Abominations from the North: The Feldgeister
It’s kind of disappointing that the monster of Children of the Corn was simply your typical run-of-the-mill American Gothic abomination. Stephen King missed a big one there.
Now the real Children of the Corn, or the Feldegeister, are German agricultural demons. Farmers were quite wary of them and tried to appease them as much as they could, lest ruin and misery reached their door.
A cornfield haunted by these spirits will instantly create a menagerie of sentient lifeforms based entirely on corn and grains. Wolves, cats, goats, deers; any animal conceivable can manifest from the field. These animals can ravage flour supplies and cause grave illness to fall upon those they attack.
But the Feldgeister aren’t limited to just animals. They can appear as humanoid monstrosities too. The feared Getreidemann (“Grain Man”) stalks homes, bringing death to its inhabitants and causing blights to their supplies.
The Roggenmuhme (“Aunt Rye”) is another field demon, this time appearing as a wicked old lady that abducts children looking for cornflowers and leaving doppelgangers behind. Possibly related to her, are the Cornkind (“Corn Children”), mysterious children made entirely of corn.
Another member of these malevolent spirits are the Bilwis and the Windsbraut (Wind’s bride) who take the shape of deadly windstorms that sweep the field clean of any grain. The Bilwa is additionally thought as sneaking into homes and cause all manner of chaos, using its windy powers to tangle hair and beards and causing illness and nightmares.
The only way of getting rid of the Feldgeister is by mowing down the field. The spirits will flee deeper into the field until they are cornered, they will either die when the last cornstalk is mowed or be imprisoned inside a corn doll and brought to town.
But for those keeping the score at home, you’ll know why imprisoning a spirit in a doll is a bad idea.
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