Ghosts, Undead and Apparitions in the Medieval Period

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The undead and the Medieval period are. From a narrative perspective a match made in heaven, or should I say in purgatory. The Middle Ages were both a time of incredible inventions, architecture and progress, but also a time for war, death, and a fascination for the occult, was present both within the educated elite, clergy and the common people, so no wonder we see these two concepts in so many fantasy settings.
Also check out the blog I read in the last section of the video
blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscri...
But did Medieval people actually believe in all these undead creatures? And if they did, what sort of stories did they tell? Was there a regional variation in the way these monsters were perceived? And if we were to show our Medieval undead from our games and novels to an actual Medieval person, would they be familiar? Or confused?
And the oral and folkloric traditions that tie all of these sources together. Welcome to episode one of Historically accurate Medieval Undead.
Did Medieval People believe in Ghosts?
Contents of this video
Intro
1 - A world imbued with spirits
2 - Function of ghosts and role of cemeteries
3 - The living and the dead in medieval society
4 - The discernment of spirits
5 - Literary Analysis
6 - Byland Abbey
Conclusion
1 - The Medieval Ghost
Whenever we try to understand how something was perceived and understood in period, we have to approach the subject from an unfiltered perspective. The word ghost for us may have a specific meaning, but for a person from 1000 years ago the same word could have a slightly different or even completely different meaning to it. Any fixation with the “supernatural” needs to be contextualized also considering the fact that the term supernatural itself, for instance is a term not used at the time.
In other words, terms come with a certain cultural semantic baggage.
A world imbued with spirits
Ghost stories had been common in ancient Greek and Roman culture, and at least in the initial Medieval approach, were tinged with paganism in the eyes of the early church fathers. In early medieval Europe, a certain number of clerical figures rejected the idea that dead souls could return to earth. Tertullian (c.160-c.230) and Lactantius (c.250-c.325) dismissed ghosts as a vulgar superstition. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) allowed only for the ‘image’ of a dead person to return, as opposed to an actual spirit or soul, and explained that this image was created by angels or demons.
Instead identifying apparitions as angels or (more frequently) as demons. The main biblical justification for ghosts was the Old Testament story of the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-25), which focused on the tribulations of King Saul of Israel and Judah.
He repaired to a medium who had remained in Endor, and by his request, she raised the deceased prophet Samuel. The story suggested that ghosts might appear on earth, but it was not conclusive. Moreover the apparition of Samuel was tainted by the association with witchcraft and necromancy, and might be read as a devil in disguise. In the absence of clear biblical guidance, medieval theologians expressed varying views on the orthodoxy of ghosts. Atleast from the point of view of ecclesiastical authorities we could say that scepticism became more pronounced with the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, when ghosts were widely identified as demons. This of course doesn't necessarily reflect the population at large though.
Ghosts and the Church
A study of the phenomenon of ghost stories Although the belief in ghosts existed already in antiquity and the early Middle Ages, only the interaction of the Christian Church and the subtle but powerful pagan cultures among the laity could produce a strong reemergence and growth of ideas about ghosts since the eleventh century.
In the early Church the discussion of ghosts centered mostly on the pagan aspects of the belief in ghosts, as the church fathers such as Augustine, Tertullian, and Evodius struggled to come to terms with this "superstition." But beginning in the ninth century the Church agreed to embrace a new liturgy of the dead which made it also possible for the general belief in ghosts to grow tremendously.
Aspects of ghosts in their appearance, functions, and actions. Beginning in the second chapter, he studies accounts of ghosts which appeared in dreams or rather nightmares. Following he turns to the large body of Christian miracle tales, exempla, and mirabilia which also were filled with reports about ghosts.
#ghosts #medieval #undead

[@metatronyt]

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[@GuitarAndWhatevs]

Please talk about the resurrection of Christ.

[@Mark-xh8md]

An elaboration to your #3 :) In Scandinavia, Christianization was complete everywhere by the 12th century - in as much as that's when worship of the old gods was outlawed everywhere. BUT The reason for forbidding it...was that it still took place. And there's reason to believe that a small minority in distant areas far from central authority worshipped the old gods into the 14th century. Some pagan practices (though not its theology) survives even to this day! Things like putting food out for the "nisser" ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore) - though this is almost exclusively taking place during Advent and Christmas ), referencing "the gods" in proverbs and idioms, etc*. * = Based on how things are in Denmark. YMMV when it comes to Norway and Sweden.

[@idris_haris_al-kalima]

How are you, o ghost of Enoch?

[@thepubknight6144]

@ 5:42 there's a movie I don't if you heard of called "Menace to society"' that takes that approach from an American Inner city perspective

[@TheManWhoStoleTheShadows]

You have a scam bot replying to people under your name(ish).

[@UNATCOHanka]

"I was coming back from the tavern when I heard me missus moaning. I could not find anyone else in the house, must've been a ghost." - Joshua the Peasant's Memoirs, 1431

[@sondra4789]

Hmmmm

[@wlodek7422]

Truly, this man lived in house haunted by multiple ghosts...

[@the_hanged_clown]

twas a little death

[@SoilentBeef]

This reminds me of when I was young and sitting in social studies class, and the teacher was discussing Greek mythology and the beliefs of ancient peoples, and the kid beside me scoffed and said they must have been idiots to believe in daemons. He strongly believed in the existence of ghosts, and frequently went "ghost hunting". It just goes to show we really haven't changed much since then.

[@cp1cupcake]

That kinda reminds me of a theory I have read from various places (I think Maimonides was one of them) which basically suggests that a lot of what we would today call supernatural things were people trying to justify events they could not understand given their understanding of the world. Just as a few example, banshees (or at least their wails) might have come from people hearing foxes at night and winter starts when Hades' waifu comes to visit and ends when she leaves.

[@aj.j5833]

Word "superstition" means "surviving belief". When read them thank about them many of them also there to teach you lesson or just common sense, such as "bad luck to walk under a ladder", "seven years bad luck for breaking a mirror" makes sense when you know how expensive mirrors were and easily worth 7 years of wages. Then you have wedding veil symbol of seclusion, to keep bride hidden so she can't do psychic harm to others, OK until you get to second part of why she wears the veil, to protect her from evil eyes of jealous rivals and spinsters. Then it makes more sense. Some were clearly just people having a bit of fun like young girls putting handkerchief on a bush on eve of may, hoping in morning it will show initials of one who they will marry. I can imagine some of the stories of spirits and ghost were tales told to children for fun or to keep them from wandering off at night, adults know it is foxes but tells kids it is wail of a banshee.

[@gavinmatthewlyall]

Reminds me of when American anthropologist Laura Bohannan tried to tell the story of Hamlet - which she had assumed would have universal appeal - to Tiv tribesmen of West Africa. They quibbled over pretty much every detail, but were particularly put off by the ghost of Hamlet's father - an entity they had no analogue for. “No doubt in *your* country the dead can also walk without being zombies.”

[@skeletorlikespotatoes7846]

Embarrassing

[@tsemayekekema2918]

That's what happens when anthropologists wander too far from their sphere of expertise. They of all people ought to know that no two tribes can ever be the same - despite possible broad/vague similarities, especially sub-Saharan Africa that had been developing it's indigenous cultures for too many millennia without any form of contact with Europe & the Middle East prior to the very-few centuries/decades preceding the time of Columbus

[@Ghost_bros]

I read that on anthropology clas

[@cp1cupcake]

I just read the account, and wow, I like the changes the locals did to the story.

[@Grygong555]

For those of you who don’t know, the ritual of Forefathers Eve in the Witcher is actually inspired by a real, pagan ritual, which was made widely known in Poland through a 19th century romantic poet, Adam Mickiewicz. It also involves fulfilling wishes of various ghosts so they could move on to the afterlife.

[@lordInquisitor]

Yet another reason to love that game

[@Hevdan1]

This is what I wanted to write about. I also have an interesting story related to this custom. In Poland, this is the equivalent of Halloween. On October 31, I was with my girlfriend in the forest, picking mushrooms. Suddenly we came across an unusual find - a tree (probably a spruce) and various fruits spread on the litter around the trunk. We got closer and noticed small coins lying on plums, grapes, bananas, oranges and tangerines. Additionally, the trunk and these "offerings" were sprinkled with some milk by someone. It looked really mysterious and magical, I have never seen anything like that randomly found in the forest. Amazing stuff, I really liked it.

[@kingofhearts3185]

@@Hevdan1 That's an interesting find. What country or area was this if you don't mind me asking?

[@Hevdan1]

@@kingofhearts3185 Poland, Warmia-Masuria to be precise. These are the lands where the Teutonic Knights' crusades against the native Prussian and Baltic tribes took place in the past. People here often attached importance to traditions and customs, even long after the area was christianized and inhabited by other nations and ethnic groups. It has not changed to this day.

[@kingofhearts3185]

@@Hevdan1 Fascinating. Looks like the tradition stayed alive, just in a new context.

[@Kiwi-Araga]

As someone who loves fantasy and folklore, I love this series already.

[@Hollie0981]

And as someone who has dealt with a few many things I couldn't explain, I CANNOT WAIT for Surgeon Raph to attack this 😂

[@bigguy7353]

And this isn't really fantasy and folklore, as ghosts have been reported by all cultures across the globe and are an extant phenomenon. Drunks, crazies and fame seekers are not the vast preponderance of those who have witnessed them.

[@jeffreyromain7336]

I recall about 30 years ago I was running one misty morning ( it was still dark) along some country lanes (Ayr) when I heard the sound of loud thumping coming towards me. As the sound came closer and the mist started to swirl I thought that my time had come. Turns out it was just a horse (friendly) who wanted to see who was making the puffing sound. Logic goes out the window on such occasions.

[@danielmalinen6337]

Belief in ghosts has certainly varied locally by region and culture. For example, Finnic people have believed that a person has three souls: Itse (the Self, the soul of consciousness), Haamu (the Ghost, the soul of health; or alternatively Hahmo (the Shadow)) and Henki (the Vigor, the soul of vitality). The belief continued for a long time until the 19th century, and souls were thought to be able to wander freely during sleep and after death. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed in some places that a sleeping person should not be woken up suddenly, because the person's Itse soul might be far away from the body and might not have time to find it again, and the person woken up suddenly would lost itself and die. In turn, the departure of the Haamu soul from the body has been considered to lead to illness, or if it was seen moving detached from the body, to premature death. The Haamu soul of a dead person was believed to remain wandering among the living until the birds, especially the soul grouse, would transport them to the afterlife. However, modern Finns no longer publicly admit that they believe in ghosts, at least as openly as before because they are unscientific, but many talk privately or only to their acquaintances about their haunting experiences and ghost sightings. Christianity also brought to Finland the belief in poltergeists, raging spirits (Räyhähenki) that caused noise in apartments as well as hid, moved and threw objects, driving people crazy. It could only be exorcised by a priest, but after that it would return with seven even more powerful and evil spirits. In addition, there was also a belief in the ghosts of abandoned babies, a lovechild, called Ihtiriekko (the Bastard), who appeared like the flame of will-o'-wisp. And they tormented their mothers who abandoned them with endless screams and the child's cries until they went mad and died. Ihtiriekko stopped haunting only if someone found its body and buried it properly. Unfortunately, no medieval ghost stories have survived from Finland, and theories about what people once believed in are based on folklore and remnants of old folk religion. However, the oldest restoration story dates back to the 16th century, according to which the spirits of drowned people sometimes gathered in the yard of St. Olaf's Castle with odd music and disappeared into the air like smoke.

[@kingofhearts3185]

Interesting, thanks for sharing. The child especially surprised me, can't think of a story like that.

[@damyr]

The first example is basically what we call today Astral projection. It makes sense... That belief, in or another shape, exists practically since the earliest civilizations. And it probably existed even before that. It's really ancient.

[@jokuvaan5175]

This reminded me of my Finnish grandmother once telling me that she had a dream where she was lsitening to a professor tell about how human souls would wander off from our bodies when we slept and then in an instant return when we woke up. I don't know if she had heard these old beliefs before. She was born in 1932.

[@kimfleury]

The poltergeist folklore sounds like a conflation of a couple or few different Christian teachings. I don't remember the Gospel verse, but Jesus warned His disciples that if a possessed person is delivered from torment through exorcism, the person had to take care to fill his mind and life with God, because if the demon returns and finds the house swept clean and empty, hell go get seven other demons, and the person's plight will be worse than before. So then if a person asks for deliverance but refuses to pray, it's more compassionate to refuse to deliver him rather than to let him suffer worse effects. I haven't heard it in relation to an actual house, though. Sounds like it might have been a tale started by people who only half heard the Gospel and then filled in the rest.

[@wormwoodcocktail]

Amazing!

[@LuizBarrosPoa]

Why ghosts are always people from the 20s and 30s? I want to see a movie with a neanderthal apparition. 😅

[@michellebyrom6551]

Check out the BBC series Ghosts for the character Robin. Its a comedy with innumerable ghosts in an old Manor house.

[@johnfisher247]

Maybe they did not have immortal souls?

[@LKMNOP]

Considering your life was pretty hard back then, they're probably too smart to want to come back!

[@cp1cupcake]

There was a series I read (before the author realized she would make more money writing smut and changed the series to that) where there is a pre-homo sapien hominid vampire. Not quite a ghost, but I think it fits.

[@mds_main]

If you're interested in that, I highly suggest to you to watch the YT short movie called "Dinosaur Ghost" from David Romero.

[@TalesofDawnandDusk]

I'm a student, translator and appreciator of Classical Japanese, and I absolutely love comparing and contrasting the ideas about spirits, ghosts and supernatural phenomena between East and West. Of the stories I've actually translated, the only one dealing with these topics is one about 天人 (tennin, heavenly beings) but I know there are stories about 变化 (henge, shapeshifters/changing spirits) and 鬼 (oni, demons/ogres) in the collection I'm working on. I'll have to keep a closer eye on your work to see if there are any particular interesting points of comment.

[@kingofhearts3185]

I haven't heard of henge, thanks for giving me something to read up on. Know any good videos in english to get started?

[@TalesofDawnandDusk]

@@kingofhearts3185 Well, I'm translating a collection of very old Japanese folktales and putting them up on my own channel, though I have yet to get to any stories that specifically deal with the aforementioned henge, but they I will eventually get to them. As far as other people's work, I'm afraid I can't say. Linfamy has some videos dealing with folklore but again, I don't know as he has anything about henge specifically, which is part of why I decided to start my own project, because there's a whole world of very old Japanese literature that is largely unknown in the West and I'd rather it wasn't.

[@kingofhearts3185]

@@TalesofDawnandDusk I see. I'll watch them toorrow, seems you have a new subscriber.

[@TalesofDawnandDusk]

@@kingofhearts3185 Very much appreciated. I can't hold a candle to someone like our guy Metatron here, but hopefully I can provide at least a bit of both entertainment and education.

[@trattogatto]

@@kingofhearts3185There is Shigeru Mizuki who is an expert and made an encyclopedia book about monsters and spirits in the japanese folklore. I have the italian translation, they made two books "Enciclopedia dei Mostri Giapponesi" and "Enciclopedia degli Spiriti Giapponesi". Each creature is accompanied with a nice drawing.

[@murmor6890]

Here in Vienna we have a huge collection of stories from the late medieval period that feature the Devil as a protagonist. Usually he is buying the soul of someone in exchange for fame, wealth or talent. The contract is signed with blood and usually contains some double meaning or clause that appears innocent and leads to the devil collecting the soul early.

[@ynpavo]

same as in record deal contracts today „in all of the universe and in perpetuity“ and the „death clause“

[@douglascolquhoun8502]

I love the idea of a series like this. Eventually, other "monstrous" creature types could spawn other series. Many thanks for all the info you put out on so many topics.

[@diegoborges3716]

The catholic church isn't entirelly against the idea of souls of the dead appearing to the living. It is said that Saint Father Pius received regular visits from souls of the purgatory asking for prayers. But that visits were graces granted by God for certain souls in pain, and they just appeared to very faithful and sanctified people, like Father Pius himself.

[@ignaciocamargo]

And the purgatory museum

[@matthewlentz2894]

You should cover the Norse draugr. Undead revenants guarding treasure in burial mounds.

[@Dowlphin]

Annoying blade fodder. 😄

[@KingFancyson]

It would also be intresting to see you cover medieval witches, from what I can tell the beliefs of medieval people on witchcraft vary slightly from the 16th-17th centuries with all the witch hunts

[@michellebyrom6551]

Indeed. Terry Pratchett presented them as wise women and herbalists. Corresponds to the crone stage of the Sheila na Gig - maid, mother, crone. I suspect that's where the lore of witches began.

[@kristianferencik8685]

So I did a of research about this a year ago, at and from that, the conclusion is that at least the cleargy and theologist believed that witches were nothing more than pagan superstition. Its not till the 16th century till we see witch trials occuring initiated by the pope during that period. However, it's difficult to know if they did believe in it or if it was mainly used for political purposes such as the Catholic church combating the rising Protestant movement. However, during this time, some of the church and theologist did try to combat and put out their resentment against the witch trial movement (naturally because they could just get accused and "tested"(executed)) and by the late 17th century, the witch trials are pretty much extinct in most parts of europe.

[@DoloresLehmann]

@@ConontheBinarian Try saying this quickly: "Three Swiss witch bitches watch three swatch watch switches. Which Swiss witch bitch watches which swatch watch switch?"

[@johnfisher247]

There is a History Today article that shows what mainstream Church before the Reformation regarded as folk superstitution was regarded by Calvinist in Switzerland, Scotland and later North America and by Lutherans in Germany and Puritan faction of the C of E treated as demonic witchcraft. The paranoia of the Protestants particularly under King James VI 1597, who released Daemonologie, a treatise about witchcraft.

[@UtamagUta]

Im my country, the one that was the very last to embrace christianity and did not persecute pagans afterwards, we still have some traditions carried up to modern days. For example our 'ghosts' are spirits, most usually, of our ancestors who come to visit us from time to time. On all hallows day (a day dedicated for the dead) or on Christmas Eve -we leave food behind for them when they come to join our family dinner.

[@altf4217]

7:22 missed opportunity to to warn about ghosts in the machine.

[@Chaydex]

Huge thanks for this series in advance Metatron, this will become a valuable resource for my upcoming DnD campaign

[@jeffzeiler346]

"A Christmas Carol's" Jacob Marley, as an example of a cautionary, educational ghost. More of these, please, The Metatron!

[@andrewd7112]

Dickens wrote that in the 1840s iirc, so it's a few hundred years later than the medieval period. But, it shows that by the early 1800s there were concepts of ghosts widely known and commonly agreed upon so he could use a ghost as a major story element. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future don't seem to be spirits of people returning from the dead; my impression has always been that they are very different in nature from Marley's ghost. That the term "ghost" is used for both Marley and them indicates medieval ideas that ghosts could be something other than a human coming back were also common.

[@DoloresLehmann]

@@andrewd7112 That's a very interesting point. I never stopped to think about the clear differences between the ghosts in the Christmas Carol. I'm of the impression that the Christmas ghosts don't fit a certain fixed idea of ghosts being something other than returned humans, rather that they are a metaphorical representation of the "spirit" of those events.

[@bob7975]

Even more than Halloween, Christmas was seen back then as a day when spirits walked abroad and could approach ordinary mortals.

[@javel114]

One story from finland. Origin of Ievan Polkka (Ieva's polka). A folk song with very well known internet song, leek spin and loads of influencers butchering the lyrics. Talks about a neighbour boy and girl going dancing and not minding about the girls mothers orders. The historical story: A young girl died and was taken to the local church. A young boy was guarding the church at night, and reported the dead girl stood up, started dancing wildly, the boy fled and when the priest was brought, the girls feet were dirty (the body had been washed prior). Well, the boy was charged for necrophilia and sent to the russian army as punishment.

[@RogerS1978]

There are a couple of experiences that make me believe there is something. The first is mine, I left a club in Nottingham early (and sober as I was on antibiotics) and was walking home with my friend. We was in the Meadows when we noticed a couple walking along the road wearing odd clothes (looked Victorian/Georgian) about 40ft (12m) ahead of us, we were catching them up but hadn't saw them before this road, walking from town. When we were about that far out I turned to my mate to comment on it and he looked at me then back ahead, under a second. The road was empty, to the left an 8-10ft spiked metal fence surrounding a school field and on the other side of the road, row houses with front walls about 3ft high. They couldn't have ran ahead in that time, couldn't see how they got over the fence and out of the street light coverage on the field and I crossed over and looked over every wall. Mate said he saw a couple but didn't notice anything specific, he was as confused as me as to where they went.

[@RogerS1978]

Another was my grandads story. Him and my nan had come back from a holiday to Blackpool, arriving in the dark. He went out for a walk down the garden to the toilet. At the bottom of where all the gardens finish was a pond with some damson trees (was still there at the time and I saw it). He saw the neighbours girl sitting by the pond about 10ft away, he thought it odd, called to her and went to ask if she was ok, but by the time he got through the gate, no one was around. After finishing, he came back into the house and told my nan, great nan and great grandad what he'd seen. They were shocked. My great grandparents had just been telling my nan how the neighbours girl drowned in the pond a few days earlier, while he was up the garden. I saw the place before it was built over.

[@kungpowsesame8260]

Emotional residue

[@RogerS1978]

@@kungpowsesame8260 interesting, sort of like an imprint on the place?

[@DoloresLehmann]

@@RogerS1978 Those are really interesting stories. I'm convinced a lot of those sightings are genuine, but I don't think it's about dead people "returning" into the world of the living, or "staying in this dimension because they still have unfinished business". My take on the matter is that time doesn't really exist (a concept that's actually being pondered in physics). And since it doesn't really exist, past, present and future are all simultaneous. Things don't "pass" and "cease to exist", they just move out of sight of the living. It's all still there, we just can't see it anymore. Some people, though, who have a finer perception, can, at certain times, when the circumstances are ideal, catch a glimpse on so-called past (or also future) events, and that's what we call either ghost apparitions or foreknowledge. I've actually pondered writing a ghost story where, in a house, two people who live(d) there at different times perceive EACH OTHER as ghosts.

[@jokuvaan5175]

My dad told a story about his own dad. A drunken violent man. He was once out in forest alone when it started raining. There was an empty cabin nearby where he went to seek shelter. After a while he heard a knock on the door and went to open it to find a woman standing alone outside the door. She asked if she could come in and my grandpa let her in, but then quickly packed his things and left the cabin after the woman just walked through a wall of the cabin.

[@drip369]

First episode? Keep em coming!

[@Shay33s]

Gladiator is my favourite medieval horror film followed by troy .

[@KingFancyson]

Two truly versatile and formidable movies

[@derpatrizier]

You forgot the best medieval film of all times... "Stalingrad"

[@ForfexSceleris]

This series is going to be absolutely FANTASTIC. Brilliant idea, Metatron, 🤘🏻

[@Tennouseijin]

Vampires could be an interesting topic since addressing it would require looking into south-eastern European history (Vlad the Impaler) and folklore, which seems to be less known to international viewers than western Europe. I also recall some of the theories about where the myth of vampires originated involve how people observed corpses after death, and attributed some of the natural changes that happen to a body as it decomposes or mummifies, to being signs that it's somehow still semi-alive, or not-quite dead. Thus the ideas of 'making sure it's dead' with the stake through its heart etc.

[@leolinguini260]

I like this much more than the rants about bad news blogs

[@chaosgyro]

Metatron's sponsor transition game is on point with this one

[@JackyHeijmans]

People like Shamans speaking to ancestors is ancient. I find it very interesting. From the Banshee to Loki the Shapeshifter, bring it on! ❤

[@noweg2299]

Great topic. I would love to see more of it. How many of the modern topics and tropes we already had in the medieval time? Zombies, Liches, undead Kings? Did they only see undead connected to devine or satanic deeds or also as influenced by human magic? How much of the fantasy tropes were already there...priest to be able to revoke ghosts and undead...holy water etc?

[@kristianferencik8685]

So when we are thinking about zombies in the modern sense, the term only started to be used in the 60s, before then zombies were the hypnotised dead voodoo doctors controlled. Vampires, were the zombies of the past and there mythology might also be linked to real life phenomenons such as corpses moving due to the build up of gas and the ensurement of the corpses being dead as to avoid them waking up alive in the coffins during a time when that wasn't uncommon. So if you're going to put old Bobby 6ft under, just put a steak through the heart, cause he's not going to have a good time if it turns out he didnt actually die.

[@TheHornedKing]

Oh hell yeah, I want more of this! I'm a big mythology and folklore nerd, and being a guy who loves horror and plays a necromancer in every game that allows it, of course this series appeals to me.

[@embee7434]

I appreciate your clean and clear discussion format. I LOVE that you include the outline and progression. Enjoyable topic!

[@metatronyt]

Glad you enjoyed it thanks

[@carlettoburacco9235]

Maybe you can help: I remember reading about at least 2 monasteries, famous in medieval times for the "visions" that the residents constantly had. Apparently in both cases the water source from which they obtained supplies for drinking was contaminated (lead, poisonous mold... I don't remember) One thing I'm sure of is that one was in Italy and one in Spain. I can't find a single reference anywhere.

[@IamZeus1100]

I don’t necessarily believe or disbelieve in ghost or spirits but I always find the occult to be so fascinating . This was a great idea , Metatron ! Might just be a new favorite series of yours (it’s hard to pick , you have so many great videos) . Thanks for the great content !

[@COctagons]

I think you should definitely do a general "Undead in the Medieval Period" video. There are a lot of different types people don't often consider, like the revenant, wight, dullahan, (the mythological version of) draugr, nachzehrer, dunnie, etc. and it would be cool to hear a historical breakdown of what they all were, how much people believes in such things, and how their legends went.

[@mds_main]

As somebody that loves horror and history, this kind of videos is right around my alley, so yes I want more of this! Maybe, as a sort of spinoff of this series, you could also talk of the historicity and belief (from the people of the time) of some now-forgotten Medieval monsters, like the Sea Monk or the Beast of Gevaudan.

[@kariannecrysler640]

Definitely want to understand more about this subject throughout history. Erving Finkle did that cuneiform ghost & curses lecture a couple years back & I have had great curiosity about what other evidence of these things was out there. It helps to understand the anthropological aspects of historical cultures imo.

[@coyotejake9164]

This was succinct, yet fascinating. I would love to hear more!

[@melissapinol7279]

As a Folksinger, I couldn't resist ( from "The Lover's Ghost"), a cautionary from a ghost: "My mother is at my head, he said My father is at my feet And three Hellhounds all about my sides Where I would lie down and sleep One is for my drunkenness One is for my pride And one is for promising that fair pretty maid That she would be my bride".

[@Leftyotism]

Now that you mentioned a ball lightning, medieval ball lightning stories are fascinating!

[@lewistoyemcginley7398]

I've never really thought of old Irish ghost stories until now, but fuck there is an awful lot of them about gamblers trying to cheat the devil at cards.

[@Calu114]

Love the content metatron, keep it up !

[@KamiSeiTo]

Oh yes, this is SO INTERESTING! Please make it a long looong series. n_n

[@Plus_Escapee]

Way better content than reading historical inaccuracies by authors we aren't aware of (thankfully) in the first place.

[@MyLobotomy14]

I would love to see more content regarding topics of folklore and mythology throughout history, especially in the medieval period.

[@kejamsk3307]

Very amazing and interesting video, 13:48 actually reminded me of an really old legend in my country that took place during medieval period in Bratislava (that time the city was called Pressburg), where one night a ghost appeared to a young girl named Regina Fischer, the ghost looked like an old man wearing torn white rags, with white hair and empty black eyes, he came to her, asking her for help, but she ignored him (i dont remember the reason why) which angered the ghost and he physically attacked her. This ghost was appearing to her entire year until one day, the ghost reappeared and, as before, he asked her for help and again attacked her when she was not cooperating, this attracted the attention of the townspeople and the church itself. The church asked the priests to investigate this case to see if this is not just a trick. Her confessor, a former priest Hieronymus Gladich, advised her to listen to the spirit and ask its name. People and some priests began to also see the ghost walking around Pressburg, and all witnesses had one thing in common, and that were ghost´s burnmarks that he left when he disappeared (footprints or handprints). The ghost also caused some house fires. The ghost turned out to be a former mayor of Pressburg called Hanz Klements Zwespenbauer. Hanz wanted exactly this, to get 200 gold, from his estate, from his wife (who was still alive then) so they could use this money, to make the Pieta (Statue of Holy Mary that is holding dead body of Jesus Christ), out of linden wood (or oak, I can't remember). Why 200 gold exactly? He once stole this amount during a robbery and murder. And although he repented of his sin at confession in church, he could not find peace even after death. At least now he wanted to fulfill a promise he had not been able to make in his lifetime. If they dont help him, he will end up in the fiery pits of hell. As Hieronymus and Regina were on their mission to get the stolen 200 gold, Hanz appeared to her again, Regina demanded to give her an evidence, to see if he is truly a "good spirit" and not an evil one. Hanz put his hand into the wooden chest and the cloth that was placed on it, it began to burn, what he left there was imprint of his right hand and cross (These imprints are actually real and can be visited in Saint Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava). After they managed to get the money to make the statue, Hanz appeared to the sculptor, Juraj Scheibele, who was having trouble finding the exact type of linden/oak wood in the forest, and he helped him find it. After the statue was finished, he appeared to Regina and priests one last time, thanking her and them for help. Then, before disappearing, he told them one more thing, that the last revelation will be during the Sunday mass. And during that sunday witnesses saw a one white dove flying from cathedral´s tower into the sky. Symbol of Hanz´s freed soul. Legend has it that the sail over the cross on Pieta appeared after a dove flew over. And this meant for the church one thing, that some kind of purgatory exists, where souls can redeem themselves.

[@glittermama]

"Vitti na crozza" is a Sicilian folk song about a spirit's not having confessed before death. I don't know how old the song is, but it goes along with what has been presented here.

[@jonp3890]

I once tried to convince myself that I’d seen a léyak in a Balinese rice-sawah during a walk I took at midnight, with faintly flickering lights, the whole bit, but I was just young and impressionable.

[@Drevenhaven]

Also the story of The Flying Dutchman ghost ship, that is likened to a Fata Morgana on water and can crash a ship on the rocky shorelines.

[@nlm6183]

Fascinating. Please make more!

[@rebeccaaugustine8628]

I like the idea of this series. As for animal ghosts, yes, I have seen them, specifically cats. There was a black and a white cat at the last house we lived at.

[@nazarnovitsky9868]

Thanks for the new video ! 😊

[@ShagShaggio]

This was great, super interesting! Would love to see much more of this! Cheers!

[@phillipmaddern6452]

That was reminiscent of the intro to mediaeval total war. " This is an age of darkness, a world of power fear and death. This is mediaeval total war " best game intro ever still after twenty years.

[@kostasmanousakis1081]

Outstanding!!! Please make more episodes!!! It is really interesting!!!

[@nickmanzo8459]

Great video, Metatron, I loved it, and am definitely in the “more, please!” Camp on this subject.

[@thelotharingian7500]

As an acosmic panentheist mystic my main hypothesis of ghosts i am working on in my metaphysics is that our higher selves are pandimensional but our logos manifests within a specific spectrum of reality, pulled there by the dna as an antenna, when we see spectal images that have no physics to them we are perseiving other densities of reality as if two radio stations are interfering with each other and causing static and overlap. The astral plane could one day be quantified we just don't have the technology to do so yet, but when we do we will consider things we currently see as nonphysical as physical, just as we neglect the energetic make up of subatomic particles

[@draconiusdracen836]

This was very fascinating. Please keep making more.

[@caspianbchalphy]

fascinating! I definitely want to see more of this!

[@RealMrBruh]

Great video, hope you make more of these.

[@internaut4257]

Very interesting new series, I’m looking forward to watching more in depth explorations of this topic!

[@marklaurenzi1609]

This sounds like a great series! I look forward to your next video.

[@Kargoneth]

Thank you, Metatron. I would be interested in hearing more about these ghosts and other undead.

[@dangerich530]

Thank you Metatron, very interesting. Scaring stories next to come 😅

[@SheakiFreaky]

Great concept metatron i look forward to seeing more from this series. Thanks for all the videos and keep up the amazing work u do :).

[@enricopiu4658]

THIS SERIE OF VIDEOS CAN BE A BANGER METATRON

[@wesrobinson3294]

Can't wait to see more!

[@colinmackay92]

Hello Raf. Just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of your videos and they always help me out when I'm feeling down. I've been a noble one for a very long time and I always appreciate the hard work that you put into these videos. You're a class act my friend.

[@diegoc.8931]

I loved it! Keep doing more of this videos

[@hiselbii5326]

What a great topic! I would really love to see more episodes!

[@gryaznygreeb]

I love your channel and I love spooky stuff. I'd love to see more of this series!

[@Xxtayce]

This was great, thanks!!

[@JohnTBlock]

All of these subjects are fascinating to me, Metatron.would love more reasearch!

[@dianahowell3423]

Great episode! I'd love to see more.

[@martincougoulat1306]

Love this vid! please do more it is such an interresting subject

[@SteveVonBacon]

Yes, please more of this. Very interesting topic!

[@orlandodiciccio2748]

One of the most interesting and entertaining things I’ve seen in a long long while, I hope this will be a long series! 😊

[@victortitimas6904]

I liked it, please make more episodes!:)

[@ShadowBaneling]

Really good video about ghost stories and their origins. Definitely make more!

[@jessicabaker1274]

Really enjoyed this bud ❤😊

[@revan23117]

Fantastic concept.

[@trixiezmycat]

Great episode. Very interesting, and I'm looking forward to more videos like this one. I would love to see a video about vampires and skeletons. Could you please do a video about what medieval people actually really thought about things like dragons, unicorns, werewolves other mythical animals and beings? Thank you.

[@BlazingKomet]

That thumbnail is SO cool! Thank you for the continued intensely interesting content

[@pedromiguel3227]

Metatron! Back at it with more divine educational entertainment for us. Thanks again for sharing your latest gem.

[@kamenriderkfp6684]

A most fascinating and interesting topic. And that transition to the add read was beautifully executed

[@tHiSfUgGgiNdUdE]

Definitely interested in seeing more from this series Metatron. I was wondering when you were gonna go back to doing fantasy -esque topics through a historical lense.

[@st0rmrider]

Wow, great video!

[@sameechaos1]

Your videos give great info, and your passion is refreshing as always. More please~

[@Yattayatta]

This was excellent, I really really enjoyed it, I would like more of this!

[@zombiefolklore]

This video brings to mind the stories of the Yuki-onna, which serve as a fantastic explanation for the effects of hypothermia.

[@RishPanjeetJr]

LOVE IT. More of this kind of fun/historical/supernatural stuff. The only thing I’m not super-into that you do is, say, armor/weapons testing. Everything else I think is fascinating.

[@mjisabelle18]

I really like the idea of the series. I would be very happy if you continued the series.

[@noladavis5085]

I lived near where the supposed oldest ghost appeared in England. It was the ghost of a Bronze Age warrior. I was lucky enough to live near Maiden Castle too. I miss Dorset.

[@Polloles]

Loved this subject! Please do make more content about the paranormal/mythological aspects of the past!!

[@GVM27]

Metatron this video was Great and I would like to see videos about the technological progression of magic in Europe from its prehistoric beginnings all the way to the most cutting-edge historical research happening now. Are the arts of magic themselves advancing, improving, evolving progressing toward more exacting forms of manipulation...it is an interesting question indeed.

[@swankelly]

I love learning about what people thought of the dead throughout history. Please make more of this sort of content.

[@kentspeak465]

I wish this episode was hours long, hope you will do more about this topic

[@Silverlightlive]

You are always interesting, but the background images you chose were absolutely fantastic! Keep up the great work!

[@YazzyFairy]

Really excited for this series! I can't wait to learn more about the medieval folklore :)

[@r.j.amadeus9128]

This was very interesting, definitely enjoyed this episode.

[@davenobody26]

I would certainly like to see more videos like this on what people in Medieval or other ages believed about things like ghosts .vampires and werewolves.