Nábrók

In Icelandic witchcraft, nábrók (calqued as necropants, literally "death underpants") are a pair of pants made from the skin of a dead man, which are capable of producing an endless supply of money. The ritual was practiced in the 17th century.

Ritual

Nábrókarstafur (Stave for Necropants)^[1]

The ritual for making necropants is described as follows:^[1]

If you want to make your own necropants (literally; nábrók) you have to get permission from a living man to use his skin after his death.

After he has been buried you must dig up his body and flay the skin of the corpse in one piece from the waist down. As soon as you step into the pants they will stick to your own skin. A coin must be stolen from a poor widow and placed in the scrotum along with the magical sign, nábrókarstafur, written on a piece of paper. Consequently the coin will draw money into the scrotum so it will never be empty, as long as the original coin is not removed. To ensure salvation the owner has to convince someone else to overtake the pants and step into each leg as soon as he gets out of it. The necropants will thus keep the money-gathering nature for generations.

References

1. "Stave for Necropants". Strandagaldur, Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. 14 November 2005.

External links

• "Are these the most terrifying trousers ever? The 17th century NECROPANTS made from corpse legs - and are supposed to be lucky", Daily Mail
• "Necropants", Eric Grundhauser, Atlas Obscura