1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,359 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 2: Your Mind focusing on mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters. In 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 2: time for today's episode, I turned once more to the 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 2: world of Dungeons and Dragons and a particular raven loft 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 2: monster that I remember quite fondly from my own monstrous 8 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 2: compendium binder from way back in the day. The creature 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 2: was the Crimson Death. Known in other editions of D 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 2: and D, including fifth Edition, as the Vampiric myst It 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 2: is typically described as a pale or gray mist, otherwise 12 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 2: indistinguishable from mundane fog, but it is in reality an 13 00:00:54,360 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 2: undead vampiric entity. It creeps up on unwary victims, envelops 14 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 2: them in tentacles of mist, and then begins to draw 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 2: the blood from their body, even through their very skin pores, 16 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 2: staining its vaporous substance ever deeper shades of pink and 17 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 2: red in the process, eventually raining droplets of blood like 18 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 2: a heavy seguine cloud. The monster's compendium entry lists several 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 2: possible origins for the crimson death. Perhaps it is a 20 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 2: particularly evil air elemental or the bodyless remnants of a 21 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 2: slain vampire, the origin that is also presented in fifth edition. 22 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 2: But it may also be the spirit of a mortal 23 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 2: who became a vampire. This spirit evil and separated from 24 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 2: its physical blood drinking form, and if one could bring 25 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: these two back together again, then the vampiric curse might 26 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 2: be lifted. Now there's an obvious link to Dracula's mist 27 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 2: form in Bram Stoker's novel. We also find evil milk 28 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 2: in smokelike creatures in various folklores as well. In Japan, 29 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 2: there is the smokelike Ininra, said to emanate from bonfires 30 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 2: to creep out onlookers. In addition to the human tendency 31 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 2: to see patterns as something as shifting and abstract as smoke, 32 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 2: it may also link to the common illusion where smoke 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 2: seems to follow one, due in part to the vacuum 34 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: created by our movements, which of course draws the smoke 35 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 2: in after us. In Wales, the civil duo or water 36 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 2: horse may take a mortal on a supernatural ride into 37 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: the very sky, only to then transform into a mist 38 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 2: and drop the unfortunate rider, and in the poetic Eda, 39 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 2: mist is the given name of a particular valkyrie, the 40 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 2: chosen of the slain of Valhalla. And of course, we 41 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: also have to acknowledge the role of miasma theory, the 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 2: outdated pre germ theory idea that human illnesses are caused 43 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 2: by bad air and foul smells, such as those that 44 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 2: might drift over into populated areas from swamp lands or cemeteries. 45 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 2: As we've discussed on Stuff to Blow your mind in 46 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 2: the past, this idea was advocated by the likes of Hippocrates, 47 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 2: among others, and again the notion was that bad and 48 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 2: foul air would allow disease to travel and infect. Therefore, 49 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 2: the removal of bad air, or positioning yourself further from it, 50 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 2: prevents or combats illness. Now, as we've discussed before, this 51 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 2: approach can work accidentally in some cases, but it is 52 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 2: not correct, but it is a basic concept that stretches 53 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 2: back into the ancient world. Now, turning once more to 54 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 2: the crimson death or vampiric myst we can see how 55 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 2: easily miasma theory melds with ancient ideas of invisible spirits, 56 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 2: demons and fairies that might creep into our homes to 57 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 2: do us ill seek us out across great distances with 58 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 2: the evil eye. The very sorts of threats we might 59 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 2: set out witch bottles to catch, and as such, the 60 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 2: Crimson Death or Vampiric Myss seems a fitting fantasy world 61 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 2: synthesis of miasma theory and supernatural apparel with more than 62 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 2: a dash of Dracula. Tune in for additional episodes of 63 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: The Monster Fact each week. As always, you can email 64 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:30,160 Speaker 2: us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 65 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 66 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 67 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.