Hortdan and the Restless Dead

Thought to come back from beyond the grave, the restless spirit known as Hortdan in Turkey walks the line between being a tragic ghost and a bloodthirsty vampire.

Tale of the Hortdan is found in Turkey as well as across the remote villages of the Caucasus. Often meaning ghosts in a classical sense, some versions depict the revenant more like a vampiric entity as well.

A person who died unexpectedly, violently, or without proper burial rites might not find rest. According to ancient Turkic beliefs, if a person died of old age rather than in battle, it was believed that they would not be taken to Paradise by the Sky God. A corpse left to decay without the rituals required by tradition was thought to be at risk of rising again. The resulting being was the hortdan.

A Creature of Flesh and Fear

The name Hortdan, or Hortlak as it is spelled in Turkish is related to the Turkic verb hortlamak, which in Turkish means get out and in this context meaning, get out of the grave. Often used as an umbrella term for ghosts, the descriptions of the hortdan vary, but at its core, they are a representation of evil spirits and the spirit of the dead.

Some tell of a being that appears as a corpse that walks upright, its flesh decayed but its joints and limbs still moving with unnatural strength. Others describe it as a figure that resembles the dead person it once was, but with glassy eyes and slow movements that betray its undead nature. Some say they appear above their grave or where they died, carrying shrouds or coffins on their backs.

Originally, the Hortlak ghost is said to “appear” where the souls of murdered people have departed or where human blood has been shed. However, people most often encounter the ghost above the graves of the slain. It doesn’t harm people; they only “see” it wandering or sitting there, mournfully making a sorrowful sound.

According to the belief, one should recite prayers when passing near cemeteries to protect oneself from a ghost’s attack.

Unlike ghosts that appear as mists or vague shadows, the hortdan is corporeal. It has weight, presence, and sometimes the strength to drag victims or overturn objects. Some stories describe the hortdan as hunting specific people who wronged it in life, adding an element of vengeance to its existence.

Origins of the Undead in Turkish Mythology

But where did the belief in the Hortdan start? Many claim that the traits and stories of the Hortdans are from the Tatar folk mythology. The Tatars are a group of Turkic speaking peoples found across Eastern Europe and Northern Asia and we can see similar stories in many places.

Other similar creatures that are closely resembling the Hortdan, or perhaps even being the origin place would be the Azerbaijani mythology of the vampire Xortdan and Hortan, sometimes called Аза-Хортан “Aza-Hortan” from Tuva tradition. Here, they are also an evil spirit with poltergeist-like abilities, but with a bigger weight on them being bloodthirsty and sucking people’s lifeforce.

The Azerbaijani Hortdan: In Azerbaijani folk belief, it refers to a dead person who rises from the grave, a vampire. It is a unique type of vampire in Azerbaijani folk culture and beliefs. While some aspects are entirely specific to Turkic culture, it also has some characteristics very similar to the beliefs of Western societies. It sucks the blood of people, often envisioned as a hunchbacked old woman, or sometimes an old man, who spreads death.

Because the stories were passed down orally, not much is known today of the origin stories, but what remains of them in the Turkish stories of the Hortlak and their bloodthirst. Today they are typically depicted as mindless, reanimated corpses with a hunger for human flesh. They also are said to possess a range of supernatural abilities like shapeshifting and invisibility.

Vampiric Traits and Night Haunts

Turkish culture mentions certain supernatural beings referred to as witches and ghosts. It was believed that these beings rose from the dead. In some regions, they were also believed to drink blood. Therefore, there is some debate about the similarities between the beliefs about witches and ghosts and vampire beliefs in other cultures.

***The Ubir Vampire:*** One thing merging with the Hortdan, or perhaps even springing from it, is the tale about the Ubirs, much more closely linked to the modern vampire. Sharing name and qualities with the Slavic upiór we get the name vampire from. Ubirs were usually reported as bloated in appearance, and ruddy, dark in colour. The causes of vampiric generation were many and varied in original folklore. Ubirs are reanimated corpses that kill living creatures to absorb life essence from their victims

Because of this, the hortdan was often associated with night. Villagers reported hearing footsteps near cemeteries after dusk, or the scraping of nails against the soil of fresh graves. Dogs might bark at empty fields. Winds would sound like distant cries. Such sounds were taken seriously in a world without electric lighting, without audible traffic, without night noise except what came from nature itself.

Burial Rites and the Prevention of Return

Communities developed customs aimed at preventing the dead from returning as hortdan. These included burying the body face down, placing heavy stones atop the grave, or binding the limbs with ritual cloths. Even within the Christian tradition present in Armenia and surrounding regions, additional prayers and blessings were added to deter restless spirits.

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