Episode 136: Dark Fae: Zombies

The folklore of zombies in a nutshell, translated to Afrikaans, and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2024 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about zombies in folklore here.

Get the transcript here.

Learn more about the author and her writing here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With over a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Dark Court Sisters book series. Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook. Three sisters. Three destinies. Three ways to destroy the world. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/darkcourtsistersseries for more.

You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion. Go to buymeacoffee.com/ronel to support me.

We’re continuing our exploration of Dark Fae.

Today’s Faery: Zombies

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

In folklore, there are three classifications for what we know today as zombies. Revenants, draugr and zombies.

As we all know, traditional zombie folklore states that a zombie is a dead person brought back to life by a magician or bokor. This creature is not the person they once were, rather a robot-like creature who obeys their master’s every whim. The only way to save the person from eternal drudgery and to kill the zombie, is with salt. It isn’t clear whether mere contact with salt will do the trick or if the zombie has to ingest the mineral, but either way, it will remove the bokor’s hold on the zombie and it will be able to return to its grave for eternal slumber.

During the first half of the twentieth century, it was believed that the night trains conveying miners from Mozambique to South Africa and back, were actual witches’ trains which turned the workers into zombies. Though more a fear about migrant workers having to go to the most unpopular places of employment, fears about Apartheid, and how the people were worked to the point of death (most were returned maimed, deranged, disabled and broken to their country of origin), stories about zombies continue to circulate.

The draugr comes from Norse mythology. They are usually created when a greedy, wealthy man is buried with all his possession. The draugr rises to protect his treasure against all who would come to take it. Even though it is believed that a man can take his possessions with him to the Norse afterlife, some grave robbers did exist. The draugr made sure none would take what is his, even after death. Though most stay within their tomb, some wander off to kill whomever they come across. They also possess a bit of magic, as it can see the future, move through stone and control the weather. It can also apparently shape-shift into a grey horse with a broken back, no ears or tail. For the most part, the draugr is death blue or corpse pale, depending on the tale. It smells like a rotting corpse, even though it doesn’t show any signs of decay. It has all the memories it had as a living person. The only pleasure it can derive in its undead state is the murder of humans and livestock alike. The only way to stop this creature is with fire.

Revenants are those who return from the grave – usually a magic practitioner of some kind. In Slavic mythology, they may rise to do deliberate harm. They sustain this unnatural life by consuming the life-force of the living. This eventually grew to the legend of the vampire.

Whether created as durable slave-labour or because it has some unfinished business in the world of the living to take care of, the zombie is an enduring motif in folklore.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: Zombies

Three distinct types of zombies: revenants, draugr and zombies.

Revenants are created by throwing a bone, lock of hair or blood of the deceased into a magical lake, cauldron, etc. endowed with the power to bring back the dead. These revenants are bloodthirsty creatures and will create more of their own – either by infecting humans or by killing them and then bringing them back the same way they were. A plague. They look exactly the way they did when they were alive, but they have no memories of the person they once were.

Draugr specifically guard graves. Whether actual treasure (gold, diamonds, etc.) or knowledge, they will kill to protect it. They have memories of the life they left behind, but as they cannot feel or taste or smell anything and find joy in the things they once did, they now find joy in murder.

Zombies, the slow-moving and even the fast-paced ones, are specifically created as soldiers. The slow-moving ones bring decay in their wake. The fast-paced ones kill all in their sight.

No matter the type of zombie, they can all be destroyed with fire. Their source of “life” lies with the dark fae or sorcerer who animated them. If you kill the source, you kill the zombie.

As a little bonus, let’s look at this faery translated to Afrikaans: wandelende lyk.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

You can now own the backlist seasons as audiobooks. All proceeds go to hosting the podcast. Exclusively available from Ronel’s store.