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Illustration of Wharram Percy mutilated dead
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
File No. 013 of 446

Wharram Percy mutilated dead

Also called: Wharram Percy revenants
Folklore and mythUndeadMiddle Ages

At the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy in Yorkshire, archaeologists identified human remains that had been beheaded, cut up and burned after death. The 2017 study by Historic England and the University of Southampton concluded that the likeliest explanation was fear of revenants. If so, it is physical evidence from England for the practices that chroniclers such as William of Newburgh describe. It shows ordinary villagers acting on the belief that corpses could rise.12

Battle it
First recorded
1100
Bones dated to the 11th-14th centuries; analysed in a study published in 2017
Origin
Medieval English
United Kingdom
What causes it
Never explained
Why these individuals were singled out is not known.
Weak spots
  • decapitation
  • dismemberment
  • burning
  • breaking the long bones after death

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today1100

Bones dated to the 11th-14th centuries; analysed in a study published in 2017

field notes

What the sources say

1

137 broken bones from at least ten people, including two women and three children, were found in pits away from the churchyard12

2

Knife marks cluster around the head and neck, not where a butcher would cut for meat12

3

Isotope analysis of the teeth showed the dead had grown up locally, ruling out strangers12

4

The researchers, Simon Mays and Alistair Pike, judged an attempt to stop corpses walking the best fit for the evidence12

5

Famine cannibalism remains an alternative that has not been excluded12

6

The bones were excavated in 1963 and lay unstudied for decades12

Sources

  1. Medieval villagers warded off 'zombies' by burning and mutilating human remains, study finds - ScienceAlert
  2. Revenant - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Folklore from the same lands

AbhartachIrish, 1870Revenant (medieval England)Medieval English, 1100Berwick revenantMedieval English / Scottish borders, 1198Buckinghamshire revenantMedieval English, 1198Byland Abbey revenantsMedieval English, 1400Drakelow revenantsMedieval English, 1090

Same era: Middle Ages

DraugrNorse, 1250VetalaHindu (Indian), 1070GlámrNorse (Icelandic saga), 1300UpiórSlavic, 1100AsvithNorse (Danish chronicle and Icelandic saga), 1200HaugbúiNorse, 1250
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