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Showing posts with the label improper burial

Capelobo

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   The capelobo is a monster from the Par á and Maranh ã o regions of Brazil. It is mainly believed by the Christianized indigenous population. The name comes from the Guarani word cap ê , meaning bend legged or lame, and the Portuguese lobo, meaning wolf. The capelobo is a vampiric monster that drinks both blood and brain matter with its long snout. It starts out as an elderly indigenous man, if he dies without a Christian burial or becomes lost in the forest he will transform into the capelobo. This transformation is permanent and he can never return to his human form. The capelobo looks like a werewolf with an anteater’s head and clawed forelimbs. It also has perfectly round horse hooves, which look the same back to front. This makes it impossible to know what direction the capelobo was travelling when trying to track it. The capelobo is very large, being close to seven feet tall, even when hunched over in a bestial werewolf fashion. Some say the capelobo has a feral f...

Valravn

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  Valravn, meaning raven of the slain, is a sort of boogieman from Denmark. Valravns were created when a raven ate the flesh of the fallen in battle who had not been given a proper burial. The valravn was a thoroughly evil creature that sought to bring harm to the surrounding communities. After being transformed the valravn gained human intelligence and various magical abilities that allowed it to spread pestilence and misfortune. It also gained the ability to shape shift into wolves or a half wolf – half raven form. Even with these abilities valravns still sought out more power. The one thing they desired the most was the ability to take on the form of a black knight, which they could only gain by devouring the heart of a child. How they accomplished this was usually left to the imagination. However in one traditional Danish song a valravn offered to protect a maiden on her way to her marriage in return for her first born child, echoing similar trickster deals made with fairies an...