According to the religious beliefs of the ancient Slavs, after death, the body returns to Mother Earth, the spirit – the life force – as a bright flame born from a spark, returns to the primordial god Rod, and the soul, as an image or record of life, travels to the underworld to join the ancestors. However, something can go wrong, as a result of which a SPECTER, ODDITY, SPOOK, or simply a GHOST may appear in our world. Nowadays new terms like poltergeist or revenant are also used.
All supernatural apparitions have one thing in common, and that is that they come from the soul of a dead person trying to manifest, even materialize. These souls most often appear as misty floating vapors, luminous spheres, or occasionally in their original human form. They can also take on terrifying shapes of toothy monsters, and they have the ability to transform into any being from our world or others worlds.
If a soul, which hasn’t departed to Nav or hasn’t transformed into a magical being, it usually remains attached to a certain place. Sometimes it can become attached to a human person. That person may then be tormented by this spirit or, in some cases, protected.
Spirits bound to a place manifest through various supernatural, good and harmful deeds. These could involve revealing the past, foretelling the future, or conveying different kinds of knowledge.
However, the presence of souls is most often eerie. Their manifestations can include emitting creepy sounds or voices, exuding strange scents and odors, or causing sudden changes in room temperature. In modern times, control over electrical devices has been added to this list. Some spirits can move objects, break them, or otherwise damage them. Our ancestors believed that spirits could even be responsible for unexplained, and sometimes deadly, accidents, fires, or other natural disasters.
As spiritual beings, humans have the ability to perceive spirits. Consciousnessers, sorcerers, priests, and those who practice spiritual life are more attuned to their presence than ordinary people, but it often happens to them too. This most often happens when the life force as well as the soul leaves the body, at the moment of death. This can manifest in dreams that foretell death, a sudden feeling of coldness or a strange power, light bulbs popping, pictures falling from the walls or other unnatural things.
To ensure the soul's smooth passage to the underworld and prevent it from returning to our world, our ancestors practiced various funeral rituals and customs. In addition to the basic act of closing the deceased's eyes, practices like covering mirrors and turning glasses or plates upside down have persisted to this day. Lighting a candle beside the coffin during the farewell ceremony is considered a necessity.
According to the beliefs of our ancestors, the soul’s transition usually lasts up to forty days. During this time, the soul remains near its deceased body, saying goodbye to places and people of this world, and can sometimes appear as an apparition. However, other causes can explain the presence of lost souls in our world. For instance, a curse cast by a person or magical being might prevent the soul from passing into the underworld, or force it to return to our world, often for selfish purposes. Our ancestors believed that if, at the moment of death, a being that can capture the spirit cuts in, it can feed on this force or use it magically. According to legend, the spirit’s prison could be waterman’s pot or any enchanted object, or the soul could be trapped in a dead body or even in the body of another creature.
The reason why a soul didn’t pass into Nav could also be that the deceased had allied themselves with dark forces or demons. A common cause was also sudden death by accident or violence, in which case the soul would resist leaving.
Ghosts, whatever the reason for their creation, always have a close connection with Veles, Morena and, last but not least, with the Rod itself, or with a deity or magical being that participated in their creation.
