The Polish Nightmare Being (Zmora) and the Problem with Defining the Category of Supernatural Double-Souled Beings

The zmora, a supernatural being in Polish folklore that suffocates sleepers, is often classified as double-souled in the ethnolinguistic dictionary Slavianskie drevnosti. However, archival sources from the Polish Ethnographic Atlas and other Polish collections indicate that informants rarely describe the zmora as double-souled. This article examines how far the zmora can be considered double-souled in Polish folk tradition and how important that trait is for defining it. It reviews the concept of double-souledness, its associated motifs, and the term's history, then analyzes examples of the double-souled zmora in Polish folklore and their geographic distribution within broader soul dualism in Polish tradition.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In the ethnolinguistic dictionary Slavianskie drevnosti (Slavic Antiquities), the zmora—a supernatural being from Polish folklore whose main function is to try to suffocate people while they are asleep—is classified as double-souled. Nevertheless, the archives of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas and other Polish sources show that informants mention the double-souled nature of the zmora in the Polish folk tradition quite rarely. Therefore, the following questions arise: to what extent may the zmora be classified as double-souled in Polish folk tradition, and how important is this feature for characterizing the zmora? In order to answer these questions, this article briefly reviews the current understanding of the term ‘double-souled’, the main motifs that are connected with it, and the history of the formation of this term, as well as analysing examples of the double-souled zmora in Polish folklore, including their geography in the context of other manifestations of soul dualism in Polish folk tradition.