The Thing About Imps

Imps play an important part in the Hallowedspell Universe.
Tom Brown is half imp, half human. And Eve McAllister is half imp, half vampire.
Owing to genetics, the imp side of their make up affects their inclinations, needs, and personalities. In the case of Tom, it makes him more inclined to be impulsive, commit pranks, steal things, and generally make himself a nuisance. In the case of Eve, it makes her view of the universe a little more black-and-white, and inclined to physical, if not occasionally dry, sense of humor. Such different personalities are due mostly to their individual experiences and choices. But what exactly is an imp?



Tom and his father

According to Wikipedia, and imp is a "mythological being similar to a fairy or goblin, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree."

Ok, but outside Wikipedia, an imp is described as a small creature that plays harmful tricks in children's stories. source. It is also described as a little demon. Some are depicted in frescos opposite cherubs, seen as little devils. imp in church

But whenever I think of imps, I always imagine those cartoons with shoulder angels and devils. One tells you one thing and the other tells you another. So when I decided to add imps to my series, I came up with this result:

In the Hallowedspell Universe:

Imps are little invisible demons who feed off mischief. Mischief is their food source. So they follow humans, trying to tempt them to do naughty things. The health condition of imps surrounding certain people is a good indicator of the nature of that person. A fat imp is a sign that the person is naughty. Starved imps are a sign of a good person. The number of imps per person is relative, though no imps with a person is a bad sign--that person is too wicked to need any coaxing.

Imps usually are wrinkly, ugly little creatures with orange eyes, small bat/dragon-like wings with clawed fingers and toes. Some have horns and tails. Others do not. They are hardly dressed and are often filthy.



Imps make suggestions by shouting, though only the person they shout at can hear them. Despite this, most people don't recognize imp-shouting as different from their own thoughts. Quiet imps are considered a bad sign that the person is wicked on his own and up to no good.

They are invisible to the eyes of non-imps, though equally 'angelic' opposition can see them.

Imps can go through solid objects such as walls, ceilings, floors, etc.

Imps are so fast that only other imps can catch them.

Imps have 300-year life spans if not killed. They can be killed, and some even starve to death.



What she sees.

Imps can transform into full demons if they are able to convince their human to do truly horrific things... such as rape and murder. Imps-turned-demon usually have huge horns.

Imps are not able to tempt a person to do anything they are not personally inclined to do. So the temptations for a generally honest or chaste person will be more within the possibilities of what they would be willing to do such as sneak more chocolate than they should, to eat unhealthy foods, or to do something time-wasting like spending all day on the internet playing games. 

However, imps love trouble the most--so often imps just tempt people to do stupid things that even cause their human target trouble. So all those people who get Darwin Awards are most likely listening to imps.

There are male and female imps. They give birth to a varied number of imps, though no more than one per year.

Imps can become human-sized on Halloween. On that day they can make themselves visible to a select few for the cause of mischief.

Imps don't usually touch things to move them except on Halloween, or on special occasions. To them, they'd rather get humans to do it for pranks to eat up their mischief.

Imps can be bossed by half-imps--mostly because they are too simple-minded and do not think of long term consequences. But to do so, the half-imp must appeal to the imps' mischievous cravings, otherwise getting cooperation is difficult.

So, you can imagine how much trouble having a family member as an imp. In Eve's case, it was her mother. In Tom's, his father. So the question is, are you the sum or your parts, or the sum of your choices?

And who are you listening to the most?

Mermaids, Sirens, and Sea Nymphs

Selena Davenport, one of the major characters in the Gulinger High series, is often described as a half-siren or mermaid. As with vampires and werewolves, I decided to tweak the legends on such creatures for my benefit. After all, sirens are one of the more confused mythical folk in legend. 

Now, before I get into the Hallowedspell rules to Sirens, lets look at legend. Unfortunately, these facts I gleaned from research all over the internet and from books, and no, I'm sorry I don't have the sources cited. Just know this is stuff gathered....

Random (Historical) Mermaid Facts

Mermaid/siren legends are a worldwide phenomenon. This probably has to the do with the fact that two thirds of the world is covered with water, and anciently, oceangoing was a lonely and dangerous venture. Mermaids have inhabited freshwater and saltwater and are often seen as beautiful, frequently friendly, but also incredibly dangerous.

 

The first recorded mermaid is the Syrian goddess Atargatis, who apparently had fallen in love with a mortal and then accidentally killed him. In her misery she flung herself into the sea, hoping to become a fish, but merely became half-fish. Since then there have been found several other half fish-half human folk. Not all of them are the same, but most have similar qualities.

It is important to note that sirens of Greek mythology are not in fact fish women at all. They were actually half-woman half-bird, daughters of the river god Achelous. They were cursed into their present forms as punishment for not saving Persephone from Hades. Since that time, as recorded in the Odyssey, they have used their beautiful voices to enchant sailors so they could drown them and eat them. But because the Europeans who adopted Greek myths into their legends did not have so many bird-women in their legends, sirens later were depicted as mermaids rather than like harpies.

 

Mermaid legends around the world

Atargatis—the Syrian goddess, assumed by some to be the predecessor to Aphrodite.

 

Ben-varry—a fish tailed woman, usually benevolent, from the Isle of Man.

 

Ceasg—(pronounced kask or kee-ask) Scottish mermaid which is half-grilse (salmon) half-woman. If you catch one, she has the power to grant 3 wishes in exchange for her release. They inhabit lakes and waterways. It is not known if men that are taken by them are drowned or just taken away as mates. Male offspring with humans end up becoming excellent sailors.

 

Havfrue—Scandanavian mermaid—which means it has long golden hair that it loves to comb. They live both in freshwater and sea water. She is a bad omen, not only to fishermen but also of storms. Temperamental, they also could foretell the future. Their men have black or green hair, are rarely seen, but are often helpful to humans.

 

Lampeqinuwok—of the Native American Maliseet are water sprites, some with fish tails and some without. If anyone steals their magical garments, they become their servants/wives. They are able to create a large feast from a small morsel of food.

 

Lorelei—a water spirit that lives in the Rhine who is known to tempt men with song to crash men on the rocks. The Lorelei rock on the Rhine is named after her.

 

Melusine—a medieval twin-tailed mermaid. Such as the one on the Starbucks coffee logo.

 

Merrow—Irish mermaid. Both males and females have long fish tails and they have a history of intermarrying with humans. The women are famously beautiful, but the men are weird looking. They are green skinned and have red eyes, and supposedly pig ears.

 

Merrymaid—what the Cornish call mermaids.  Described as capricious, they sometimes save sailors, and sometimes help them drown. 

 

Nereids, which are Greek female sea nymphs, and Tritons, which are male fish men, named after Poseidon’s son, Triton.

 

Ningyo—Japanese human-headed fish. It is said their tears become pearls, and to eating their flesh can give you immortality. Sighting a ningyo is an omen of pending war.

 

Oannes—Babylonian merman that predates Atargatis by several thousand years. He is usually depicted as having a bearded head with a crown and a body like a man, but from the waist downwards he has the shape of a fish covered with scales and a tail, according to C.J.S. Thompson in his book “The Mystery and Lore of Monsters”.

 

Paakinwat—know as waterbabies by Western Native American tribes, such as the Shoshone and the Paiute. They inhabit springs, ponds and streams. They sometimes have fish tails but most look like human babies and are omens of death.

 

Rhine Maidens—From Germany, mentioned Wagner’s operas Der Ring des Nibelungen, water sprites like the Lorelei. Nixies who live in the Danube and are seen as benevolent.

 

Sabawaelnu—known as the Halfway People—of the Native American Mi’kmaq, are half-fish half-human. The have power over storms.

 

Selkie—Celtic, from Orkney, are seal people who can take off their skins and walk on land. The males are famous for seeking affairs with women, unmarried and married alike. Their children with human have webbed fingers. 

 

Suvannamacch—Hindu mermaid princess described in the Ramayana who attempted to deter Hanuman from helping Rama save Sita.  She is the daughter of the demon Ravana.

 

Vatea—Polynesian goddess that was half human, half porpoise. Some legends say that humans in fact were once mermaids and mermen.

Top of Form

Historical Mermaid Sightings

There is a story about a mermaid in the 1600’s that made it into Holland through a dike and got injured in the process. Story has it, she stayed there in a nearby lake and was nursed back to health. She learned Dutch, and became a productive citizen, including converting to Catholicism.

Sailors long at sea are the most famous for sighing mermaids. Even Christopher Columbus’s crew claimed to have spotted mermaids though said they weren’t as beautiful as painted. Some claim his sailors were drunk and took manatees as mermaids.

Captain John Smith of the famous Pocahontas legend said he saw a mermaid. He said she had long green hair and a short nose, and well-formed ears that were also described as too long (which to me is a paradox). And, of course, the idiot said he started to fall in love despite the fact that her hair was green.

Henry Hudson recorded a mermaid sighting near Russia. Two of his crew members had spotted it then called for everyone to see. He said it had the tail of a dolphin and was speckled like a mackerel.

In 1943, during WWII, Japanese soldiers claimed to have seen mermaids on the shores Indonesia. They said the mermaid was pinkish with spikes along its head and a mouth like a carp.

Some Zimbabwe construction workers claimed to have been harassed by mermaids when they attempted to put in water pumps for the construction of a dam. Because of this the workers refused to return to the dam projects. ;)

In Kiryat Yam, Israel there is a one million reward for the person who can find conclusive footage capturing a real mermaid, because apparently there are numerous mermaid sightings there.

Mermaid Hoaxes

The most famous mermaid hoax was done by P.T. Barnum who famously said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” In the 1840’s he put on display what was known as the “Feejee Mermaid”. People paid 50 cents hoping to see a long limbed fish-tailed beauty. But what they got to see was a pieced together, dried up corpse made up of a monkey head, torso, and arms and a fish bottom. At the time, it fooled many.

Modern day Mermaids:

There are several mermaid performance groups around the world. In Florida there are women who moonlight on weekends as mermaids called the Weeki Wachee Mermaids. It’s a paid job where they perform synchronized swimming and other water shows.

Here are more mermaid performance artists if you are interested: http://www.mermaidtales.net/

 

Custom made mermaid tails can be purchased.

On the net, mermaid tails can be found for sale, from simple flippers in swimsuit cloth at about $30, to silicone tales custom made for about $3,000.
A sample:
http://www.finfunmermaid.com/
https://themertailor.com/silicone-mermaid-tail
There are more sites than this. Google it.

Now....
In the Hallowedspell universe
"Sirens" are a breed of merfolk that live in the Mediterranean Sea, vain and often mischievous. Usually only the women surface to mess with sailors, though occasionally the men have been known to surface, travel European beaches to tempt women into affairs. Some traits of Hallowedspell sirens:

• Not really out to kill humans, but more not caring if humans die during their ‘fun’.
• Their voices can influence members of the opposite sex. 
• They do have webbed hands and feet, can be scaly but most often just wet. 
• They have gills for breathing underwater. 
• They can influence water, and if angered, they can drown a person on dry land by bringing water into their victim.
• Their origins are hazy. Some SRA hunters consider them actually to be a breed of demon though others assume they are water elves.

So, just for the record.

Werewolves My Way

The thing about werewolves is that everyone has an idea about how they should be. You've got the historical background, and then the more well-known kinds in movies and books. And even they don't agree.

 

Some well-known werewolf films/books/TV shows are: Teen Wolf (1985), Teen Wolf (TV), I Was a Teenage Werewolf,  Red Riding Hood, Blood and Chocolate (film), Blood and Chocolate (Book) (trust me, they're different), Underworld, New Moon, City of Bones, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are more, of course, as this is but a sampling. That said, these are the rules to my werewolves.

 

There are 3 forms of werewolf-ism:

 

Gore-wolf—a wolf taken by a witch and transformed into a man to be used as an assassin. Considered the first generation in werewolves. Usually the wolf returns and attacks the witch that transformed it into a man so it can continue its life as a human being. They usually marry humans and have children that form the true werewolf. Gore-wolves can transform into a wolf at will, though they spend most of their time as humans. They must return to wolf form at the three nights of the full moon. Most of them are very wolfish in behavior, despite their outside appearance. Their hair is usually more fur-like. Their bite is near deadly, but not contagious. Werewolf-ism is not passed from a gore-wolf’s bite if one survives.

 

Werewolf—a child of a gore-wolf and a human, or a child from a werewolf and a human, or a child of a werewolf and a werewolf. They must become a wolf and make a kill on the three nights of the full moon. On other days they can transform to a wolf at will and have more human control of their appetites. Hair texture is more human-like but the color is usually still a wolfish color. Their bite is contagious, passing along quasi-lycanthropic toxemia, the third kind of werewolf-ism.

 

Werewolf-itis—quasi-lycanthropic toxemia, a.k.a. Partial lycanthrope. These werewolves are closest to the motion picture helmet-head kinds of werewolves most people are familiar with. They only have a partial transformation at the full moon. They cannot transform at will. This form of werewolf-ism can be cured. All they have to do is eat one whole bulb of garlic and not vomit it up. Their bite is contagious, passing along the same disease they carry.

 

 

Effects of Garlic, Silver and Honey

On Gore-wolves - they can be transformed back into real wolves with a silver knife rubbed in garlic oil and honey, though one must stab the wolf to do it; considered a risky venture. The bullet does not need to be silver to kill them, though a silver bullet will transform the man form back onto a wolf on its death. Garlic itself has no effect on a gore-wolf.

 

On True werewolves - They are incredibly allergic to garlic, silver and also honey, but it does not kill them any worse than any other allergy, and can probably be treated with a hypodermic needle. A silver bullet would be more toxic to them than a regular bullet, but regular bullets are just as effective if aimed properly.

 

On Werewolf-itis victims - 1 garlic bulb can cure a werewolf-itis victim, but a little garlic causes severe allergies, though not as bad as for a true werewolf. Silver also causes allergic reaction, but a silver bullet it is not more effective than regular bullets to them. Honey will make them break out in a rash.

 

Effects of the Full Moon

 

Gore-wolves and true werewolves must hunt on the three days to sate their wolfish desires.

 

Werewolf-itis sufferers get hairy, sore, itchy, cranky, and basically irritable around the three nights of the full moon, but they do not have the lust for the hunt. If they bite people, it is due to their own original cantankerous personality that probably got them bit in the first place.

 

 

Ok, all that being said, in the end a werewolf is like anybody. Given the above situations, each person has a choice -- embrace the nasty side of werewolfism, or make something good out of it. I'm of the philosophy that just because you are inclined to do something does not actually mean that you should. For example, I have an ancestor famous for his bad temper. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had learned to control it. Likewise, there are people inclined toward alcoholism genetically. Others towards obesity, genetically. In many ways, they have to be more vigilant rather than give in to their inclinations, for the good of themselves and others. I see werewolfism like this.  

 

So the real question is, is he/she a good werewolf, or a bad one? 

 

 

Something About Werewolves

Merchant of Venice Act IV, Scene I - Page 2
GRATIANO:
O, be thou damn'd, inexecrable dog!(130)
And for thy life let justice be accus'd.
Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit(135)
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaughter,
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet
And, whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infus'd itself in thee; for thy desires
Are wolvish, bloody, sterved, and ravenous.(140)
 
I did a lot of research on werewolves when I decided to create a werewolf character (Howard Richard Deacon III and his father). I looked all over, including at the history of werewolves, myths about them, and film. And what I learned is that Hollywood has twisted things so much that what historically was known about werewolves is almost nothing what people think about them today.

So, some of these sources are from Wikipedia, but others I have gleaned from different websites around the net.  I'm afraid I lost most of the references. The ones that corroborated I kept. I also gathered information on actual wolf attacks, as any really good werewolf stories have to be based on fact somewhere. Today, I'm going to share the historical facts.

Random (Historical) Werewolf Facts

 Werewolf legends are famous throughout the world, extending from Europe to Asia to the Americas. Herodotus’s recorded a story about a tribe of werewolves in his Histories. The Gimm Brothers accounted for man-eating wolves in various tales. Ovid mentions werewolves specifically in his Metamorphoses as beings roaming in the woods of Arcadia, the place where Lycon originated. Some believe the Norse brought tales of werewolves to the Americas where they tell of man-eating wolf skinned witches. Though there are other origin werewolf tales among the Native Americans that claim a wolf god turned two boys into the first werewolves to use the form for hunting. But werewolf legends are most prominent in Europe, especially Germany and France. However, there is a notable lack of werewolf tales in England…which, considering the familiar and famous popular song Werewolves of London, seems kind of odd.

 

For the record, wolves are not the only kinds of were-beings that exist in folklore. In other parts of the globe there are stories of werejackals, werehyenas, weretigers…basically any kind of carnivorous animal that might frighten a population and combine it with cannibalistic man. In fact, werewolfism is often connected with vampirism and witchcraft in most ancient legends. Only in modern literature and film have they been divided. 

 

One of the earliest legends of werewolves comes from Greek mythology when Zeus turned Lycon into a wolf as punishment for feeding him human flesh at a feast. Thus comes the word lycanthrope.

 

Beyond Lycon, some famous werewolves are: 

 

Vseslav of Polotsk, the ruler of what is now Belarus 1044 was claimed to have been a sorcerer. After his death the locals described him as a werewolf who would race from town to town as a wolf, as written in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.

 

Pierre Burgot, Michel Verdun, and Philibert Monot were known as the werewolves of Poligny—accused in France in 1521 after Michel was found dripping with blood. Confessions were tortured out of Pierre and Michel.

 

Gilles Garnier of Dole France, in 1573, was put on the rack and tortured to confess to the disappearance and mauling of children of the town. He was burned at the stake.

 

Jacques Roulet, in 1598, known as the werewolf of Angers/Caud—two towns where apparently he confessed to mutilating a boy. Though he later was just committed to an insane asylum.

 

Claudia Gaillard of Burgundy was one of many who had also been tried as a werewolf, seen as a wolf without a tail. And, of course, they tortured a confession out of her. I can’t find the date for this one, though.

 

Jean Grenier of Gascony, France in 1603, a boy of 13-14 years, boasted to being the wolf that kidnapped children and attacked a local 13 year old girl on the full moon. The girl saved herself from being bitten, using a sharp iron staff.

 

Griefswald Werewolves in Germany in 1640 were said to have a large population, enough to terrorize a town so much that they finally gathered up all their silver things and melted them down to bullets to kill them off.

 

Hans the Werewolf of Estonia, 1651, was convicted of witchcraft and lycanthrope. He claimed to have been bitten by a man dressed in black, but was still considered guilty of witchcraft and was therefore put to death.

 

The Wolf of Ansbach, Germany—1685. A man-eating wolf was hunted and killed after it preyed on livestock then moved on to people. Assumed to be a werewolf, they dressed it up in a man’s clothing and hung its body from a pole.

 
Peter Stubbe of Bedburg Germany, who in 1839 who was tried and executed for murdering several women and children and eating their flesh.


Names for werewolves around the world:
Loup-garou (French), Vulkodlaks (Serbian), Je-rouges (Haitian), Vilkacis (Latvian), Ulfhednar (Norwegian), Mai-cob (Navajo), Wendingo (Algonquian), Nahual (Mexican), Kurtadam (Turkish)…. Etc.

Now according to the old legends, setting aside all Hollywood mythos…
The original signs of a werewolf were:

• A mono-brow
• Bristles under the tongue
• Curved fingernails
• Low set of ears
• Fur sticking out of a cut or wound
• A swinging stride
• Manic depression

Signs a wolf is not a true wolf:

• No tail
• Larger or human eyes
• Eating freshly buried corpses

According to most ancient legends, being bitten by a werewolf DOES NOT make you a werewolf.

You can become a werewolf by:

• Putting on a wolf’s skin
• Drinking rainwater out of a wolf foot print
• Rubbing on a magic salve
• Saying a certain incantation
• Sleeping outside in the summer with the full moon shining on your face
• Accident of birth (tough luck), such as being born on the new moon or having epilepsy.

Werewolf vulnerabilities are numerous. Here are a few in the old legends:

• Aversion to silver, is actually a modern invention of novelists starting in the 18^th century.
• Certain plants, such as rye, mountain ash, and mistletoe… though wolfsbane (Aconite) is still quite famous for either killing or curing werewolves. 
• Garlic also seems to be a modern invention.

Legendary cures for werewolf-ism include:

•  Using wolfsbane
• Purging though exhaustion
• Exorcism
• Conversion to Christianity
• Or the brutal method of just bashing them over the head with sharp objects

Why all the hype about werewolves?

Lots of people try to explain why there are so many legends about werewolves, searching for proof they existed in a more realistic sense. Medical conditions such as hypertrichosis (where an excessive hair growth on the face definitely looks wolf like) are often been given, along with down syndrome, rabies, and ergot poisoning. But personally, I think the people of the past had to explain why some psycho-lunatics decided to brutally murder/rape/torture other people… because such behavior does not make any human sense.

Whatever the case, be careful out there under the full moon.

 (Bu wa ha ha….)