Necropants: Unraveling the Myth of Iceland’s Human Flesh Trousers

Iceland is home to a myriad of mysterious legends and among the most bizarre is the story of necropants, pants purportedly fashioned from human skin. These sinister trousers, also known by their Icelandic name Nábrók, are cloaked in dark legends suggesting the magical power to grant endless wealth to the wearer. Passed down through generations in Iceland's folkloric tradition, this mystical garment has fascinated and horrified many.

But how much of this dark tale is rooted in reality, and how much is a product of imaginative folklore?

The Creation of the Fabled Necropants

Content: The first recorded details of the necropants were penned down in the mid-19th century by Icelandic folklorist Jón Árnason. According to the description, an individual desiring to create necropants would need to secure permission from a living person to use their skin upon death. The process of crafting the trousers involved a grisly night-time act, where the person would exhume the corpse and skillfully remove the skin from the waist down, ensuring the garment remained hole-free.

The wearer would then adorn themselves with this skin, experiencing a physical bond as the flesh attached itself seamlessly, leaving only a single pocket unsealed. This pocket, located at the wearer’s scrotum, became the reservoir for a magic rune and a coin stolen from a destitute widow, setting the stage for unlimited wealth but at a grave moral cost.

Nábrókarstafur (a magical stave for Necropants). (Schwerdf/ CC BY 3.0 )

The Devil's Bargain: Wearing the Necropants

Delving into the necropants' lore, it's unmistakably a tale of demonic pact, intertwined with the religious sentiments of the time which viewed pagan practices through a lens of barbarism and blasphemy. The ritual of obtaining the coin was set against the sacred backdrop of a Christian church festival, profaning a moment of holy reverence.

However, the wearer could escape eternal damnation by transferring ownership of the necropants to another person before their demise. This transfer ritual involved a complex procedure, with the new owner inserting a leg into the pants while still adorned by the current owner, facilitating a seamless transition and releasing the original wearer from their unholy pact.

Coin of the Icelandic currency Krona (ISK) showing a shore crab. (Thorston Schmidt/ CC BY SA 1.0 )

The Tale's Origin and its Lone Protagonist

The backdrop to this unsettling myth can be traced to Papey Island, off Iceland's eastern coast, where locals maintained the story's authenticity, vividly remembering an individual who once possessed a pair of necropants.

The central figure in this tale is Mensalder Jonsson, an 18th-century resident of Papey Island, known for his affluence. The folk story narrates his tragic obsession with the necropants, which eventually led to a divine punishment, vanishing in a storm as a retribution from God.

Papey Island church. (Arian Zwegers/ CC BY 2.0 )

The Reality Behind the Mythical Necropants

Sigurður Atlason, manager of the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, emphasized that the necropants remained confined to the realm of folklore. The pants displayed in his museum, which generated significant interest, were artistic renditions created by local artist Árni Páll Jóhannsson, rather than authentic artifacts.

Historical scrutiny of Mensalder Jonsson's life offers no corroborative evidence to substantiate the lore surrounding him. Despite the uncertain origins of this legend, it persists, captivating imaginations and leaving many to wonder whether the necropants ever bridged the gap from myth to reality. While it is largely considered a tall tale, born possibly from envy and fertile imagination, some still hold a candle to the notion, allowing it to represent a relic from a pagan era lost in the annals of time.

Top Image: "The Black Man", an aspect of Nyarlathotep as described by H. P. Lovecraft in "The Dreams in the Witch House" (1932). (Jens Heimdahl/ CC BY SA 4.0 ) A replica of necropants at The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery & Witchcraft in Holmavik, Iceland. At the right of the pants is the magical symbol (nábrókarstafur) that is part of the ritual and at its feet are coins. The exhibit is behind glass and lit from above with a harsh yellow light. (Bernard McManus/ CC BY 2.0 )

By Mark Oliver

References

Árnason, Jón and Jacqueline Simpson. “Lappish Breeches.” Icleandic Folktales and Legends . University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. 1972. https://books.google.com/books?id=HY-DCKd6UgUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=lappish%20breeches&f=false

McMahon, Sara. “The Macabre Necropants, Made From Dead Man’s Skin, on Display in Hólmavík.” Iceland Magazine. December 24, 2014. http://icelandmag.is/article/macabre-necropants-made-dead-mans-skin-display-holmavik

Sveinsson, Einar Ólafur. The Folk-Stories of Iceland. Viking Society for Northern Research, University College, 2003. https://books.google.com/books?id=Bv3ZAAAAMAAJ&dq=mensalder+the+rich&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=+%27Finn-breeches%27%2C+Finnabuxur+

Tracy, Larissa. “Wearing Flayed Remains.” Flaying in the Pre-Modern World: Practice and Representation. D. S. Brewer, Cambridge, 2017. https://books.google.com/books?id=_bM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133&dq=N%C3%A1br%C3%B3k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi41J3dzufbAhUh0YMKHbl-DX0Q6AEITTAG#v=onepage&q=N%C3%A1br%C3%B3k&f=false

Whitehead, Dr. Gudrun D. “Halloween Special: Object Spotlight – Sinister Pants.” International Committee for Museums of Ethnography. October 30, 2016. http://icom.museum/uploads/tx_hpoindexbdd/ICME_News_79.pdf