Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of
Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and
Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas,
Speaker 1: and moments in time. What do you imagine when you
Speaker 1: think of a necromancer? Perhaps partially influenced by dungeons and
Speaker 1: dragons and various dark fantasy tales, you imagine a deathly
Speaker 1: pale wizard dressed all in black, perhaps partial to skulls
Speaker 1: and bones as their primary fashion accessory. But were we
Speaker 1: to look beneath their robes, would we find a grizzly
Speaker 1: pair of magical pants sewn from flayed human flesh and
Speaker 1: complete with the leathery remnants of the victims Genitalia. Yes,
Speaker 1: According to Icelandic folklore, these are exactly the sort of
Speaker 1: tri ouser's quite becoming of a necromancer. Eleanor Rosamond Barklow
Speaker 1: describes the fin Broker or finn breeches literally magic pants
Speaker 1: in the book Beyond the Northlands. The wearer would enjoy
Speaker 1: unlimited coins from the pocket of the pants, as well
Speaker 1: as one presumes, a certain slimming effect. You can actually
Speaker 1: gaze upon a replica of the folkloreic death trousers in
Speaker 1: the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmovic, where
Speaker 1: they are called the Nabrok or necro pants. Of course,
Speaker 1: there are rules to any work of magic or sorcery.
Speaker 1: It was said that the necromancer must first gain the
Speaker 1: permission of a living man and then dig up his
Speaker 1: corpse after death. Then it becomes a careful matter of
Speaker 1: fleeing the corpse and carefully crafting the neck row pants.
Speaker 1: And the retention of the genitalia is key because the
Speaker 1: scrotum serves as the pocket of the necro pants. In
Speaker 1: order to activate them, the necromancer will need to insert
Speaker 1: a coin stolen from a widow and a sheet of
Speaker 1: paper bearing the correct magical sickle. The original coin must remain, however,
Speaker 1: in the scrotum, otherwise the wealth generating properties of the
Speaker 1: pants will cease. At this point, the necromancer need only
Speaker 1: slip into the pants and feel them bond with their
Speaker 1: own skin. Now those pants can come off, mind you,
Speaker 1: But in order to avoid damnation for crafting such vile pants,
Speaker 1: the necromancer must make sure that someone else is on
Speaker 1: hand to step into the pants at the exact same
Speaker 1: time they are climbing out of them. The necromancer removes
Speaker 1: one leg, and the new individual inserts one leg, and
Speaker 1: so forth. Now why would one wish to invest in
Speaker 1: the creation of necro pants. Well, there's not much money
Speaker 1: in necromancy, and it pays quite literally to own a
Speaker 1: really great pair of trousers. The necro Pants have been
Speaker 1: featured on various websites, including Atlas Obscura, where Eric Grundhauser's
Speaker 1: article outlines a few other curious displays at the Museum
Speaker 1: of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft and includes a photograph of
Speaker 1: the necro pants themselves. Tune in for additional editions of
Speaker 1: the artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself.
Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact It's Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your
Speaker 1: Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
Speaker 1: podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.