The name Nachzehrer originates from German folklore and roughly means’ thing after death ‘, referring to its immortal nature. It is said that when a person commits suicide, they may involuntarily return to the human world as Nachzehrer, intimidating the living.

People often confuse Nahzer with vampires. But in German folklore stories, it is never mentioned that these creatures suck blood. These undead creatures are associated with diseases, especially plagues. If a large group of people die from the plague, the first person to die will be resurrected as Nachzehrer.

 

Regardless of the cause of death, when Nachzehrer wakes up, it will immediately attempt to kill and eat its family members. If it cannot eat enough, it will also eat a part of its own body, even the shroud. They also have the ability to transform into pigs and can kill people by touching their shadows. These creatures also possess a very powerful ability: they can enter churches, ring bells, and anyone who hears them will immediately fall to the ground and die.

 

It seems that Nachzehrer is easy to recognize. According to tradition, Nachzehrer lay in a coffin in a rather peculiar way – holding his thumb with one hand and keeping his left eye open. In addition, people believe that Nachzehrer is a rather noisy creature, and the sound it makes when eating shrouds/corpses can even be heard by people passing by graves. To kill Nachzehrer, you need to put a coin in his mouth, paralyze him, and then behead him.

I personally believe that the primary reason for the emergence of ghosts like Nachzehrer should be because at that time, people could not accept that some people committed suicide, thinking that it was tarnishing what God had given them, so Nachzehrer was born. Secondly, because the judiciary and scientific technology were not advanced at that time, there were many difficult cases that could not be solved, so ghosts and monsters were fabricated as scapegoats.

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