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The Titan Submarine Incident & Draugr
21 Plays1 year ago
This week, it’s icebergs and Icelandic monsters!
First, Felicia discusses the Titan submarine incident that’s been sinking the news recently. In case you live under a rock (or an actual iceberg) and haven’t seen the headlines, a small submersible carrying 5 people (including the founder of the company that operates the vessel) to explore the wreckage of the Titanic went mysteriously missing, thus giving us this generation’s “Baby Jessica in the well.” But with all of our modern technology, how can something like this happen?! *For the record, we recorded this episode prior to recent findings from the international recovery team that discovered debris from the submarine, confirming a catastrophic imploding of the vessel on its descent. All five people onboard are now believed to have been instantly killed in the incident. Our hearts will go on…
Next, Lauren tells us about the Draugr - an undead creature from Nordic folklore / Scandinavian saga literature and folktales! The Draugr may have similarities to other creatures we know - zombies, ghosts, or even vampires…but it’s their magical abilities set them apart. We're talking shape-shifting, seeing the future, cursing victims, creating temporary darkness in the day, possessing superhuman strength, entering the dreams of the living, being immune to all weapons…even controlling the weather! If this sounds like something out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel, you’re right on the "barrow-wight.”
PS: If you have requests for future episodes or just want to hang out, follow us on Instagram @sinistersisterspodcast
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Return
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to the Sinister Sisters podcast. I'm Felicia. I'm Lauren. We're best friends. And we like spooky stuff. Oh, yeah. And we took a little break, right? I think. Yes, we did take a break, unfortunately. Time is a myth, so it's hard for me to say. But yeah, but I'll have you back.
00:00:34
Speaker
Me too. I feel bad. This time around, it was my fault, everyone. I was moving. That was my fault. I was traveling. I don't know.
Lauren's New Home Adventures
00:00:41
Speaker
It's all gray. Yes. Every time of year, it's a busy time of year, no matter the time of year. So it's just been a busy time of year, everybody.
00:00:54
Speaker
We're just going to say we're very busy. We try our best year. That's true. You did just move. Lauren gave me a little house tour. It's adorable. And I'm so happy for you. Thank you. I feel really happy. Is this kind of like your first backyard? My first backyard, my first house. That's freaking awesome. Yeah, it's really, it's wild. You're an adult. You're an adult, but you're still just a baby.
00:01:21
Speaker
No, I mean, no, but I do feel like I'm playing house in a weird way. Oh my God, I totally know what you mean. But is that fun? Does it feel fun? Yeah, it feels fun.
00:01:32
Speaker
Have you baked cookies? No, I should. I should bake cookies and give them to the neighborhood. Yes. Or actually, they should be bringing you cookies because you're the new neighbor. But I mean, I'm just saying. I know. Actually, we did have our friends, Megan and Brandon, stopped by because they remembered the date that we were moving and remembered our address. It was so sweet. I know. What? People like that exist. Exactly. Lauren, I am your best friend, and I don't know that I would do that.
00:02:03
Speaker
It was so sweet. They came over and they had it was so funny because they brought like, I don't know why they have this like inside joke with James about bananas. I don't know where it started. So they brought bananas. And then they have this joke because he also just recently went keto again. It's very annoying to me. I love the game. I hate the keto thing. But so good.
00:02:23
Speaker
a raw hot dog in front of Megan and she was so horrified. Like not raw, but like no bun. No, I know what you mean. What am I saying? Yeah. And so he sees this hot dog in front of her. A naked dog. Exactly. And she was horrified. And so they brought him bananas and hot dogs and they brought me this giant beautiful baguette and I was thrilled. That was very nice. That was beautiful. It was good.
00:02:47
Speaker
But I did also, I'm going to tell the story so fast because it's so classic neighborhood. I was walking Rufus for approximately five minutes, like a quick walk. And I was like, Oh no, it's too hot. I got to take him home. And an old man, like two doors down was like, you better not be walking your dog in this heat. And I was like,
00:03:09
Speaker
Like I'm really I'm two doors away. I'm so sorry. I stepped outside for five seconds. I know Terrible idea and then he's like, yeah, you should take your shoes off and walk barefoot the rest of the way just to see if you can handle it damn Damn, I mean like I mean I do know the payment is bad for doggy paw. So it's like I feel him I
00:03:34
Speaker
but that is like kind of intense because I mean like you were taking him home but I guess he doesn't know that but I know I was like I've been out here for five minutes I'm turning around I'm so sorry and then I was like I'm actually or he he like yelled and then he was like wait are you my new neighbor and I was like yes I'm like two doors down from you I'm literally that's my house right there and he was like
00:03:57
Speaker
oh oh my gosh like hi i'm whatever like so nice to meet you shook my hand and then he's like i have a dog too like look at my dog i'm like okay and then she goes this is scary he goes you have a husband and a daughter about eight and i said yes
00:04:17
Speaker
And then I was like, I was like, yes. And he was like, well, I'll come over and like formally introduce myself to y'all like later. But let me get you some recycling bags. I have some extra recycling bags. Come on. My mind is exploding right now. All of it. And I'm like, no, no, no, I'm good. I'll wait here. He goes and gets the recycling bags and hands me this giant roll of like Richardson recycling bags that I have to use to put my recycling bags. Lauren, dear listeners, I just want to
00:04:46
Speaker
Express, if you have never lived in New York City, the things that Lauren is saying right now, as someone that is now in Texas, coming from living in New York City, it's just unimaginable. These things are unimaginable. Unimaginable. I mean, all of that's insane. Everyone would yell at you. I don't even know my neighbor's names. I literally don't know their names. Right. Right. I can't.
00:05:13
Speaker
I can't. And there's two Facebook groups that we're now a part of. It's insane. Oh my God. Facebook group. Oh my God. You know, I just wanted the tea. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. Like who's mad at who? Who's selling furniture? Who's getting divorced? Is anyone sleeping with each other? Who is liking too many of the person's comments in the Facebook group? Who's giving the linky faces? Yeah. Oh my God.
00:05:42
Speaker
This is amazing. It's all so silly. Anyway, that's my story. But I did not go inside. I stayed outside the house, so I didn't get my... Good for you. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. See, you know, you've seen enough. You've seen enough to kind of know you don't go in that house. Exactly. That's why we do this podcast. And Rufus, no offense, Rufus. Rufus is too small to protect you. No, he could not. He would be like, have at her. No, he wouldn't.
00:06:08
Speaker
Anyway, that's
TV Show and Movie Discussions
00:06:10
Speaker
my story. But do you have any recommendations this week? You know, I have no idea. Well, I am watching the new season of two Gordon Ramsay moments here. New season of MasterChef. They're trying to make themes now because it's been around so long
00:06:29
Speaker
the theme is like by section of the US. So like cooks from the Northeast, cooks from the South, cooks from the West Coast, whatever. But it is very good so far. And then I'm watching the other Gordon Ramsay show. That's a new one. I forgot what it's called. But it's basically like
00:06:48
Speaker
Shark Tank with Gordon Ramsay where he is like got these people that have big food related business ventures and then he puts them through all these challenges and then at the end he like invests $250,000 in their business. That's so cool. Yeah. I mean, it's not as good as MasterChef, but it's something to do when the MasterChef is not on.
00:07:14
Speaker
I did just start watching season two of Yellow Jackets. I'm not very far yet. But I also like had totally forgot everything that happened. So then I was like Googling recap stuff because I was like, I forgot everything. I feel you. I couldn't really remember when I started too. But I like to season. That was going to be one of my recommendations because we finished it.
00:07:40
Speaker
It's like not as good as season one, for sure. I think it's just hard to like keep up in that way. They never are. No, but I really, I just love the characters that I'm like, I'm all in. I'm here. I love it. The characters, the actors are amazing. And Elijah Wood's just so fun. Yeah, I loved when I saw him come up, I was like, Oh, okay. Have you heard of this series? I haven't watched it yet, but Eddie, our friend Eddie recommended it. And that is this show's swarm.
00:08:10
Speaker
No. OK, I think it's let me see what it's on. But he said it's like a fantastic like short. It says it's a comedy horror series. Oh, and it follows Dre, a young woman whose obsession with a pop star takes a dark turn. Yeah, it's on Amazon Prime. Nice. But yeah, apparently it's it's really great. So I'm going to I'm going to watch that sometime this week.
00:08:39
Speaker
or next week, I guess. I love that. Yeah. All right. Well, yeah, we'll have to report back. I did also see The Boogie Man, which I also really liked. I liked. Oh, good. I don't know. It's like, it's the host guys, right? Am I mixing up movies? Is it? No. I think it's the host guys. No, it is. Yeah. It's the director of host. Why? Oh, it's Rob Savage. Good for him. Yeah. But man, you've been freaking busy.
00:09:07
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say host dash cam. Oh, well, I get. Yeah, I see now. Sorry, it's I think like the only thing that I thought was like a little disappointing is like it's not like I don't know. It's not like a new out of the box kind of idea. Like it's pretty much what it looks like in the trailer, which is basically like, you know, a little girl thinks she's seeing the boogeyman. Her dad is like, it's not real. And then like it is a real monster, basically.
00:09:36
Speaker
Wow. But I also just really like, yeah, right. I like Chris Messina a lot and I like the girl that plays young Juliette Lewis from Yellow Jackets is the main teen girl. Oh, yeah. Her name is Sophie Thatcher. Oh, I love this girl. She's such a good face. I know that's a weird thing to say. No, she's such a good face. I totally get it.
00:10:01
Speaker
Yeah, and then the little girl is the one that plays young Carrie Fisher and all the new Star Wars stuff. She plays like young Princess Leia. So she's great. Oh, wow. Yeah, so I yeah, I really liked the cast. Yeah, I thought it was good. It's not going to like blow your mind, but I thought it was scary at times and then good acting and yeah, yeah.
00:10:23
Speaker
Well, I haven't really seen any horror movies in a minute, so I really do need to dive back in and see what's come out in like the last six months because I haven't seen anything. And desperately, I'm like so excited for Don't Talk To Me. Or no, Talk To Me. Sorry, not Don't. Oh yeah, wait. I heard about that one. Who is that one? What is Talk To Me? No, it's the one that's, I'm sure you've seen trailers.
00:10:48
Speaker
It's like a hand, this like mummified hand that they're like basically doing a Ouija board kind of thing with where you hold onto the hand and like, you know, try to talk to people from the other side. And it like kind of possesses people seemingly, you know, you haven't seen anything about this. You haven't seen anything. I feel like it's
00:11:11
Speaker
Let me tell you, I don't see anything at all anymore because I'm like my school life is taken over everything. But yeah, I want to see this too. I want to see it all.
The Submarine Story: A Deep Dive
00:11:24
Speaker
I'll send you the trailer after this and like it is a genuinely terrifying trailer. Oh, good. I can't wait. I just looked, it looks like at least one of the guys worked in the camera department on the Babadook. So that looks interesting. I like that. One of the directors, I guess.
00:11:40
Speaker
Oh, they're directing brothers. Oh, fun. We always like brothers directing. Yeah, sure. Wait, I have one. Wait, sorry, who are these people? The Phillip who Phillip who sorry from saying the wrong brothers have attracted more than 1.5 billion views on their YouTube channel. And they have six and a half million subscribers.
00:12:04
Speaker
All right. Well, we gotta check it out. Yeah. I'm like, do they talk about scary things or like, I didn't know this part of all of us. Yeah. They're YouTubers. Okay. Well, sorry. I need to dive this later. I'm sorry. I'm wasting time now. I didn't know any of this either. They're Australian. So cool. Okay. Should I get going here? Yeah, let's do it. So today I'm going to be covering something that is
00:12:34
Speaker
in progress right now. We're recording this on June 21st, Wednesday. And by the time this comes out on Monday, I'm sure a lot will have changed. So I'm sorry for that in advance. But I'm talking about the submarine that was looking at the remains of the Titanic on Sunday and has since gone missing.
00:13:01
Speaker
and they have not been able to locate it yet. So we have a missing subbrain. It's called the Titan.
00:13:09
Speaker
So basically, I'm just going to go with what we know so far. This submarine was made by a company called Ocean Gates. And on Sunday, they started a basically what was supposed to be a seven day adventure to go into the sea to look at the Titanic and explore it. OK.
00:13:34
Speaker
There was five people on board. There are five people on board, excuse me. Oh my gosh, I didn't realize I was so small. It's really small. And when you look up videos of how small it is, so it's only 21 feet long. Oh my gosh. Yes. And so basically the, like what they do on what Ocean Gate does is they take you from St. John's, Canada.
00:14:03
Speaker
where this company is based, it's in Newfoundland. The day one, and I'm pulling this off their website, so they have like the full, like I pulled up the website, they still have the itinerary up for this expedition that was basically, you know, a disaster now. So it's supposed to be eight days and seven nights, max six people, minimum age 17, and it is a deep ocean.
00:14:29
Speaker
Atlantic Ocean trip to go look at the wreckage of the Titanic. The Titanic is about 380 miles offshore and 3,800 meters below the surface.
00:14:46
Speaker
It's an eight day expedition. Day one, you leave St. John's. You meet your expedition crew. You board the vessel. And day two, you travel across the North Atlantic to basically get to the dive site. And then by day three, you should be taking your Titanic dive. So about, they got to this point.
00:15:17
Speaker
About an hour and 45 minutes after they went into the ocean, they lost contact. Oh, gosh. Yeah. And I'm assuming that doesn't normally happen. No.
00:15:34
Speaker
So it's not clear exactly what's gone wrong. There's so many things at play right now. One, they don't know why they've lost contact and they don't know how to find them. So just to give some perspective here, the Titanic ruins
00:15:54
Speaker
are like in terms of like how deep into the ocean they are is like the length is like the length of or the height of nine Empire State buildings. That is how deep they are in the ocean. Oh, yeah. So where they are, it's very deep. So where they are, first of all, there's like immense ocean pressure, like could crush you and you wouldn't even know you died. It's also pitch black.
00:16:23
Speaker
total darkness. I know. I mean, that's a nightmare. That's so scary. I think that's why I just had to start the story over because I kind of freaked out. So you probably missed that part if Lauren cut it out. So thank you for that. So I have like a little claustrophobic for various reasons, but this situation is literally like my greatest fear.
00:16:48
Speaker
I would never get into this sub if it wasn't going in the ocean. Like I said, it's a 21-foot submarine with five people in it, and they're all cramped in there together.
00:17:03
Speaker
Like they are terrible. There's no seats. OK, like there's no seats. They're all just sitting on the floor in this thing. They were supposed to go down, look at the Titanic and come back up. And they have now been stuck in the depths of the ocean in this tiny little space for days. Nope.
00:17:28
Speaker
I know. So in terms of, and this is what's so like pressing right now. So they basically had 96 hours worth of oxygen when they left on Sunday. As of yesterday, I guess they had like 40 hours left. And so by tomorrow, there will basically be no hope if they don't find them by tomorrow. That is so sad.
00:17:58
Speaker
It really is. And there's not even, so this is something else. Like I hadn't even considered until I was like researching. But in terms of like them trying to rescue these people, it's already like nearly impossible because even if they found them, which is like a needle in a haystack, the search area is double the size of the state of Connecticut.
00:18:26
Speaker
The search area is double the size of the state of Connecticut and however many freaking Empire State buildings, nine Empire State buildings down. So 21 feet is what they're looking for. Yeah, in pitch black. And so them trying to find them is already just feels impossible. And even if they did.
00:18:52
Speaker
they would have to get the sub all the way to the surface to get the people out of it. Because when they're at that level of immense pressure, it's not like they can go down there and transfer the passengers from the sub into another sub. It's not possible. They had to be bolted in when they were above water and then sent down. And they would have to be unbolted.
00:19:20
Speaker
So it's like, even if they got them out, it's possible that they're already like been deprived of oxygen and debt. Yeah. So it's just this hellish nightmare in terms of the people on board. So I it caught. So to take this expedition per person costs two hundred and fifty thousand dollars wholly to take this expedition. So it is like.
00:19:51
Speaker
You have to have a certain caliber of person, yeah, or whatever. You have to have some kind of wealth. Yeah, yeah. So the people on board thought people, one is a British billionaire. One is one of Pakistan's richest men and his son. He's like a young guy. No. A French explorer, like literally that's his title. And then the CEO of Ocean Gate who made the submarine. Oh no.
00:20:18
Speaker
So, oh, it's something else that is also, I was looking up, is the fact that like, when you're that deep under the ocean, also compasses don't work. So if you lose any kind of signal, it's not even like you could figure out where you were, or like, in my head, like what's up and down. You know what I mean? Like, I just can't even freaking imagine it. So there has, the one time, I mean, this is so small,
00:20:48
Speaker
One tiny bit of hope that they had had, I think yesterday, was that they heard some banging noises that were caught on a sonar that they think could possibly be from the sub of them hitting the thing, trying to make noise that the sonar machine could catch. Oh, my God. In my head, I'm like, that could be freaking anything. Like, I'm like, I'm just telling the public to like, be like, there's hope. Like, I don't know.
00:21:18
Speaker
I don't know. Yeah, that does feel like it could be anything. Yeah. Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention too is so besides the lack of oxygen and the no light, and the pressure, it's also like ice cold down there. So there's also a version which they also like freeze to death. So once again, it's just the worst possible possible thing. So a couple of
00:21:43
Speaker
theories so far of what potentially could have happened. One is that the submarine got tangled in the remains of the Titanic somehow, like it got caught on something and it couldn't get off.
00:21:57
Speaker
Another, I know, another option, which this is like dark, but it's possible is that the vessel actually may have imploded under the pressure of the ocean, which would have crushed the submarine and everyone inside it immediately. So in terms of like, I mean, in terms of ways to go, I think that would probably be the ideal versus slowly losing oxygen.
00:22:29
Speaker
I mean, both are just so horrifying, but I'm like a slow, painful. Yeah, I'd be like, take me fast rather than a slow, painful, terrified. Yes.
00:22:40
Speaker
Yeah. So on Sunday night, the submarine was already overdue. And in its last known position, there was some kind of message that says vessels in vicinity requested to keep a sharp lookout assist if possible. But that was the alert message that I guess was sent.
00:23:11
Speaker
Oh, I also wanted to read this part. So. Oh, God, it's just like looking at their website about like what this was supposed to be and then what happened is so horrible, but. Oh, my God. Yeah. So, yeah, it says once the submarine is launched, you will begin to see alien like life forms whizzed by the viewpoint as you sink deeper and deeper into the ocean. So there also there's like a big glass
00:23:36
Speaker
wall basically so that you can like see everything. So you're supposed to like see this like amazing view and be able to see the Titanic, all this stuff. And the descent takes approximately two hours. So in terms of like losing contact after an hour and 45 minutes, it was like they were almost to the bottom, probably. This is my assumption from reading what's on the website. And then then it says you may assist the pilot
00:24:04
Speaker
with comms and tracking, take notes for the science team about what you see outside the viewport. So they're trying to make it like you as the person that's paid to be here are like an explorer. Like that's the kind of the vibe of the thing. But then it says you could also watch a movie or eat lunch. There's a private toilet at the front of the cell if nature calls. Like it's like so casual. You know what I mean?
00:24:25
Speaker
They make it seem like it's supposed to be this fun, lighthearted thing. And I know it costs $250,000, but they make it sound like a ride and not something that's incredibly dangerous.
00:24:39
Speaker
So in terms of blame, of course, people are starting to be like, who's to blame for this? The Ocean Gate CEO, there are some articles and interviews with him that are a little sus. So he has mentioned continually that he believes that the submarine is obscenely safe to the point that it's like,
00:25:07
Speaker
halting progress. Like he's saying that the regulations around safety protocols for the submarine are actually too harsh for what he wants to do. And they even had somebody quit recently because they said they were being a little unsafe, they thought.
00:25:36
Speaker
Oh, and also, excuse me, three previous voyages were canceled of this trip because of structural fatigue, which basically meant that the submarine couldn't handle the pressure of the ocean and wasn't stable. Yeah.
00:25:53
Speaker
Wow. So it's just like, yeah, it just freaking scares me to no end. And it's just horrible. And you know what it made me think of? Do you know how people have been talking about going to space and very rich people being able to pay to go to space?
00:26:15
Speaker
It's like, I feel like the ocean is space to me, like it's the same thing basically. So I'm like in my brain, upper down, which way? And I'm just like, I feel like we're going to have the same situation where people that are not totally privy
00:26:34
Speaker
to the dangers that they're embarking on are trying to pay a quarter of a million dollars or a million dollars to have a once in a lifetime or one in a billion experience for something that is like potentially incredibly dangerous.
00:26:52
Speaker
But it's being sold like, oh, you're going to go explore space. Oh, you're going to go. It's like like an attraction. It's like, I don't think so. I don't know. It freaks me out. Yeah. And like the irony of like the Titanic didn't have enough lifeboats and like, you know, all of all of their things that were like this was not handled correctly or safely. And it's like, let's go look at the Titanic and not safe, not thought out way.
00:27:21
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. You think we'd learn? No, we never do. And I just, I feel like, I don't know. Part of me wants to be like blaming people like hungry for money, but also like people hungry for feeling like they're the ones that did something incredible. Like I'm thinking about the CEO and I'm just thinking about like him being like, ah, I want to make progress despite
00:27:49
Speaker
the same potential destruction. You know what I mean? Yeah. So I don't know. But I mean, that's basically what we know so far. Oh, so one tidbit that is going around on the Internet that I I do want to mention really quick is the fact that like this entire submarine is basically in control with the Xbox controller, which I know sounds insane. But but
00:28:13
Speaker
from doing a little bit of research it seems like that type of controller is actually pretty standard in terms of these types of vehicles and even like other military grade vehicles just because the way they're designed is like incredibly intuitive and apparently it's not unheard of. So when I first saw that I was like, that sounds like a joke.
00:28:40
Speaker
that the submarine would be driven by an Xbox controller, but I think it is actually not as crazy. Not that wild. Yeah. It's industry standard in a way. That's so interesting. I know. But also, is that true? I don't know. That's just what one site told me. Honestly, that's the hardest thing about these stories, especially in real time, where it's like we don't actually
00:29:06
Speaker
Is it partially like what we're being filtered, you know, to believe and they don't know what's coming out. Everyone who's looking at everyone that's trying to get press statements. I mean, they're freaking out like they don't they don't know. They don't know where they don't know where they are. And they're looking and they're looking and they're looking. But it's like even that it's like there's not enough technology and manpower and money to do a rescue effort for this.
00:29:33
Speaker
Like, and I know that sounds horrible, but it's like, it's not really possible to be able to do in 96 hours. Right? Like, it's literally like doomed. And I hope I'm wrong. So sad. I hope. Yeah. But then it's also like, it's also possible they'll never find it. Right. There's probably a chance that yes, they just won't ever find it. Yeah.
00:29:54
Speaker
And after a certain point, they'll have to give up because they'll know that there's no hope for life. There's no hope for like a rescue. And at a certain point, it's like how much manpower and everything is going to keep going into this after a certain amount of time. I just feel like I don't even know if it's like, I think the Marines are involved. I don't know because it's a Canadian vessel, but I'm not exactly sure like who's in charge of the search efforts.
00:30:19
Speaker
but at a certain point, like some government's gonna say that's enough. We're gonna stop paying for it. You know what I mean? Like that's just like the lay of the land. And it sucks, but I'm, yeah. So I'm just, I'm really curious to see what's gonna happen over the next like 24 hours. And I don't know. And I guess by the time this episode comes out, people are gonna be listening and be like, old news, you know? No, I was like, I was like, should I try to rush?
00:30:50
Speaker
But that's basically all we have so far. So interesting. It's so devastating, obviously, but I will be interested to see what we find out or what information we have from here. Me too. Me too.
Exploring Nordic Folklore: The Draugr
00:31:17
Speaker
Okay. I'm going to try to lighten up the mood a little. That's great. Also, I felt like I was just like a newscaster. Like I felt like I was like giving newscaster. I don't know if you felt that you were, you were, you were giving newscaster to me. Okay. So my, my idea this week came from,
00:31:38
Speaker
Charlotte, I guess I'll just say Charlotte B, who's one of our, like, I think seemingly newer fans. She was one of the one, she was the one that wrote me that really sweet email, Felicia. Oh yeah. Yeah. So I'm stealing this idea from her this week, but so she said she was always really interested in, you know, scared of Nordic urban legends and folklore. And I really don't think we've ever done anything kind of in that territory. No, I don't think so.
00:32:08
Speaker
So this week I'm going to be doing the Draugr, which is an undead creature from, you know, Nordic, Scandinavian kind of literature, folk tales. It feels, you know, maybe reminiscent of other things we've talked about in the past, but it's defined on Wikipedia as a ghost spirit, especially the dead inhabitant of a cairn, which is a man made stone, which sorry, I can't say this in one breath.
00:32:38
Speaker
a man-made stone mountain tower grave. So basically, there's a big stone grave. So basically, if you... Like a... Yeah, it's like a big stone tower over the grave, I guess. Got it, got it, got it. Okay. I don't know if the body's in it. That's actually a good question. It might just be basically like a giant gravestone.
00:33:02
Speaker
I think so because versus like a two bodies. Yeah, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. Okay, so I think body underneath but the structure itself looks so cool. Also, this is the first one of the first articles that comes up is what are rock cairns and why you shouldn't build them? Yeah, I'm like, is it because of this creature? But anyway,
00:33:29
Speaker
So this draugr is not really like normally depicted as ghosts from what I could find or like not like that, kind of like what we have in our heads as ghosts. It's definitely more often a reanimated corpse, more like a zombie. So there are some characteristics about them specifically. So they possess superhuman strength. They are normally pretty gross to look at, typically black or blue, kind of like a corpse.
00:33:58
Speaker
and they normally have this lovely, foul, decaying stench about them. So they also traditionally have magical abilities, unlike zombies. They can shapeshift in some stories, they can control the weather, see into the future.
00:34:17
Speaker
they're definitely like more mystical and not, they're not like mindless, like zombies. They have more, yeah, more skills. And they're normally like, in most of the stories, it seems like they're normally human level intelligence. Obviously, like, they're like very conscious. Yes, very conscious, maybe more angry and hateful. And I don't really know that they talk, but
00:34:43
Speaker
So one specific story that I'm going to talk about is the undead killer rop of Lax Dela saga, which is like one of the Icelandic sagas. So this corpse would not stay put in his burial place. He would roam around his farmstead, menacing the living, and his ghost was capable of transforming, get ready for this, into a seal.
00:35:10
Speaker
Oh, I know cute. That is cute. With human-like eyes and it appeared before Thorsten the Black. So the seal came by this man Thorsten the Black's pirate ship and sunk the ship. By itself? Yes, just this crazy corpse-like seal. Did you ever see that seal movie in the 90s? What's that seal movie? Wait, no.
00:35:37
Speaker
You know what I'm talking about? A seal movie? Not like a horror movie. No, no, it's like a fun kids movie. About a seal? Andre. Andre. No. The movie's called Andre. You never saw this? Oh my god. No. Look it up. Oh my gosh, it looks so cute. Like flipper time? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, very cute. It's a seal and sunglasses and a little hat. It's good stuff. I love it. Back to you, Lauren. Back to me.
00:36:08
Speaker
Yeah, so the seal prevented, you know, Thorstein the Black from getting to his farmstead. And this, like, ability to shapeshift, particularly them changing into seals, seems like it's mostly in the Icelandic versions of the story or versions of this creature.
00:36:24
Speaker
Another magical ability they sometimes have is to be able to enter the dreams of the living sort of inception style. So they'll frequently show up in their dreams and then leave behind some kind of gift so that the living person will like see the gift and understand why they came to visit. And then on the dark side, they also have the ability to curse a victim or the ability to bring disease to a village.
00:36:53
Speaker
even creating temporary darkness during the daytime. So they're pretty powerful, I would say. They also can sometimes kill people just with bad luck.
00:37:05
Speaker
So I guess like, you know, causing something freak or, you know, related to bad luck to happen to them, but a jogger's presence, you know, you might know that they're around because there's normally some kind of glowing light, like Fox fire, which I had never, I didn't know what Fox fire was. So I looked it up and that's like a bioluminescence that some mushrooms create basically.
00:37:29
Speaker
And so you might see this like glowing presence and the fire is supposed to like be representative of forming a barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead, which I think is very cool. So you might see that which is like a sign that they're around. Their most incredible power is that they that like in some versions of the story too, they're immune to any weapons. So you must be
00:37:55
Speaker
Yeah, pretty good. So you must be some kind of hero that like you basically have to like drag the Draugr back to its grave, which will defeat it. But you can't use weapons on it. There are some stories where iron can supposedly injure it. And then in some versions, you got to do the old Twilight sort of thing where you cut off the head and burn the body. Oh, yeah. Right. And then in this, this the last step is dumping the ashes into the sea.
00:38:24
Speaker
So how are they formed, you might ask. So I mentioned that they're like, you know, traditionally in this stone kind of grave, but really any mean or nasty or greedy person can become a dragger. So they're normally motivated by envy and greed, kind of that feeling of like they're envious of the living because they get to keep living.
00:38:48
Speaker
Um, and they do have an insatiable appetite. So I think in some versions they do actually eat people and they would, they would like attack people coming to their graves. So any grave robbers, but it's not, their victims aren't limited to just people coming to their graves. So they will go after livestock. They'll either like ride, this is crazy to me too. They'll either ride like cows or horses to death by just like riding them.
00:39:17
Speaker
or some they'll, I know it's pretty, it's pretty horrifying. Shepherds were also common victims of the dragger and animals also might just be driven mad just from the creature being around. But they definitely delight in suffering. They definitely cause trauma and pain to their victims. They aren't just quick killers. In some stories they sit on the chest of their victims.
00:39:42
Speaker
so that they'll just suffocate, bringing them right to suffocation over and over. Sorry, Felicia, that's sort of targeted. But the main indication that a deceased person will become a dragger is that the corpse is not in a horizontal position, which I feel like we've seen in other stories before. If you come back and the corpse is standing upright or is in a sitting position, it means that the
00:40:09
Speaker
dragger might return. And again, like I know I've been sort of vague about this. And that's because it is vague in a different story. It's like sometimes it is actually the corpse. And sometimes there are versions where like, you have to like, kill the corpse in order to also kill the dragger. Like it's a separate entity, maybe. Yeah, exactly. So it's like, sometimes it's just like a more like, spirity, like,
00:40:35
Speaker
I look like an animated corpse, but my body is actually like still exists somewhere. And so, you know, I think the goal for all of these creatures is always to like try to prevent them. There are some interesting different like ways that you can prevent them from ever forming. So traditionally a pair of open iron scissors was placed on the chest of, you know, a recently deceased person. And then straws or twigs might be hidden among their clothes.
00:41:04
Speaker
They also would tie their big toes together or drive needles through the soles of their feet in order to keep the dead from not being able to walk. I always love all those parts of the stories. It's so wild to me that people went through all these steps to make sure the body stayed dead.
00:41:25
Speaker
Yeah, totally. So the coffin was to be lift and lowered in three different directions as it was carried from the house to wherever you were burying the body so that they wouldn't be able to find their way out of wherever they're being buried, which I thought was interesting too. And then this is also pretty cool. The most effective means of preventing them was by creating this corpse door.
00:41:52
Speaker
which is a special door through which the corpse was carried feet first with people surrounding it so that the corpse couldn't see where it was going. And then the door was then bricked up so that it couldn't return. So this was a belief that began in Denmark and then spread through the Norse culture.
00:42:12
Speaker
found it on this idea that the body could only leave the way that it entered. So if you bricked it up, it would be confused and wouldn't be able to come back. So as time kind of went on, it's interesting to see, as with all these stories, there are definitely varieties of what it looks like, what its powers were, as I said. But it also became more and more about being related to fishermen. And so it became common to limit
00:42:42
Speaker
the draugr to like the ghost of a dead fisherman. So who's like drifted out to sea, wasn't able to be buried, you know, in a Christian way. This kind of version feels very like, I don't know, looks very like Davy Jones's crew and Pirates of the Caribbean to me, all the pictures. So it's like, you know, they're either in a leather jacket or, you know, dressed, dressed kind of in
00:43:06
Speaker
you know, what I would say is like maybe more piratey kind of clothes or I guess fishermen clothes, but they would have like seaweed vases for the heads very again, you know, David Jones. So this kind of fishermen idea is found in like the northernmost part of Norway, where obviously there's like a lot more fishing and fishermen kinds of lifestyle anyway, but they have eyes that are glowing with green light and rotting seaweed barnacles and dead sea creatures cling to their bodies.
00:43:37
Speaker
They can't speak, but they do make gurgling noises that sound kind of like they're full of water, which is thrilling. And these draggers might even like, this also feels similar to other stories, but might be like drag corpses of those that they kill down into the water, making more draggers, populating the ocean with more dead.
00:44:00
Speaker
This is my favorite. These kind can be stopped by singing a well performed sea shanty or a call and response work song. So only a well performed one. If it's bad to be good. It was bad. If you're out of key, you're dead. But the best is that they stopped like they stopped like listen and reverie like they're like, that's why it has to be good because they have to be like, wow, what's so well,
00:44:28
Speaker
That's crazy. I like that. They like it too. And then in some versions, they've even been seen moaning along, unable to sing the words, but trying their best. Wow. Like a singing zombie. A singing zombie. So that doesn't last very long and they will go back to attacking, as I said, probably if it's a bad version too. So that's pretty much what I want to say. I will say they are in pop culture.
00:44:55
Speaker
Draggers himself appear in the Elder Scrolls video game series, as well as the God of War video game. And then there is a 2018 Swedish fantasy movie called Drag. And it has Draggers in it. And then most recently, the Northman in 2022, which I am so sorry I didn't see. So I watched like a YouTube of the Dragar scene, and it's pretty cool. But, you know, the hero in the Northman has to fight one of them to get a sword.
00:45:25
Speaker
which is pretty cool. Do you remember that movie with Nicole Kidman and stuff? I don't know. What's it called again? I want to say, it's called the Northman. Oh, I didn't see it. Yeah. I didn't. I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah. I want to say it's kind of scary. Yeah, it's Robert Eggers, the guy that did the witch. Yeah, that's right. That's right. There you go. Yeah. But if you see it, a jogger is in it. So take note.
Conclusion and Closing Remarks
00:45:55
Speaker
But anyway, that's it for me this week. Nice. I'm excited to see some photos of this one, which will put on the Instagram, of course. We definitely will. Yes. And I guess that's it. OK. Yes. Well, nice to be back. Thank you all for listening. Yeah. And have a nice scream. Bye. We hope you have some sweet, sweet night.
00:46:22
Speaker
I did not just say that. I haven't posted a YouTube video in like six months. Where did that even come from? Like the depth of my subconscious. Yeah, I think I'm going to leave it in. It's too funny. Oh, my God. So confident having a scream. Well, that's amazing. Well, adios. All right, bye.