When several rat’s tails become entangled and bound together by blood, fecal matter and filth, a rat king is the result. The number of rats in a rat king varies from three to more than thirty. Supposedly the rats continue about their daily lives, eating pooping and breeding until they are killed by a horrified human and carried away to a museum. Often one large rat, sometimes wearing a crown, rides the mass of squirming vermin like a palanquin. Documentation of an actual living rat king is hard to find. Because rat kings are harbingers of plague, humans it seems, are unable to look upon a them without beating them with a shovel. Some believe the rat king to be a myth.
The Zemu
The Zemu is a Moldavian spirit that appears to widows in the form of a flame before it transforms into a man.
Some believe the Zemu is an incubus that drains away the widow’s life force.
Others believe the Zemu is conjured by a murdered husband to exact revenge.
My story “The Arrangement” features a zemu. You can read it in the M is for Monster anthology available on Amazon
The Busaw: A Ghoul with an Ulterior Motive
The busaw looks and behaves like an ordinary human being — until night falls. You’ll know you’ve found a busaw posing as a human if you see someone cocking their ear to listen for sounds of death as the sun goes down. Another give away is that the busaw likes to climb trees by cemeteries.
In his ghoulish demon form, the busaw has pointed teeth, hooked nails and a long tongue. He creeps around in the dark and steals corpses out of their coffins. He replaces the bodies with banana tree trunks. The busaw’s greatest talent is his ability to turn human corpses into pork. Once back in human form he often prepares feasts for his neighbors. If humans eat the busaw’s ‘pork’ they too become demons.
To keep the busaw away make sure that all corpses are washed thoroughly with vinegar and rubbed with strong-smelling herbs. A liberal application of salt will also deter the busaw.
Although, vinegar, herbs, salt… mmm.
Who Wants to be Lord of Misrule?
Late in December (the equivalent of the 17th on the modern calendar) Romans honored Saturnus, the god of seed and sowing, with a festival. During the holiday, class distinctions were set aside and the restraints of law and morality were ignored.
For the seven days of Saturnalia the community selected a “Lord of Misrule.” This mock king directed the drinking dancing and general lewdness, carousing and debauchery.
At the close of the festival, the Lord of Misrule was expected to cut his own throat on Saturn’s altar which would restore order throughout the land.
Saturnalia was celebrated throughout Europe into the 16th Century when The Christian Reformation replaced the bacchanal with the more demure celebration of Christmas.
How to Shrink a Head
Shrunken heads are almost a necessity in a respectable cabinet of curiosities. While very few people still produce these strange items, the recipe is still around. (for entertainment purposes only)
Prep time: one week
Once the victim has been killed, decapitate immediately. Make sure to take a flap of skin from the chest and back.
Pass a woven headband through the mouth and neck of the head. This makes a sling for easy transport. If no headband is available, substitute vines.
Make a slit up the back of the head and peel the scalp from the skull. The skull should be thrown in a river as a gift for the anacondas residing there.
Sew the eyes shut with fiber and skewer the lips shut with small wooden pegs.
Simmer the head 1 to 2 hours in a sacred boiling pot until the skin is rubbery and the head is 1/3 its original size.
Turn head inside out and scrape. When head is free of… scrapings, turn it right side out and sew it up leaving only an opening at the neck.
Fill the head with hot stones and sand. Rotate constantly until head is desired size. Singe off excess hair and apply heated machete to the lips to dry them.
Make a hole in the top of the head and tie a kumai to a stick of chonta palm inside the head.(note: insert stick before sewing shut)
Your shrunken head is now ready to wear
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