Lithuanian returning dead

Also called: sugrįžtantys numirėliai, numirėlis, walking dead of Lithuania

Folklore and mythUndeadA bad death or burialMiddle Ages

Lithuania kept a strong tradition of the dangerous dead long after its conversion to Christianity. Cemeteries of the 14th to 17th centuries contain bodies deliberately beheaded, dismembered or turned face down, which archaeologists connect with fear of corpses returning. Lithuanian legends collected in modern times still describe meetings with the 'walking dead', usually brought on by disrespect for a grave. The material and the stories together give a Baltic counterpart to the revenant evidence from England and Poland.1 2

Battle it

First recorded

1350

Deviant burials of the 14th-17th centuries; legends recorded by modern folklorists

Origin

Lithuanian

Lithuania

What causes it

A bad death or burial

Folklore names the untimely dead and the very sinful as those who return; the legends add that the living provoke them by disturbing remains or grave goods.

How you become one

An unexpected or wrongful death, a sinful life, or interference with the grave.

Intelligence

Some intelligence

Weak spots