Weekly Features

The Weekly Shaman – Crossroads Lore

I have often written articles on the magic and mayhem surrounding those uncanny intersections known as the crossroads. In the ancient world, when four roads came together as a crossroads, it was considered a dangerous place. Such intersections were believed to be the favorite haunt of vampires, ghosts, fairies, demons, witches, and a whole number of supernatural beings. Having an ambiguous nature, the crossroads were thought to be susceptible to the unknown.

Drawing of Hecate as a triple-goddess.

In the Voodoo faiths of the Caribbean, crossroads were believed to be a portal to the underworld, and the Voodoo deity Legba was claimed to be a guardian of the crossroads. A similar belief exists surrounding the triple-bodied Greek goddess Hecate, who was a patron of both the crossroads and the Underworld. In pagan times altars were often erected at such intersections to honor such deities as Hecate, as well as the two-faced Janus who could look at the past and towards the future.

Over the centuries the crossroads gained a reputation as the favorite haunt of vampires, ghosts, and other undead revenants. In some countries, suspected vampires were buried at a crossroads to confuse the living corpse. When the vampire would rise, it would become confused as to which way led home. But in other places, the crossroads was a favorite haunt of vampires who could prey on unwary travelers.

In vampire-haunted Romania there are tales of vampire fairies who lurk at a crossroads. Known as iele (“they”) or dinsele (“they themselves”), they lurk at the crossroads awaiting a lost and wary victim. They are described as resembling lark cats who travel on two legs. These odd vampires cannot cross over into the middle at the crossroads, but haunt just outside. If a person gets too close, these dark fairies will steal a piece of his bone and replace it with a wooden wheel spoke. If the victim of the grisly theft returns the next year at the exact same time, the piece of bone will be returned.

Like most vampires, the iele are somewhat obsessive-compulsive, frequently returning to the same spot year after year, always at the same time as well as the exact place. The iele can be thwarted by leaving white foods such as eggs, milk, cheese, or a white hen set upon a white cloth. This may be a relic of an earlier offering to the dead. And so it goes.