Confronting the Evil Dead: Terrifying Ancient Beliefs Still Alive in Present-Day Romania – Part I

Romanian folklore records two atypical versions of the western vampire. These are the strigoi and the moroi which, even though they resemble the western image of the vampire, are very different from it.

The Romanian tradition makes a clear distinction between the good dead and the evil dead. The good dead are beings whose souls cross over without problems into the superior spheres of the world beyond; while the evil dead cannot find peace after death and thus return to haunt their relatives in the form of strigoi or moroi.

Life Between the World of the Living and the World Beyond

According to some old European legends, the crow is the one that leads the souls of the dead to the world beyond, and when a deceased had very important unfinished business, it is said that the crow can offer a second chance in the form of a small amount of time for him to return and solve his issues – in order to be able to enter the world of the dead at peace and without regret.

However, regarding those who commit suicide, it is said that they do not leave immediately for the world of the dead, and remain stuck between worlds exactly for the duration of time until they were initially destined to die.