It is said that every legend, every myth and every folktale
has a true core.
Somewhere.
Whether characters are based on actual persons,
tales based on historic events, or, often
they tell us about creatures or ghostly apparitions
that are subject to.. a curse.
And although curses - probably - don't exist
in the exaggerated make-believe form we know from story,
their truth lies in their allegorical nature.
Because curses don't just exist in folklore,
fairy tales or fantasy novels.
In our every day lives, words and actions can hold
more power over us than we often realize.
A harsh word, a broken promise,
rejection or a broken heart,
a strain of bad luck or the loss of a loved one...
all of this can make us feel like we're actually cursed.
Feeling cursed is a part of life that we all experience eventually,
one way or another.
So yes, in a way, curses are very real.
Which is why it's no surprise that an abundance of
beasts, spirits and demons from ancient folklore all around the world -
often emerged culturally completely independent from each other -
revolve around souls burdened with sinister curses
of immeasurable severity.
Many cursed creatures and apparitions,
while intriguing, scary and sometimes appaling on the surface,
are based on sad and emotionally gripping tales
with a very relatable core.
In the World of the Witcher,
a setting that generously weaves legends, tales and myths
from a broad variety of traditional European and Slavic folklore
into its fabric, it's no different.
When you hunt down a monster on Geralt's Adventures -
or read how he cunningly trails, pursues, outwits and slays
an evil beast for coin in one of Sapkowski's stories -
chances are that there's a heartwrenching story
behind the gory remains in front of you.
One of the most memorable cursed creatures in this universe
is arguably .. the Botchling.
For one, because it is strikingly repulsive!
But that is really only its most superficial attribute.
Lambert: “Saying a botchling's ugly is like saying
shit's not particularly tasty:
can't say it's a lie, but it doesn't exactly convey
the whole truth, either.”
Its hideous outer appearance can almost be seen
as a metaphor for the ugliness of its predicament,
since it's born from pure sadness and desolation.
Botchlings emerge from the corpse of an unwanted newborn
when a mother - or parents of a newborn in general -
cast out their defenseless infant into the wilds
or, in rare cases, when a stillborn child gets discarded
without a proper burial, without being given a name.
Geralt: "Did you give the child a name?"
Bloody Baron: "No?
Why would we?"
Geralt: "Mistake.
Names are powerful seals."
The void of parental affection the discarded child is doomed with
can drive its abandoned soul to inspirit its decaying corpse
and come back to life with a feverish hunger for maternal love.
Botchlings therefore resemble the likelness
of a partially-decayed fetus,
their unformed flesh twisted with hate, fear and malice.
Large, underdeveloped pop-eyes,
their withering umbilical cord still tangled around their necks,
worn like a talisman of abandonment
and their upper lip horribly disfigured by a massive orofacial cleft
- a genetic birth defect in which the facial tissues
of the nasal region and the palate failed to properly join
during prenatal stages of development.
To satiate their mad hunger,
Botchlings develop a vampiric predatory instinct
that drives them to emerge from their lair at night
and prey on expectant mothers.
First by inducing feverish nightmares
until they end up in a severely weakened state of delirium.
It is then the botchling singes its sharp fangs into her flesh,
draining her body of blood and life energy
until mother and fetus perish together.
If it is threatened, the botchling can shapeshift into a deformed, ape-like creature
that channels its anger into fierce attacks,
hurling itself at its foe with ferocious blows
and scratches from its vicious claws.
The only way to save the botchling's soul
is when a parent embraces it as one of its own,
baptises and ceremonially buries it as a family member.
This rite will put its soul finally to rest
so it can emanate as a lubberkin
- a guardian spirit that watches over the family it never knew
in the household it never could call its home.
While the Botchling, as it is depicted in The Witcher
is exclusive to this universe,
we can find an abundance of remarkably similar creatures
in real world folklore from all around the globe.
Japanese Folklore for instance tells of the Konaki-Jiji,
a youkai or ghostly apparition that can either
assume the form of an old man or .. a baby.
In either case, the Konaki-Jiji is the spirit of an infant
that was abandoned into the wilderness by their parents.
Its spirit then lives on to roam the countryside
and seek out unwary travellers
to lure them in with heartbreaking cries and sobs,
demanding to be taken to the nearest graveyard.
But once the traveller picks it up and carries it,
the Konaki-Jiji suddenly becomes heavier and heavier,
until the victim is crushed to death by its weight.
Sometimes, the Konaki-Jiji is referred to as the “Japanese Myling”
- because it is uncannily similar to a traditional Scandinavian folk tale.
the... yeah.. the Myling.
Mylingar originate in ancient Swedish folklore
- and just like the Botchling -
they're cursed spirits born from the soul of an abandoned infant
that was left to die in the wilds,
unbaptized and without being given a proper burial.
Very similar to its Japanese counterpart,
Mylingar are ghostly apparitions that roam the countryside at night,
sneaking up on lone wanderers and jumping on their backs
- demanding to be taken to the nearest graveyard.
They're often described as eerily glowing spectres
resembling a partially decaying fetus or stillbirth.
Pretty much how the Lubberkin spirit is portrayed in The Witcher 3.
Just as the Botchling,
Mylingar are said to be similarly vampiric in nature,
feeding on their victims' life energy,
draining them of strength with every step of the way.
We can also find several recorded tales of infanticide demons
in different branches of Slavic mythology.
The Drekavac for example is a creature endemic to Southern Slavic regions,
especially around the regions of Serbia, Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to legend, the appearance of Drekavacs varies greatly across different tales.
Sometimes it's described as a thin, spindle-legged,
dappled humanoid beast with a disproportionately large head,
while other accounts depict it as a furry,
werewolf-like creature with long claws.
Or - sometimes - they're also said to assume the likeness
of a pale, partially decaying infant.
What all accounts agree on is that it is, once again,
the death of an unbaptised infant which causes the Drekavac to emanate.
In all likelihood though, the Botchling's main influence
is the Poroniec.
I mean, that's even how it's called in the Polish version of The Witcher 3.
This one is, unsurprisingly, a myth that's more common
to Northern Slavic regions, especially Poland.
According to the Bestiariusz słowiański,
it's a winged demon that arises, once again,
when a stillborn child was improperly buried without baptism
outside the of the threshold of the family's home
- no matter if the miscarriage was due to an accident or self-inflicted.
The poroniec is said to resemble a newborn chicken,
albeit being roughly the size of the discarded fetus.
Aside from this difference in appearance,
it does share the vampiric behavior of feeding on pregnant women with its Witcher-cousin.
And according to legend,
there is also a chance that the soul of a stillborn child
can turn into a friendly house-spirit, called a Kłobuk.
But unlike in Geralt's universe,
this is only possible if it is buried on the family's property
right after the miscarriage.
Minor difference here.
This was only a small selection
of a broad variety of folk tales out there -
sad and eerie legends of lonesome, troubled spirits,
monsters and demons that all originate in infanticide -
and it is more than likely that the writers of The Witcher
took some of them as a direct influence
when they came up with the Botchling.
A pastiche of real-world legends
spiced with an individual twist
tailored specifically around the story told in the Family Matters quest
surrounding the Bloody Baron in The Witcher 3.
But... isn't it fascinating..
and also spine-chilling to think just ..
how many cultures all across the globe
- often totally independent from each other -
came up with practically the same tale?
Just like there is an astounding amount of recorded vampire myths
in many different cultures and time periods -
does that mean that we all share some form of collective unconscious
- like the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung suggested?
Or does it maybe even insinuate that there lies...
truth... behind those coexisting myths and legends?
One of the greatest faculties of the human mind
is our ability to find patterns and assert meaning
to what appears to be random.
This ability, combined with the innate drive to solve problems
and seek knowledge and explanations for the unknown
is the force that made us evolve from cave dwelling hunters and gatherers
to the globalized information society we are today.
But our pattern finding ability is far from flawless.
When you combine our deepest fears with ignorance,
it creates an irresistible urge for answers.
But when our understanding of the world can't provide us with empirical certainty
we seek patterns in make believe to come up with those answers.
It's called false pattern recognition.
It's the reason why over thousands of years,
many different civilizations all across the globe
believed the appearance of a comet in the sky to be a bad omen -
predicting war, famine, plague, death... you name it -
only until Astronomers like Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley
debunked the universally accepted divine influence in the cosmic theatre.
It is also the reason why, until the application of the scientific method
through psychology and cognitive science
people were convinced that things like depression, anxiety and insomnia
were caused by mythical demons.
Like for instance the German folkloric creature known as The Alp.
It was commonly accepted that mental conditions
were caused by demonic influence
- often attested with vampiric attributes as well -
a creature that would invade your dreams,
induce feverish nightmares and sit astride your chest,
growing heavier until their weight starts you from your sleep
- terrified and breathless!
On a sidenote: The Alp also makes an appearance in the Witcher's universe,
although their portrayal has a heavier emphasis on their vampiric origins.
They are featured in the Blood and Wine DLC
and depicted as a more rotten and feral cousin of the Bruxa.
The Alp from German folklore is also where the term 'nightmare'
that we still use today, originates from.
We can find this creature is depicted in the 1802 painting
"Nachtmahr" by Johann Heinrich Füssli
- and that title literally translated means...
you guessed it: nightmare.
But what does that have to do with Botchlings and their real-world counterparts?
In many sources, Alps are described feed on the grief of mothers who had a miscarriage
or who were forced due to dire circumstances
to discard their helpless newborn.
These days, we have the means to empathise,
not just emotionally, but also - rationally,
to understand why such a traumatic experience often becomes a catalyst
for things like PTSD
and comorbid conditions like depression, anxiety, insomnia.
But back in the pre-scientific era
people firmly believed that they were hexed
- cursed by the soul of their deceased offspring
which caused their ongoing paralyzing torment.
And really, child abandonment was not an uncommon thing.
Poor folk in dark and middle ages
- and heck, still in large parts of the world today -
face the threat of looming starvation if they couldn't afford providing for another child.
Birth control and abortion were both, not medically available,
and equally condoned by pretty much every clerical Patriarchy in place, no matter where.
And I guess we're still struggling with the latter...
So if you were poor, and you knew you'd face the gallows
and eternal damnation for aborting your child...
killing your own kin in secret was often your only viable option.
Just... imagine that.
Wouldn't that make you feel...
Cursed?
The existence and prevalence of tales like Mylings, Poroniecs and Konaki-Jijis
insinuates that such a fate was a commonplace phenoemnon.
And naturally it would create an urge for answers and explanations.
Propelled by our deepest fears.
This.
Is how mythology comes into life.
And how the tales that stand the test of time come together.
Because... you might have noticed:
each one of the folk tales also features an element of...
redemption!
When the spirit's longing for a proper burial
that it was withheld during its lifetime is met
so the folklore tells...
their souls can finally...
rest in peace.
This is why, among the vast and diverse bestiary of The Witcher,
among the dozens of tales of ancient creatures and magical beasts
The Botchling stood out as of the most powerful stories to me.
Not just because it is ugly.
But because it mirrors dark and forgotten days of our ancestors,
combining the essence of uncountable tragic fates
into tales that people passed on over the course of centuries and that...
have become mythology.
Works like the Witcher help to preserve the those stories of memories
that would otherwise fade into oblivion
and perpetuate them to live on as modern...
mythology.
Thank you for watching!
I hope you enjoyed this little expedition into the
mythological influences of Sapkowski's intriguing fantasy universe.
As always, a thank you goes out to all the people
who support my channel on Patreon.
Feel free to hop over if you want to pitch in as well.
This time, my special gratitude goes out to these top tier supporters:
Caroline Mills
Simon Andersson
Lucas
Travis Deng
Even Tekro
Sebastian Garcia
Jacob Woodward
Dmitry Pirag
James Lynch
Luke Johnson
Danny Sendel
Darkblue1
Tiago Pereira dos Santos Silva from Porto, Portugal
Milan Vujinovic
Carlos Vega
Marissa Martinez
Michelle Stoliker
David Legato
Adel Al Falasi
Kristopher Kolish
Nicholas Stephenson
Ronny Meinert
and Ian Melancon
So, until next time...
Remember...
The Truth
Is Out There.