Russian folkloric references to reanimated corpses

[nataliek at UALBERTA.CA]

Not a real Christmasy topic this, but here goes - how about mertvets?   
This is a negative version of the umershii.  And, I would advocate  
using a Russian term.  Words from other languages have entered  
English.  So why not use this Russian word in the hope that it enters  
English with time.

Natalie Kononenko

Quoting "Leigh Kimmel" <leighkimmel at YAHOO.COM>:

> I'm looking for terms a Russian in the middle of the 20th century  
> might use to refer to a reanimated corpse. I'm writing a story set  
> in besieged Leningrad for a horror anthology, and I'm trying to  
> avoid the term "zombie," which is specifically Afro-Caribbean in  
> etymology and cultural association.
>
> It doesn't necessarily have to be traditional or "high" folklore --  
> even the sort of stories kids use to scare each other spitless on a  
> dark night would do just as well. The biggest thing is to try to get  
> a term that doesn't jar the reader with associations of voodoo and  
> the like.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> --
> Leigh Kimmel -- writer, artist, historian and bookseller
> leighkimmel at yahoo.com     http://www.leighkimmel.com/
> http://www.billionlightyearbookshelf.com/
> http://www.amazon.com/shops/starshipcat/
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Natalie Kononenko
Kule Chair of Ukrainian Ethnography
Editor, Folklorica
University of Alberta
Modern Languages and Cultural Studies
200 Arts Building
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E6
Phone: 780-492-6810
Web: http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/uvp/

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