The Fext

DVKirste · Feb 4, 2012

Has anyone ever heard of a story written about a slavic mythical creature, similar to werewolves and vampires, called fext?

I strongly believe them to be the "third race" since Death is rumored to always come in threes and if Vampires and Werewolves are the immortal monsters that hunt and kill humans, there would be a third race similar to them. I did a lot of research and I blieve that this third race is the Fext but there is very, very little out in the internet about them that I could find.

"Fext is a mythical undead creature in Slavic mythology. Its origins are found in the terrors of the Thirty Years War (17th century) in central Europe. It is said that the Fext is invincible to bullets, except bullets made of glass. Some of the great generals of that time were supposed to be fexts because of their assumed immortality," says the all-knowing wikipedia.

"Fext is a man vulnerable only by a bullet made of glass (the word itself probably comes from the German kugelfest) or a small stake used to tie young trees. Fext does not disintegrate after death and sometimes his corpse also shows a little activity like moving a hand if someone disturbs it. If a child is born in an amniotic cavity and this part of the placenta is carefully removed, dried, stored and later carried by the child under his left shoulder, the child will probably become a fext.

Most stories about fexts are located to eastern Bohemia and western Moravia, today's Czech republic, during the 30-years war. Some of the Swedish officers of protestant army plundering the countryside of Habsburg empire were believed to be fexts because of failures of attempts to assassinate them," says the Encyclopedia Mythica

Anyway, does anyone remember anything about them in literature or any other form of media?

RPecha · Feb 4, 2012

Never heard of them until now. They do seem like they would be an interesting creature to put into writing though.

DVKirste · Feb 4, 2012

RPecha said:
Never heard of them until now. They do seem like they would be an interesting creature to put into writing though.

Most people haven't heard of them aparently. And yeah, they do sound like they'd make a good story but their sort of incomplete. I took everything I found and created a more detailed creature that I've named after the Fext. It took me a couple weeks to research the three races to work out the kinks in just them though.

Arcadia Divine · Feb 5, 2012

First time I've heard of it too, and I must say this is interesting. I researched it on pantheon (www.pantheon.org)

Lhipenwhe · Feb 5, 2012

I've never heard of the fext, or even its relation to death and its characteristics aren't As the other posters have said, it's interesting; I'd love to see something new and novel about have to be about the overused creatures.

DVKirste · Feb 5, 2012

Lhipenwhe said:
I've never heard of the fext, or even its relation to death and its characteristics aren't As the other posters have said, it's interesting; I'd love to see something new and novel about have to be about the overused creatures.

yeah, I sometimes stumble across something interesting. I like the usual but then theres the unusual and its mysterious nature. Pretty much anything can be done with it. I still need to work out some kinks but I've dug up my old character template and have begun dusting it off. Perhaps I'll be able to make something out of it.

Teinz · Feb 6, 2012

Interesting, yes! Never heard anything like it.

Is the name "Fext" all you have? The Internet really comes up blank.

KaiaSonderby · Feb 6, 2012

Even having read a lot on myths, I'd never heard of it. I thought this was a thread on some kinda magical fantasy texting system. Oh, woe is me and my generation.

But introducing "new" mythologies to the bookosphere is a good thing, I think. There are so many overused creatures; something a little different is definitely in order.

defcon6000 · Feb 6, 2012

except bullets made of glass

You can make a bullet out of glass?

Haven't heard of these creatures, either. They might be an alternate werewolf, since werewolves can die from silver bullets. Is there any sort of physical description of these creatures?

ETA: I did find this definition of 'fext' on Urban dictionary.

The act of sending provocative messages via fax machine.

Old-school sexting. :tongue

RPecha · Feb 6, 2012

brightlyiburn said:
Even having read a lot on myths, I'd never heard of it. I thought this was a thread on some kinda magical fantasy texting system. Oh, woe is me and my generation.

But introducing "new" mythologies to the bookosphere is a good thing, I think. There are so many overused creatures; something a little different is definitely in order.

I can definately agree. Its gotten to the point where I absolutely refuse to use the 'classical' fantasy races. In fact, my fantasy WIP fits it. The struggle of humans vs the powers that be as well as themselves sums it up nicely. There are no races other than humans (although there are different varieties, as well as The Fallen, which at the core are still human).

I am the sort though to totally turn around things in my works though. For a english project back in senior year, I did a fantasy short story that was from the viewpoint of orcs/goblins and I made them out to be a race/species that gained its reputation as evil simply because they are fighting back against a human society that doesn't want them around because of how ugly they are. So thus humans trying to perpetuate genocide against them, and they just want to be left alone in their caves/camps.

waylander · Feb 6, 2012

Asked my Slovak friend about this - she'd never heard of it.

@RPecha - ever read 'Orcs' by Stan Nichols? The premise is pretty much the same as your story.

Zelenka · Feb 6, 2012

Haven't heard of it either, even having studied the Thirty Years' War quite a bit recently, and it's not listed in my encyclopaedia of Slavic mythology. I did see a book at Neopalac the other day about Czech vampire and werewolf legends, so next time I'm in I'll have a look and see if anything is mentioned.

Zelenka · Feb 6, 2012

Aha - Actually, the Czech Wikipedia has a long article on it. It'll take me a wee while to translate it, but I'll do what I can.

Zelenka · Feb 6, 2012

OK, this is a very rough and quick translation of the Czech Wikipedia article:

Fext refers to a person whose remains do not decompose properly after death, but remain in a shrivelled, mummified state (Also spelled Fekst). In folk literature the Fekst is often attributed with supernatural powers. Usually this is invulnerability. It has also been used in some areas in a figurative sense to describe people whose wounds heal quickly, easily overcome illness or who live into old age.

There are different versions of how the Fekst came into the world with a double cover, a sort of amniotic sac covering him. This was burned after birth, and the remains made into a ball which was sewn into the Fekst's armpit. Some sources say this accounted for his invulnerability.

Rumours of the Fekst are only known in Europe amongst the Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and Swedes. This may be due to the fact that the myth emerged during the Thirty Years War, (when the Swedes were in Central Europe). An interesting aspect of the Fekst is that anything shot towards it will be turned against the person firing, thus partially accounting for its immortality. One legend says the Fekst is a child that has died unshriven, and so suffers terrible sin / guilt and is doomed to wander amongst the people, unable to die, until he can use his immortality to do a good deed, such as saving innocent people. But even then the Fekst needs to die, and so he has to be shot but with something that is not usually used as a projectile, such as a button, stone or piece of glass. He then turns to dust and blows away on the wind.

At the end of the Thirty Years War, some German chroniclers recorded a few cases, one where the protagonist was brave enough to shoot at the creature on purpose just to make sure the bullet would bounce and that it was a Fekst (or Kugelfest, in the narrative), but most cases ended with a negative outcome.

(Paragraph on possible explanations for the lack of decomposition)
Some legends equated the invulnerability to the fact that the skin did not decompose but remained tough after death. Some Fekst legends speak of them being able to move after death, especially if their burial was disturbed.

The German legend also mentions an ability to divert bullets fired at them, often directly against the shooter.

Examples:
The Church of St Prokop in Vamberk – The tomb was called the underground city of the dead. A lot of the coffins were opened, and many corpses preserved as well as the expressions still evident on their faces. Eventually they dug up a Fekst from one of the tombs, and did not get him to rest again until he was buried again in an oak coffin. But when the Fekst was brought up, its bones moved.

The Dobersky Fekst

In Dobre, a Fekst was dug up in the cemetery and walked for ages until the priest finally ordered it reburied. It was apparently the corpse of a former town magistrate from Osečnice from the time of the Thirty Years War. He had been working outside the village when the Swedes attacked and stole the cattle. When he came to the village and found out what had happened, the magistrate pursued the Swedish army. He fired from a distance and ordered the people to run and shout, causing the cattle to stampede. The magistrate knew there would be a reprisal and ordered patrolled the village himself at night. A Swedish officer, who had been amazed at the magistrate’s resolve and bravery, came after him and fired, but his bullets bounced back and shot him instead. The magistrate lived on for many years and was buried in the local graveyard. When after even more years his son was to be buried, the grave was opened up and the magistrate was found to be shrivelled but not decayed, a Fekst, and the bones were said to rustle when the grave was opened.

Sudslavsky Fekst

When he fell on hard times, a potter took to digging up bones from the crypt of the Sudslava church. He unwittingly took the rib from a Fekst. As he left the cemetery he looked over his shoulder and saw a giant skeletal figure coming after him. The robber ran and the fekst pursued, until at last the robber threw the bag of bones back. The pursuer then disappeared.

__

Sadly, there's no external links listed but maybe searching for the Czech spelling 'Fekst' would bring more results? (I found it by trying that spelling actually, as letter x is very rare in Czech, only usually in foreign loan words).

Zelenka · Feb 6, 2012

Also, found an essay online (there's very little even under the Czech spelling), which says there were 16 reported Feksts in the town of Sebranice during the Thirty Years War. One story tells of a hunter who came to a tavern near the town and found a group of Swedish soldiers there. The next moment the Swedes were unable to move. They were only released when they agreed to take their campaign around the town of Sebranice and leave everything there alone, which they agreed to as they were afraid of the hunter. Later when his bones were dug up they were found to be shrivelled but not decayed, and the bones were actually incorporated into the ossuary door.

Another story told of a man who, as a dare, went into a cemetery to steal a thumb bone from a Fekst. The Fekst went after him and jumped on his back, and clung there, so that in the end he had to go to the priest still with the creature attached to him. The priest tried various incantations but the Fekst simply kept on demanding to be taken back to the ossuary. In the end, the priest said that was all that could be done, and the bone thief vowed never to set foot in there again.

This seems to be someone's essay from a high school's site: http://www.zslubna.cz/drupal/node/1353 (in Czech)

DVKirste · Feb 6, 2012

Zelenka said:
OK, this is a very rough and quick translation of the Czech Wikipedia article:

Fext refers to a person whose remains do not decompose properly after death, but remain in a shrivelled, mummified state (Also spelled Fekst). In folk literature the Fekst is often attributed with supernatural powers. Usually this is invulnerability. It has also been used in some areas in a figurative sense to describe people whose wounds heal quickly, easily overcome illness or who live into old age.

There are different versions of how the Fekst came into the world with a double cover, a sort of amniotic sac covering him. This was burned after birth, and the remains made into a ball which was sewn into the Fekst's armpit. Some sources say this accounted for his invulnerability.

Rumours of the Fekst are only known in Europe amongst the Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and Swedes. This may be due to the fact that the myth emerged during the Thirty Years War, (when the Swedes were in Central Europe). An interesting aspect of the Fekst is that anything shot towards it will be turned against the person firing, thus partially accounting for its immortality. One legend says the Fekst is a child that has died unshriven, and so suffers terrible sin / guilt and is doomed to wander amongst the people, unable to die, until he can use his immortality to do a good deed, such as saving innocent people. But even then the Fekst needs to die, and so he has to be shot but with something that is not usually used as a projectile, such as a button, stone or piece of glass. He then turns to dust and blows away on the wind.

At the end of the Thirty Years War, some German chroniclers recorded a few cases, one where the protagonist was brave enough to shoot at the creature on purpose just to make sure the bullet would bounce and that it was a Fekst (or Kugelfest, in the narrative), but most cases ended with a negative outcome.

(Paragraph on possible explanations for the lack of decomposition)
Some legends equated the invulnerability to the fact that the skin did not decompose but remained tough after death. Some Fekst legends speak of them being able to move after death, especially if their burial was disturbed.

The German legend also mentions an ability to divert bullets fired at them, often directly against the shooter.

Examples:
The Church of St Prokop in Vamberk – The tomb was called the underground city of the dead. A lot of the coffins were opened, and many corpses preserved as well as the expressions still evident on their faces. Eventually they dug up a Fekst from one of the tombs, and did not get him to rest again until he was buried again in an oak coffin. But when the Fekst was brought up, its bones moved.

The Dobersky Fekst

In Dobre, a Fekst was dug up in the cemetery and walked for ages until the priest finally ordered it reburied. It was apparently the corpse of a former town magistrate from Osečnice from the time of the Thirty Years War. He had been working outside the village when the Swedes attacked and stole the cattle. When he came to the village and found out what had happened, the magistrate pursued the Swedish army. He fired from a distance and ordered the people to run and shout, causing the cattle to stampede. The magistrate knew there would be a reprisal and ordered patrolled the village himself at night. A Swedish officer, who had been amazed at the magistrate’s resolve and bravery, came after him and fired, but his bullets bounced back and shot him instead. The magistrate lived on for many years and was buried in the local graveyard. When after even more years his son was to be buried, the grave was opened up and the magistrate was found to be shrivelled but not decayed, a Fekst, and the bones were said to rustle when the grave was opened.

Sudslavsky Fekst

When he fell on hard times, a potter took to digging up bones from the crypt of the Sudslava church. He unwittingly took the rib from a Fekst. As he left the cemetery he looked over his shoulder and saw a giant skeletal figure coming after him. The robber ran and the fekst pursued, until at last the robber threw the bag of bones back. The pursuer then disappeared.

__

Sadly, there's no external links listed but maybe searching for the Czech spelling 'Fekst' would bring more results? (I found it by trying that spelling actually, as letter x is very rare in Czech, only usually in foreign loan words).

Zelenka said:
Also, found an essay online (there's very little even under the Czech spelling), which says there were 16 reported Feksts in the town of Sebranice during the Thirty Years War. One story tells of a hunter who came to a tavern near the town and found a group of Swedish soldiers there. The next moment the Swedes were unable to move. They were only released when they agreed to take their campaign around the town of Sebranice and leave everything there alone, which they agreed to as they were afraid of the hunter. Later when his bones were dug up they were found to be shrivelled but not decayed, and the bones were actually incorporated into the ossuary door.

Another story told of a man who, as a dare, went into a cemetery to steal a thumb bone from a Fekst. The Fekst went after him and jumped on his back, and clung there, so that in the end he had to go to the priest still with the creature attached to him. The priest tried various incantations but the Fekst simply kept on demanding to be taken back to the ossuary. In the end, the priest said that was all that could be done, and the bone thief vowed never to set foot in there again.

This seems to be someone's essay from a high school's site: http://www.zslubna.cz/drupal/node/1353 (in Czech)

Thank you for that great detail. I've known about them for a couple years ago but every time I look them up on google again I only ever found what I listed above. This will greatly help me. Thank you soooooo much.

Tepelus · Feb 6, 2012

Zelenka said:
Another story told of a man who, as a dare, went into a cemetery to steal a thumb bone from a Fekst. The Fekst went after him and jumped on his back, and clung there, so that in the end he had to go to the priest still with the creature attached to him. The priest tried various incantations but the Fekst simply kept on demanding to be taken back to the ossuary. In the end, the priest said that was all that could be done, and the bone thief vowed never to set foot in there again.

This story is actually quite humorous! What is that on your back? Oh, just a fekst. I stole his thumb bone and now he won't get the hell off me. I'll never steal another thumb bone on a dare again.

Zelenka · Feb 6, 2012

Tepelus said:
This story is actually quite humorous! What is that on your back? Oh, just a fekst. I stole his thumb bone and now he won't get the hell off me. I'll never steal another thumb bone on a dare again.

"Can't come in to work today, I have a Fekst on my back. Yeah. Thumbs again, yeah. No, learned my lesson, not sneaking into that bloody ossuary again!"

The Fext

DVKirste

Destroyer of Worlds

RPecha

DVKirste

Destroyer of Worlds

Arcadia Divine

Lhipenwhe

Moving with my soul, step by step

DVKirste

Destroyer of Worlds

Teinz

Back at it again.

KaiaSonderby

The Little Aspie That Could

defcon6000

RPecha

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Zelenka

Going home!

Zelenka

Going home!

Zelenka

Going home!

Zelenka

Going home!

DVKirste

Destroyer of Worlds

Tepelus

And so...

Zelenka

Going home!