The Artifact Redux: Pants of the Necromancer

In this classic episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the so-called necro-pants...

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of
My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and
this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff
to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas,
and moments in time. What do you imagine when you

(00:23):
think of a necromancer? Perhaps partially influenced by dungeons and
dragons and various dark fantasy tales, you imagine a deathly
pale wizard dressed all in black, perhaps partial to skulls
and bones as their primary fashion accessory. But were we
to look beneath their robes, would we find a grizzly

(00:45):
pair of magical pants sewn from flayed human flesh and
complete with the leathery remnants of the victims Genitalia. Yes,
According to Icelandic folklore, these are exactly the sort of
tri ouser's quite becoming of a necromancer. Eleanor Rosamond Barklow

(01:11):
describes the fin Broker or finn breeches literally magic pants
in the book Beyond the Northlands. The wearer would enjoy
unlimited coins from the pocket of the pants, as well
as one presumes, a certain slimming effect. You can actually
gaze upon a replica of the folkloreic death trousers in

(01:33):
the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmovic, where
they are called the Nabrok or necro pants. Of course,
there are rules to any work of magic or sorcery.
It was said that the necromancer must first gain the
permission of a living man and then dig up his
corpse after death. Then it becomes a careful matter of

(01:56):
fleeing the corpse and carefully crafting the neck row pants.
And the retention of the genitalia is key because the
scrotum serves as the pocket of the necro pants. In
order to activate them, the necromancer will need to insert
a coin stolen from a widow and a sheet of
paper bearing the correct magical sickle. The original coin must remain, however,

(02:20):
in the scrotum, otherwise the wealth generating properties of the
pants will cease. At this point, the necromancer need only
slip into the pants and feel them bond with their
own skin. Now those pants can come off, mind you,
But in order to avoid damnation for crafting such vile pants,
the necromancer must make sure that someone else is on

(02:42):
hand to step into the pants at the exact same
time they are climbing out of them. The necromancer removes
one leg, and the new individual inserts one leg, and
so forth. Now why would one wish to invest in
the creation of necro pants. Well, there's not much money
in necromancy, and it pays quite literally to own a

(03:04):
really great pair of trousers. The necro Pants have been
featured on various websites, including Atlas Obscura, where Eric Grundhauser's
article outlines a few other curious displays at the Museum
of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft and includes a photograph of
the necro pants themselves. Tune in for additional editions of

(03:29):
the artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself.
As always, you can email us at contact It's Stuff
to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your
Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more

(03:50):
podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.