Raw Head and Bloody Bones - Revision history

Ywhateley: /* Associated Mythos Elements */

2020-05-25T04:06:24Z

‎Associated Mythos Elements

Ywhateley: /* Associated Mythos Elements */

2020-05-25T04:05:49Z

‎Associated Mythos Elements

Ywhateley: /* Associated Mythos Elements */

2020-05-25T04:03:42Z

‎Associated Mythos Elements

Ywhateley: Details added.

2020-05-25T04:02:59Z

Details added.

Ywhateley: Page created.

2020-05-25T03:09:44Z

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2020-05-25T03:09:02Z

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[[File:Olbloodybones.png|200px|thumb|right|Cultists sacrifice an innocent to Ol' Bloody Bones]]
Rawhead and Bloody Bones, also known as "Rawhead", "Bloody Bones", "Ol' Bloody Bones", etc.

Origin: (earliest known story/scenario the creature appears in, indicate whether this is uncertain)

==Description==


<blockquote>
"Rawhead and Bloody Bones 
Steals Naughty Children from their Homes 
Takes them to his dirty den 
And they are never seen again!" 
— English Nursery Rhyme
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
"Raw Head lived in a dark cupboard, usually under the stairs. If you were heroic enough to peep through a crack you would get a glimpse of the dreadful, crouching creature, with blood running down his face, seated waiting on a pile of raw bones that had belonged to children who told lies or said bad words...."
 — Ruth Tongue, ''Somerset Folklore''
</blockquote>

Ol' Bloody Bones is an evil bogeyman said to haunt deep pits, abandoned coal mines and stone quarries, caves, the basements or cupboards of decaying rural shacks, sink holes, deep ponds, and the like, where it waits for disobedient children to ignore their parents' warnings and come near, where Bloody Bones grabs them and drags them into the depths. The legend originates in 16th Century England, but made its way to the Americas where it became part of the folklore of the Southern United States, including some African-American folklore; the original legend is regarded as lost except for the vague references to the name, and modern variants of the story describe Raw Head and Bloody Bones variously as one creature, two different creatures, or two parts of the same creature (''i.e.'', a disembodied head peeled of its skin, and a headless bloody skeleton stripped of its flesh.)

The short story "Rawhead Rex" and [[Rawhead Rex (1986 film)|the movie loosely based on it]] portray the monster as a sort of corrupt fertility god, a gruesome, bloody, skeletal giant with long sharp teeth, worshiped by mad cultists converted from a defiled church, and repelled by artifacts holy to a feminine creative force depicted in idols as a pregnant woman; in this version, the creature might be thought of loosely as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]].

Ol' Bloody Bones might otherwise be regarded as having a sort of rural cult that leaves sacrifices near the dark, abandoned places in the hills where the monster is believed to live, or to hang up talismans they hope will repel the creature, in the hopes that Ol' Bloody Bones might leave wandering children that get too near to his lair in peace.

==Heresies and Controversies==


==Keeper Notes==


==Associated Mythos Elements==


==References==

* story: "[[Books of Blood (fiction)|Rawhead Rex]]" by Clive Barker
* film: ''[[Rawhead Rex (1986 film)]]''
* film: ''[[Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 franchise)]]''

[[Category:Races]][[Category:FolkMythos]]

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 * tome: ''[[Red_Book_of_Appin#Handwritten_Copies_of_the_Red_Book_of_Appin|Red Book of Appin]]''
 * race: [[Human Cultist]]s
-* location:  The coal mines and Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the vague border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
+* location:  The coal mines and Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the vague and shifting border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
 * deity: might be conflated as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]]

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 * tome: ''[[Red_Book_of_Appin#Handwritten_Copies_of_the_Red_Book_of_Appin|Red Book of Appin]]''
 * race: [[Human Cultist]]s
-* location:  The coal mines and Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
+* location:  The coal mines and Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the vague border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
 * deity: might be conflated as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]]

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 * tome: ''[[Red_Book_of_Appin#Handwritten_Copies_of_the_Red_Book_of_Appin|Red Book of Appin]]''
 * race: [[Human Cultist]]s
-* location:  Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
+* location:  The coal mines and Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
 * deity: might be conflated as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]]
 ==References==

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 </blockquote>
-Ol' Bloody Bones is an evil bogeyman said to haunt deep pits, abandoned coal mines and stone quarries, caves, the basements or cupboards of decaying rural shacks, sink holes, deep ponds, and the like, where it waits for disobedient children to ignore their parents' warnings and come near, where Bloody Bones grabs them and drags them into the depths.  The legend originates in 16th Century England, but made its way to the Americas where it became part of the folklore of the Southern United States, including some African-American folklore; the original legend is regarded as lost except for the vague references to the name, and modern variants of the story describe Raw Head and Bloody Bones variously as one creature, two different creatures, or two parts of the same creature (''i.e.'', a disembodied head peeled of its skin, and a headless bloody skeleton stripped of its flesh.)
+Ol' Bloody Bones is an evil bogeyman said to haunt deep pits, abandoned coal mines and stone quarries, caves, the basements or cupboards of decaying rural shacks, sink holes, deep ponds, and the like, where it waits for disobedient children to ignore their parents' warnings and come near enough that Bloody Bones grabs them and drags them into the depths.  The legend originates in 16th Century England, but made its way to the Americas where it became part of the folklore of the Southern United States, including some African-American folklore; the original legend is regarded as lost except for the vague references to the name, and modern variants of the story describe Raw Head and Bloody Bones variously as one creature, two different creatures, or two parts of the same creature (''i.e.'', a disembodied head peeled of its skin, and a headless bloody skeleton stripped of its flesh.)
 The short story "Rawhead Rex" and [[Rawhead Rex (1986 film)|the movie loosely based on it]] portray the monster as a sort of corrupt fertility god, a gruesome, bloody, skeletal giant with long sharp teeth, worshiped by mad cultists converted from a defiled church, and repelled by artifacts holy to a feminine creative force depicted in idols as a pregnant woman; in this version, the creature might be thought of loosely as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]].
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 ==Keeper Notes==
 <!-- Optional. Suggestions for using these creatures in the CoC RPG, and in fan-fiction. -->
 ==Associated Mythos Elements==
-<!--
+* tome: ''[[Red_Book_of_Appin#Handwritten_Copies_of_the_Red_Book_of_Appin|Red Book of Appin]]''
-* tome: ''[[Tome1]]''
+* race: [[Human Cultist]]s
-* artifact:  [[Artifact1]]
+* location:  Hainted Holler Southern Baptist Church, near the border of Eastern Kentucky, Northeastern Tennessee, and Western Virginia
-* deity: [[GreatOld1]]
+* deity: might be conflated as an avatar of [[Shub-Niggurath]]
-* race: [[Race1]]
 ==References==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:Olbloodybones.png|200px|thumb|right|Cultists sacrifice an innocent to Ol' Bloody Bones]]
-Rawhead and Bloody Bones, also known as "Rawhead", "Bloody Bones", "Ol' Bloody Bones", etc.
+Raw Head and Bloody Bones, also known as "Rawhead", "Bloody Bones", "Ol' Bloody Bones", etc.
 Origin:  (earliest known story/scenario the creature appears in, indicate whether this is uncertain)