Drekavac
The Drekavac (also Drekavats , which means "the screamers ") is a figure of Slavic mythology . The creature arises from the soul of a child who died before baptism.
Description of the being
There are many different ideas about the Drekavac. One of them says that it has an elongated, speckled and spindly body on which sits a disproportionately large skull. Others attribute a bird-like appearance to it. In modern fictional representations, however, the Drekavac appears as a dog or fox-like animal with strong, kangaroo-like hind legs; even the possible shape of a toddler is mentioned. What is common to all descriptions, however, is the piercing, terrifying scream of the being.
It is believed that the Drekavac can be seen at night, especially around the time of the Christmas Twelve (the time between December 25th to January 6th; in Serbian called unbaptized days ) and towards the beginning of spring, when the evil spirits and demons are said to occur most frequently.
It is noteworthy that the creature in the form of the child heralds the imminent death of a person, but in the form of an animal is held responsible for the perishing of cattle. The Drekavac mostly spares its parents and can be kept away with dogs of which it is very afraid.
The Drekavac is part of horror tales for children, comparable to the black man of the western world. However, this story is likely to be more impactful, especially in rural and remote areas, where the children can certainly hear animal cries from outside from time to time and will connect them to the creature and take it for real, which will help keep it close to the house to keep them from straying too far from it. In the urban areas the belief is clearly weakened, here the story of the Baba Yaga is mostly told.
Attributed properties
- Some believe that the types of Drekavac vary from region to region. He is commonly described as over three feet tall and four feet tall. In some legends, the beings live in packs or hide in caves and tunnels.
- There is a belief that the Drekavac can only find peace with his soul; it can neither be killed nor overcome. It is said that when the being cries out in the form of a child, one could go to him and would have to baptize him to redeem him.
- In parts of Serbia and the Balkans it is believed that before an encounter with the being one must first see one in a dream, as well as that it can strangle in their sleep people who have harmed him in life.
- It is believed that if the Drekavac screamed in front of the house all night, anyone inside who heard it would die. It is also said that someone on whom the shadow of the being falls falls sick and dies.
- In some places people say with a smile that the creature's scream comes from the fact that it has a long fur, which it often steps on and then screams in pain. Likewise, light is described as (at least in part) frightening the being.
Similar creatures
- Bukavac from Syrmia , Serbia - a six-legged monster with gnarled horns, which lives in the water during the day and comes out with a great din at night and then strangles people and animals.
- Jaud , a drekavac from a vampiric unborn child.
- Plakavac from Herzegovina , a newborn who was strangled by its mother, climbs out of the grave at night and returns to the parents' house, but only screams but cannot cause any damage.
Modern appearances
Although the character is actually just a children's fairy tale, adults also believe in its existence. According to Duga Magazine , numerous residents of the villages in the Zlatibor Mountains reported sightings, and almost everyone claimed to have heard the Drekavac.
In 1992 it was reported that residents of the village of Krvavica, on the banks of the Morava, found animal remains of an apparently unknown species and assumed that it was a Drekavac - it had the appearance of a dog or fox but with the hind legs of a kangaroo, but hooves instead of paws.
One of the most recent sightings is from 2003; In Tometino Polje, a village near Divcibare, a series of attacks on sheep took place, similar to the incidents with chupacabras described in South American areas , whereupon some locals concluded that a drekavac must be behind it; but still others denied this, since they only heard screams in the night, but the sheep had been killed by day.
Others
The word "Drekavac" can mean "the screamer", but a better translation is "someone who cries while screaming" - derived from the word "Drečati" (for example: baby screaming, "blaring"). This is also due to the belief that the Drekavac is an unbaptized child's soul.