavic nations like Croatia, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic are known for their belief in a creature referred to as the Vodyanoy. This creature is considered to be a male water spirit, which seems to be rare in the world of mythology. In Czech fairy tales, this creature is also referred to as a Wasserman or nix. To locals, he is often called grandfather. 

He is said to appear to some as a naked old man with a frog-like face, a green beard, and long hair. Algae covers up his black fish scales and his webbed hands and fish tale. He is also known by some for his bright red eyes and can be seen floating down a river on a log.

Much like mermaids, if they walk on land they lose all power. He is also thought to have children, who are rumored to walk on land and attend dances. There they fall in love with the locals. It’s said that you can always recognize the daughter of a Vodyanoy in that the hem of her skirt will always be wet. 

Much like an animal, he also is known for breaking down dams, or water mills, and drawing people and animals under the water in order for them to serve them as slaves in his home. To keep the Vodynoy away from loved ones or animals, locals will make sacrifices to appease him, which usually includes food or livestock. In other stories, he is thought to drown anyone who trespasses on his land to take a bath. Seeing blue spots on the body of someone who had drowned is thought to be evidence that he has snatched their soul and dragged it to the bottom of the river. 

Another fantastic example of a soul stealer in mythology comes from Scottish Gaelic Folklore is the Sluaghs (Sloo-ah). In old Irish, the word Slaughs means crowd or assembly, and they were considered the spirits of the restless dead who were so evil they were even banned from Hell. They would stalk the homes of those who recently passed on in order to steal their souls. To some these creatures are thought of as fairies, but a much less powerful and more evil version of fairy that has been popularized by Irish mythology. 

They would either appear first as a flock of ravens or other dark-colored birds and would take a V formation in flight that would make it easy and quick to steal souls. 

Cat Sith

Along with the Vodyanoy and the Sluaghs existed the myth of the Cat Sith. In the Scottish Highlands, this myth was especially popular and told of a witch who would transform into a cat in order to jump over the body of someone who had recently passed in order to steal their soul. While not so popular today in the Western world, it used to be a tradition that the body of someone who had died would stay at their home where their loved ones could watch over it until they were prepared for burial. Though the word wake has a different meaning, as one point it simply meant to watch or guard something. Sometimes this could last up to three days, with people coming in and out to say goodbye to the deceased. 

In Scotland, it was thought that a witch could turn into a cat nine times, which is most likely where the idea that cats have nine lives originated. Once she turned into a cat the tenth time, she would be stuck that way, so she made sure to only turn when the chances of stealing a soul were likely. Because of this, the body was watched night and day until its funeral, and there were methods of distraction for any cats who came by. Catnip was spread throughout the house and games would be played in order to distract the cat. In addition, it was thought that since cats loved the warmth, there were not to be any fires lit by the body. The specific cat to watch out for was completely black, except for a white patch on it’s chest. This was thought to come from Kellas cats, which describe a hybrid between domestic cats and Scottish Wildcats that is only found in Scotland. It’s named after the village of Kellas, Moray, where it was first captured in the 1980s. Before that though, its existence was thought to be a hoax, much like bigfoot. 

 The Snow Woman

Not surprisingly, given their proclivity for terrifying mythology, the Japanese also have quite a few stories of soul snatchers, one of the most horrifying is that of Yuki-onna, or the Snow Woman. According to the myth, which is from around the 1300s. Along with stories of icicles that transform into women, there are a lot of variations of this story, but most are thought to originate from people living in the cold, snowy mountains of Japan where people would live alone, imagining a child or woman made of snow who would someday knock at their door to ease their loneliness. Winter was also thought of as a time when Gods came to visit, and that not answering the door would only lead to misfortune. The most popular version of the story presents her as extremely pale with long black hair and blue lips caused by the cold. She floats across the snow, never leaving footprints, and she can even transform into snow or even mist if she feels threatened. She spends her time searching for human essence to feast upon, and her favorite method of eating is blowing cold air on someone until they freeze to death, and then sucking their souls through their mouths.

Another horrifying Japanese myth from around the 9th century was the Wanyudo. This particular tale tells of a man who during his lifetime was a feudal lord, and who was responsible for a large number of tortures and killings. One of his preferred methods of torture was the people drawn on the back of an oxcart. So now he is doomed to exist as a burning head stuck inside of an ox cartwheel, forever wandering between this world and Hell in order to steal the souls of anyone who gets too near him. Even looking at him is thought to cause serious illness and death to your loved ones. One such story tells of a young mother who saw Wanyudo flying through the sky one night only to hear the words “If you have time to gaze upon me, tend to your own child” whispered in her ear. When she looked at her baby she noticed a pool of blood. When she looked back up at the head she saw the four limbs of her child hanging from the burning spokes of its wheels. 

Spirit-Stealing Objects

Today there are plenty of modern myths about losing one's soul, whether because of a cursed object or evil intent. The most popular is the idea that mirrors are able to steal and trap your soul away from you. This probably originates from the belief that the reflection of a mirror not only shows you your exterior but also your soul. And according to the Ancient Roman belief that you grew a new soul every seven years, breaking an image of your soul would take about seven years to repair. 

Other beliefs popularized putting a cloth over mirrors after the passing of someone in a household. This would keep spirits from accidentally going into one and becoming trapped forever. It also would keep grief-eating demons from popping up and frightening people in a time of mourning. It was even thought that seeing your reflection during this time could mean that you would be the next to die. It’s also thought that any mirrors facing your bed while you sleep will leave you susceptible to spirits sucking your soul to the other side.

Another myth created alongside the invention of the camera was the idea that having your photograph taken would steal or damage your soul. A lot of central American churches to this day don’t allow photography inside of their walls because of the belief that when we pray our souls to travel to another realm and are therefore vulnerable. 

Today the concept of souls has also evolved. Some believe that the spirit and soul are two different entities, while others have developed theories of reincarnation or samsara. A lot of people believe that the soul only inhabits one body and can then become stuck in the place that that person died, as depicted in a lot of popular ghost stories. 

There’s also plenty of theories as to how a soul is created, with some believing that a God made each soul individually, and some believing that souls are passed down through the generations, all the way from Adam to Eve, to her children, meaning that two parents create a mixture of a soul, just as they did with their child’s physical form. 

Other theories involve the idea that there are two souls, one that is attached to the body, and one that can travel outside of it. It explains the concept of astral projection, or shamans being able to go on spiritual journeys outside of themselves. In the Austronesian Shaman tradition, which describes the people in the general area of the Philippines, Madagascar, and Malaysia, there is a strong belief in spirit dualism. While the body soul is located near the heart, it’s the free spirit that is thought to exist in the head or brain. The free spirit is unrestrained, and will often travel to the spirit world when you are asleep, in a trance, or insane. It’s a common belief that when your two souls are in harmony, you are considered virtuous, but if they are in conflict you will become evil. 

Something that I learned through all these different theories, something extremely important, is that there seems to be a pattern. That is, that no matter your beliefs or non-beliefs or religion or philosophy,  it will always benefit you to believe in the concept of good, and strive to do what good you can while alive. Whether your next form of existence is on this Earth as a reincarnated being or in an afterlife where you are guided by other spirits, your soul will only benefit by being on the right side of history.

Thank you so much for listening to thirty episodes of Strange Origins, my friends. Stay safe out there, be the good in the world, and don’t forget to keep it strange.