Exorcising the Restless Dead

A Few Pages from the Folklore of Wales, Concerning the Unquiet Dead


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Sometimes, the dead do not rest lightly. A tale from Wales reveals both a haunting by restless dead, who are incidentally described as “elves”, and the means by which an old Witch-woman on the edge of the wood of Coedygadfa rid the locals of the menace of these phantoms.

In 1244, near the town of Rhewl, the forces of Henry III slaughtered an army of men loyal to Prince Llywelyn. The phantoms of the slain began to plague the local villagers, taking the form of “little elves”- and coming out of the wood of Coedygadfa- a name that means “Wood of the Battle.” An old woman living on the edge of that wood knew a charm to keep these phantoms at bay, or drive them away- a charm that had to be carried out at dusk- a “between” time that makes contact with spiritual powers easier.

At dusk, she would venture into the woods with a stout stick and a frying-pan full of cooked and scorched rabbit and frog-legs- the smell of which was reminiscent of burning bodies on the battlefield. It is said that “this smell, which was a horrible reminder to the dead of their mortal ends, sent the elf-like spectres cowering back under the ground.”

This is a very important point to ponder- the restless dead are “dispelled” by reminders of their deaths, or by making them aware that they have died. The “stout stick” was more than a means of protection; it was the wand of her craft- the emblem of her authority in the unseen world, but also of her ability to pass into the unseen at will.

The two animals used to simulate the smell of burning flesh- rabbits and toads or frogs- both have symbolic power; the rabbits of the goddess of life and death, and of life in general, and the frogs of the passage west across the waters that divide this world from the unseen. The rabbit resonates with the power of the east and the Hyldor or Fire-queen, and the Frog or Toad with the west, the waters, the twilight, the ghost-passage.

Naturally, anything that simulated the smell of burning flesh could have been, or can be used, if the phantoms are of those who died in fire or in violence that involved fire or smoke, like battles, vehicle accidents, or even gunshots and the like. The general smell of decay is enough to “wake” the awareness of the dead to their Fate.

In many places, such as Wales, it is believed that if people hide things before they die, and never have a chance to retrieve them, they run a high chance of being bound to the earth, until the items they hid are uncovered and exposed to direct sunlight outdoors, thus revealing them. This is another important fact to remember and take into account, if you ever encounter such a situation.





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