View source for Drekavac

{{Short description|Mythical creature in South Slavic mythology}}

'''Drekavac''' (literally "the screamer" or "the screecher"<ref name = "Levi">{{cite book | last=Levi | first=Pavle | title=Disintegration in frames : aesthetics and ideology in the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav cinema | publisher=Stanford University Press | publication-place=Stanford, Calif. | date=2007 | isbn=978-0-8047-5368-5 | oclc=71581809}}</ref>), also called  '''drekalo''', '''krekavac''', '''zdrekavac''' or  '''zrikavac''', is a mythical creature in [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] [[Slavic mythology|mythology]]. The name is derived from the verb "drečati" ("to screech").

== Description ==
In South Slavic mythology and folk tales this creature has been variously described:
* In some folk tales it is depicted as an undead man who emerges from his grave by night to haunt the living.<ref name = SMR/>
* In others the [[revenant]] is portrayed as unbaptised child which rises from its grave at night to haunt its parents and can also sometimes be heard entreating people passing cemeteries to baptise it and thus end its misery.<ref name = SMR/>
* In [[Southern and Eastern Serbia|Eastern Serbia]] it has been depicted in the form of a humanoid canine creature that walks on its back legs.
* In the vicinity of [[Maglaj]] it has been depicted in the form of ghosts of soldiers that wander around during night time, scaring people.<ref name = SMR/>
* In the vicinity of [[Kozarska Dubica]] it has been depicted as a vampire-like undead man that rises out of the grave during night time, and wanders around scaring people.<ref name = SMR/>
* In the vicinity of [[Arilje]] it has been depicted in form of a long-necked long-legged creature with a cat-like head.<ref name = SMR/>
* In [[Sredačka župa]] it has been depicted in the form of a one-legged humanoid creature with glowing eyes that wanders around during night time and scares people.<ref name = SMR/>
* In the vicinity of [[Prijepolje]], [[Lešak]] and Dragačevo it has been depicted as an apparition that can be seen in form of a dappled foal, dog, cat, or bird.<ref name = SMR/>
* In the vicinity of [[Gruža (Knić)|Gruža]] it has been depicted in the form of a creature having a dappled, elongated and [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]]-thin body with a disproportionately large head. This creature can't fly and it is believed to be the soul of a dead child.<ref name = SMR/>  

A modern description of a supposed drekavac describes it as a canine creature similar to a [[dog]]<ref name= Svetlost>{{cite news |title = Gimnastika na poledici |url = http://www.svetlost.co.yu/arhiva/99/216/216-2.htm |year = 1999 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409215503/http://www.svetlost.co.yu/arhiva/99/216/216-2.htm |archive-date = 2008-04-09 |newspaper = Nezavisna Svetlost #216}}</ref> or some kind of bird.<ref name = Glas>{{cite news |title = I drekavac sumnjiv |author = Z. Šaponjić |work = [[Glas Javnosti]] |date = 2003-10-20 |url = http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2003/10/20/srpski/R03101902.shtml |access-date = 2006-09-22 |language = sh}}</ref>

== Original beliefs ==
The drekavac was originally thought to have come from the [[soul]]s of sinful men, or from children who died [[baptism|unbaptised]].<ref name = SMR>{{cite book |author = Š. Kulišić |author2 = P. Ž. Petrović |author3 = N. Pantelić |title = Српски митолошки речник |year = 1970 |publisher = Nolit |location = Belgrade |language = sh |pages = 110 |chapter = Дрекавац}}</ref>

It was popularly believed to be visible only at night, especially during the [[twelve days of Christmas]] (called ''unbaptised days'' in [[Serbo-Croatian]]) and in early [[Spring (season)|spring]], when other demons and mythical creatures were believed to be more active.<ref name = SMR/> When assuming the form of a child, it predicts someone's [[death]], while in its animal form, it predicts cattle disease.<ref name = SMR/> The drekavac is believed to avoid dogs and bright light.<ref name = SMR/> Also, it is believed that if the shadow of drekavac falls upon some person then that person will turn sick and die.<ref name = SMR/>

== Modern sightings ==
Although the creature is mostly used in [[cautionary tale]]s for children, there are also some adults who still believe in its existence. According to the guide of a reporter of ''Duga'' magazine, numerous villagers on the mountain of [[Zlatibor]] report seeing it, and many inhabitants claim to have heard it.<ref>{{cite news |title = Ljudi i vreme |url = http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/525/17.html |access-date = 2004-07-15 |archive-date = 2016-03-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230442/http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/525/17.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

Some modern sightings happened:
* In 1992, it was reported that in the [[Krvavica (Kruševac)|Krvavica]], the villagers found remains of an animal unlike any known from the area, and claimed it was a drekavac. It was described as looking like a dog, but with a "snake-like" head and hind legs "similar" to those of a [[kangaroo]].<ref name = Svetlost/> Later, it was revealed to be just a rotten carcass of a fox.
* In 2003, in the village of [[Tometino Polje]] near [[Divcibare]], a series of attacks on [[sheep]] occurred, with some villagers concluding that they had been perpetrated by a drekavac. Other villagers disagreed, seeing as the attacks took place in the daytime, as opposed to night, when the drekavac is supposedly more active.<ref name = Glas/>

== Appearances and references in fiction ==
=== In literature ===
* Drekavac is mentioned in a short story by [[Branko Ćopić]], "Brave Mita and drekavac from the pond" ([[Serbian Cyrillic|Cyrillic]]: "Храбри Мита и дрекавац из рита") in which a group of [[superstition|superstitious]] [[fishermen]] stop fishing because they hear mysterious yells in the pond, where they were usually fishing, and start believing that they hear a drekavac, which leads to hunger in the village. The [[protagonist]] of the story, a courageous village boy named Mita, investigates this mystery and captures the "drekavac", which turns out to be a [[great bittern]], a bird very rare for the area.<ref>{{cite book |last = Ćopić |first = Branko |author-link = Branko Copic |title = U svijetu medvjeda i leptirova |chapter = Hrabri Mita i drekavac iz rita |url = http://www.lektirabih.com.ba/101/102/copasml.htm |chapter-url = http://www.lektirabih.com.ba/101/102/102bcsml.htm#_Toc158393743 |access-date = 2007-05-01 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070128104013/http://www.lektirabih.com.ba/101/102/copasml.htm |archive-date = 2007-01-28 }}</ref>
* Drekavac is also mentioned in Ćopić's book ''[[Eagles Fly Early (novel)|Eagles Fly Early]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last = Ćopić |first = Branko |author-link = Branko Copic |title = Orlovi rano lete |chapter = Chapter I |url = http://www.lektirabih.com.ba/104/405/orlovi.htm |access-date = 2007-05-01 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121036/http://www.lektirabih.com.ba/104/405/orlovi.htm |archive-date = 2007-09-28 }}</ref>
*Drekavac is a character in [[Larry Correia]]'s novel ''Monster Hunter Bloodlines''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Correia | first=Larry | title=Monster hunter bloodlines | publication-place=Riverdale, NY | date=2021 | isbn=978-1-9821-2549-3 | oclc=1251738232 }}</ref>

=== In games ===
* In the ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' has a card of drekavac from the [[Dissension (Magic: The Gathering)|Dissension set]].<ref>{{cite web |title = ''Dissension'' Sortable Spoiler |url = http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/cardlist/dissension |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060424195357/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/cardlist/dissension |url-status = dead |archive-date = April 24, 2006 |access-date = 2007-05-01 |publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]]}}</ref>
* In [[EVE Online]], the Drekavac battlecruiser is a class of spaceship, flown by the Triglavian Collective. 
* The Serbian [[trading card game]] ''Izvori Magije'' has numerous cards of drekavac type creatures, one of them named ''Drekavac iz vira'' (meaning "Drekavac from  the whirlpool"). This creature is described as: "Big-headed and with long thin necks, drekavac often jump out of whirlpools to attack people who are returning home from watermills."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://izvorimagije.com/izvoriste/kartaned.php?tm=1176987639 |title = Drekavac iz vira |access-date = 2007-05-01 |publisher = Izvorimagije.com}}</ref>
* In ''[[DmC: Devil May Cry]]'', a demon named Drekavac appears as a recurrent enemy. It is not named as such until player's final encounter with it. Rather than claws, it possesses long thin swords.

=== In music ===

* "Drekavac" is the title of a song written and performed by the [[Serbia|Serbian]] [[thrash metal]] band [[Horror Piknik]].
* "Drekavac" is also the title of a [[Lordi]] song from their 2021 project [[Lordiversity]].

== Similar mythical creatures ==
* [[Bukavac]] – recorded in [[Syrmia]], a six-legged monster with gnarled [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, slimy skin and long tail, that lives in water (rivers, swamps and creeks) and comes out of it during the night. It is known that it makes loud noises, and it will try to strangle people and animals that it encounters;<ref>{{cite book |author = Š. Kulišić |author2 = P. Ž. Petrović |author3 = N. Pantelić |title = Српски митолошки речник |year = 1970 |publisher = Nolit |location = Belgrade |language = sh |pages = 48 |chapter = Букавац}}</ref>
* Jaud ({{IPA|sh|jaud|pron}}) – a vampirised [[premature baby]];<ref>{{cite book |author = Š. Kulišić |author2 = P. Ž. Petrović |author3 = N. Pantelić  |title = Српски митолошки речник |year = 1970 |publisher = Nolit |location = Belgrade |language = sh |pages = 157 |chapter = Јауд}}</ref>
* [[Myling]] – from Scandinavian folklore, a phantasmal incarnations of the souls of unbaptized children that had been forced to roam the earth;
* Nav – the soul of dead child that died before its third age;
* Plakavac – recorded in [[Herzegovina]], is a newborn strangled by its mother, which will rise from its grave at night as small vampire-like creature, return to its house and scream around it, but otherwise can't do any harm;<ref>{{cite book |author = Š. Kulišić |author2 = P. Ž. Petrović |author3 = N. Pantelić  |title = Српски митолошки речник |year = 1970 |publisher = Nolit |location = Belgrade |language = sh |pages = 236 |chapter = Плакавац}}</ref>
* Poroniec – a hostile and malicious demon from Slavic mythology. They were believed to come into existence from stillborn fetuses, but also from improperly buried remains of children who had died during infancy.

== See also ==
* [[Bukavac]]
* [[Myling]]
* [[Poroniec]]
* [[Restless ghost]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Slavic mythology}}

[[Category:Slavic legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Undead]]
[[Category:Vampires]]
[[Category:Serbian folklore]]
[[Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina folklore]]