Summary
August 27, 2011: Recent archaeological excavations in the Outer Hebrides (off the West coast of Scotland) have unearthed a number of human mummies that turned out to be assembled from elements of several different corpses. Even if they weren't composites, they'd still be remarkable because intentional mummification is not otherwise documented in the region.
The archaeologists seem to think that these bodies were sewn together to act as vessels for ancestor spirits. So, a body sewn together from corpse parts to act as a vessel for a spirit.
… Does that sound like some kind of Tupilak, Golem, or Undead to anyone? Logically, if you wanted a vessel for a group of spirits it makes sense to assemble it from several corpses to avoid it being overly familiar to any one of them. Particularly if some of them were the original inhabitants of one of the corpses.
Source
Game and Story Use
- Useful for an alternative form of thanotocracy - a community ruled by ancestor spirits inhabiting fetishes sewn together from corpse parts.
- GMs in need of a new and unexpected undead menace can find inspiration here. Scottish composite bog-mummies is a fresh take on the old monster trope.
- These are the UK's first mummies, and date back to about 1000 BC. What exotic Bronze Age culture must they have come from?