Folklore: Muma Pădurii

In Romanian folklore, there is a Muma Pădurii that protects the forest. Her name means mother of the forest. She is described as a mischievous and ugly old woman who lives in a hut, cabin, or old tree in the middle of the forest. She brews potions that help injured animals and helped dying parts of the forest. She does not like trespassers and will drive them mad. She is mostly seen as a neutral being.

There are tales of her attacking and kidnapping children. There was one story similar to Hansel and Gretel. In the story, she is in the process of boiling a little girl but was stopped by the girl's brother by being pushed into an oven.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Villains Wiki

The La Brea Woman

 

In Los Angeles, California there are tar pits called La Brea Tar Pits. Inside and near the pits remains of animals from the Ice Age have been discovered. Only one set of human remains were found in 1914. The body was that of a young woman between 18 and 25-years-old and she is believed to have been died 9,000 years before. It's possible that her death had been murder as she had a skull fracture from a blow to the head. But it's unknown how she died.

She was Native American and may have belonged to the Chumash people if she was local. It's also she may have been from elsewhere and traveled to the area though. She was 4'8" to 4'10". Wear on her teeth showed she was eating a diet of a stone-ground meal. 

Her remains and replica of her skull (pictured above) have not been on display in the museum since 2004.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Los Angeles Almanac

Los Angeles Times November 2, 1992

Los Angeles Times November 24, 2009

INFANTICIDE: August 28, 1876 Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

 On August 28, 1876, the body of an infant was found on Muskego Ave in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She was a white female around 5 to 6 months old. It's not stated what her cause of death was or how long she had been dead. She was buried in the Milwaukee County Almshouse and Poor Farm Cemetery in Wauwatosa. 

The Find a Grave states that the info was gleaned by Robert J. Felber from Milwaukee Co death records vol 13 page 363

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Miles Vallint

 

On August 27, 1959, 11-year-old Miles Vallint was excited to pick out a bike for his birthday next month. At 1:30pm he left his home in South Norwood, south-east London, England to Croydon to look at bikes. His mother told him to be home by 4:30 pm. 

He would not return home again. Miles was very good at meeting curfew and when he didn't return home his mother worried for him. The next morning would come and she would go looking for her son. She frantically went to the bicycle shops asking if anyone saw him. Only one person told her that they saw him around 2:30 for leaflets.  

What she didn't know at the time was that Miles's body was found under a chestnut tree behind a 3ft fence on Tavistock Rd. The boy had been strangled to death. It was believed he died between 6 to 10 pm and was strangled to death with a rope. There was no evidence of a sexual assault.

A shopkeeper in Croydon may have been the last person to see him alive the day before. He came in around 4 pm to buy a plastic clothesline. In the doorway waiting for the boy to purchase his item was a man.

The man was described as the vagrant type. He was pale and gaunt with a fair complexion. He was between 35 to 40-years-old. He was drab-looking and was wearing a dirty fawn raincoat. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

True Crime Library

The National Archives

Evening Standard August 28, 1959

Evening Standard August 28, 1959

Evening Standard September 8, 1959

INFANTICIDE: August 26, 1952 Dunblane, Scotland

 On August 26, 1952, a newborn baby was found Thornhill to Callander Rd in Dunblane, Scotland. She was found lying among pieces of newspaper, garbage, and potato peelings. The baby was found alive and was murdered. Someone had shove portions of newspaper down her throat. It's believed that someone may have taken the child there in a garbage pail, probably by car, and disposed of the previous night.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

The Weerding Men

 

In 1904 two bog bodies were found in Drenthe, Netherlands in the southern part of Bourtange Moor. The two were laid together in the bog initially making people think they were a couple and or related. This would lead to one of the bodies (the smaller one) being thought of being a woman. Leading for them to be called the Weerding Couple, or Mr. and Mrs. Veenstra. Later DNA tests showed that they were both males and were not Maternally related. 

The Weerding Men likely died between 160 BC and 220 AD. One of the men (the better preserved one) was found with a large wound in his chest with his intestines spilled out. It may have been ritualistic and may have been in an attempt to divine the future by reading entrails. It's unknown if this was the way he died or was killed. It's unknown how the other man died. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Mummipedia

Murdered Saints: Murder of Dymphna and Gerebernus

 

Martyrdom of St Dymphna and St Gerebernus by Jacques de l'Ange

 In the 7th Century, Ireland Dymphna was born as Irish Royalty. Her father was Damon, the king of Oriel. Her mother was secretly a devoted Christian and would raise Dymphna in secret as one too. When she was 14 she would consecrate herself to Christ and hold a vow of chastity. 

Soon her mother would die and Damon's mental health would deteriorate. Damon had deeply loved his wife and took her death badly. His advisors would press Damon to remarry and he would agree. The only condition was that his bride needed to be as beautiful as the late queen. After searching fruitlessly for this woman he focused on his daughter who was as beautiful as her mother. 

The teenager would find out about her father's plans of marrying her. To keep her vows and escaping an unwanted fate. She would flee with her confessor Father Gerebernus. They would take a ship and would settle in what is now Geel, Belgium. Thinking that she would be safe from her father's clutches she would use her wealth to open a hospital for the poor and sick of the region. Some of the coins she used would allow her father to know her whereabouts.

Her father would go to Geel with his men. He would order them to behead Gerebernus and to force his daughter back to Ireland. The now 15-year-old would refuse to go back to Ireland to be her father's bride.  This would anger the king and he would behead his daughter in a rage. He would leave Dympha and Gerebernus where they were killed and left to go back to Ireland.

The residents of Geel would retrieve the bodies and bury the two in a cave. Years later their remains would be buried in a more suitable place. Both Gereburnus and Dymphna were canonized as Saints. 

In 1349 a church was built to honor St. Dymphna built in Geel. Many Europeans would come to church by 1480. These people would seek treatment for psychiatric disorders and the church would expand for their guests. Even though there was expansion they would get an overflow of people. The people of Geel would take patients into their own homes. The patients would never be called that though and be called boarders. 

The boarders would be treated like family by their hosts. Most would work menial labor in return and become a part of the community. Some would live the rest of their lives in Geel some months or decades. In the 1930s it's said that there were over 4,000 boarders in the town. 

The remains of St. Dymphna were later put into a silver reliquary and placed in a church in Geel named in her honor. The remains were moved to Xanten, Germany. The original church of St. Dymphna burned down in the late 15th century. A second church was built and consecrated in 1532 where they believed her body was first buried. Many miracles are believed to have happened here.

St. Dymphna is known as the Lily of Eire because of her spotless virtue. She is the patron saint of mental illness and anxiety. The chief feast day is May 15 the final day of their martyrdom.

St. Gerebernus is a saint against fever, gout, and for Sonsbeck, Germany. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Catholic

Loyola Press

Catholic Saints