Terrifying Tokoloshe

It's a tokoloshe hailing all the way from South Africa. This little imp can be quite a terror- he will haunt your dreams or just plain terrorize you. Anything that goes wrong in your life could be the work of a tokoloshe. Good luck sleeping after your hear about this little guy!

Transcript

Welcome back to myths in movies. I’m Erin and ——

Thank you for joining us as we dive into our favorite movies and learn about fairies, trolls, any kind of mythical monster or folklore. 

This week I thought we could travel to South Africa.

S: Oh this is exciting.

E: I should probably warn you, this is one of the darker monsters we have covered.

S: Why? Is it bad?

E: Well we’ve talked about terrible monsters before like the wendigo or the bunyip. Remember how the wendigo spirit was said to enter real people and then they would do terrible things?

S: Oh gosh, yes.

E: This is similar. People have done some terrible things and then claimed they were possessed with the spirit of the monster.

S: Okay, let’s just talk about it and I’ll let you know when it is too much. So is this monster in many movies? Where would I have seen it?

E: If you lived in South Africa, you definitely would have. It is very present in the culture. Its presence has dwindled over the years, but it is absolutely something people have heard of.

S: Is it in South African media?

E: Definitely is. There’s a famous movie from 1999 based on a real case from the 30’s, in which a man is on trial for killing his young nephew who he believed was a tokoloshe.

S: Oh gosh, that’s so sad.

E: And in the course of researching this, I found a south African tabloid that is super popular. It’s sort of like the Enquirer but even more outrageous. And it’s a south African newspaper/tabloid but it is incredibly popular. They regularly feature stories about people encountering a tokoloshe.

S: Even now? In the modern era?

E: Yep. The paper even attributes their popularity to featuring the tokoloshe often. The editor in chief said quote, The daily sun wouldn’t be the daily sun without the tokoloshe.

S: Why would people even tell the paper about the creature?

E: These people really believe in it and they’ve tried everything else. And the reporters are generally sympathetic. So if something bad was happening to you and no one could help, you might be desperate.

S: I guess. It seems kind of exploitative.

E: I think that is a fair criticism. On the other hand, they do listen which not many people do. And they have a sangoma/healer on call so they can get some help.

S: It’s kind of like Doctor Phil when he exploits you on tv but then he hooks you up with free therapy.

E: Similar, yes. anyway- so this is a very real thing in South Africa. They even had a police officer specificially for it.

S: Please say more about that.

E: In the Satanic panic of the 80’s and 90’s, there was a task force formed in South Africa. They dealt with the occult but it’s unclear just what crimes they ever investigated. It was eventually disbanded but according to a Vice article I found, they do have about forty police officers who are trained to deal with occult crimes.

S: Like a tokoloshe?

E: Yes, and ritual murders.

S: That happens?

E: among some African tribes, yes. It is unclear how often it happens but it’s enough to make  the government uneasy.

S: I think any amount would make you uneasy.

E: Agreed. But we are not covering that today because I do not want to. We are going to cover the tokoloshe, a weird little goblin.

S: I’m ready.

E: Great. Ready for a campfire tale?

S: So ready.

E: Once upon a time, there was a land filed with miles of desert. The people lived a hard life as the land did not yield much. They lived in round huts with a thatch roof. It was cozy at night because everyone slept on mats, curled around the fire for warmth. People encouraged each other to be careful because there was a monster who prowled at night looking for his next prey. He would creep inside the room, staying low to the ground. The monster was small and could effortlessly sneak up on you and scratch you with his long bony fingers. Sometimes he would wrap those long, bony fingers around your neck, killing you slowly and painfully.  The only person that could control these dreadful creatures was a witch. As time went on, people learned that they could sleep elevated on bricks and other materials. That would keep them safe from the clutches of the tokoloshe.

The end.

S: ooo that is scary. Anything at night, coming into your room is scary.

E: I had a serious fear of stuff under my bed, like most kids. And I watched the sixth sense where that actually does happen- a ghost hides under the bed and grabs him by the ankle. I honestly thought I would never sleep again.

S: Horrifying.

E: Definitely. Just like this tokoloshe.

S: Okay, so I have a few questions. Can we talk about its appearance?

E: Yes. So the tokoloshe appears to resemble a goblin or gremlin. It’s small, quite short and has large, furry ears like a gremlin. And it’s sort of bald and grey.

S: Like a gargoyle.

E: More human than a gargoyle. Sort of half human, half animal. And he supposedly feeds off of dark energy.

S: Now what does that mean? The dark energy of the witch?

E: No, not quite. The tokoloshe feeds off of despair and misery. The more miserable you are, the stronger it gets.

S: ugh that’s terrible. That seems to work for a lot of these creatures, its strength always depends on how much power you give it.

E: Ya, it is terrible.

S: So how is a tokoloshe created?

E: There are different accounts. I’m going to tell you the most common and descriptive. I was watching PBS do a show on these creature and the host interviewed a sangoma. Which means healer in Zulu. And she asked him how are these things created? And he said, I have no idea, I’m not a witch.

S: So he’s not interested at all.

E: No, and it’s because the price is too high. So in witchcraft and basically in life, you never get anything for free, there’s always a price to be paid for what you want. And in order to create a tokoloshe, you must pay a high price.

S: Alright, just tell me about it.

E: It’s said that a person, usually a jealous person, will approach a witch and asks for help getting revenge on someone.

S: This sounds bad.

E: It gets worse. The witch will ask for a soul and the client must agree. They are not allowed to pick the soul, as it is said the Tokoloshe will decide.

S: oh boy.

E: Then the witch will dig up a dead body, pierce the eye sockets and brain with a hot poker so it cannot think for itself. And she splits his tongue so that he can only speak her language and be controlled by her.

S: Oh my.

E: Then the witch will sprinkle the body with a special powder causing it to shrink. Then the tokoloshe is set free where it will terrorize the soul it has claimed.

S: That is scary.

E: Yep. However there are varying descriptions of how the tokoloshe is made. So that was just one. There’s another were a witch creates a doll and then uses that as the host for the tokoloshe. I’ve seen accounts were an animal is used, a corpse is a big one and then of course there’s the Frankenstein style, where different body parts are sewn together.

S: Okay, that was enough for me.

E: I understand. I would imagine that doesn’t happen much anymore, but you can see why people are frightened of these things.

S: Totally.

E: The one thing all have in common though, is the piercing of the forehead to get to the brain and piercing the eyes. That is to ensure that the witch has control of the tokoloshe and that it cannot think for itself.

S: Wouldn’t that make it impossible to see?

E: I think the idea is that the witch sees for the tokoloshe. I could be wrong.

S: I guess anything is possible if you are using magic.

E: true. Now just like there are multiple stories about how to create the tokoloshe, there are multiples stories about how evil the thing is. Depending on the region, the tokoloshe has varying degrees of malevolence. Sometimes he is just a prankster, sometimes he will literally kill you.

S: He sounds like a bogeyman. And we all know bogeyman specializes in children. What about the tokoloshe?

E: Again depends on the region. Some only want to terrorize a child, some have a rigid code of ethics and refuse to touch a child.

S: Definitely more of a fan of that. He sounds like a knight, with his rigid code of ethics.

E: Totally.

S: Is there any way to defeat the tokoloshe?

E: People often turn to healers. In Zulu, the term is sangoma which means healer. I also read where a healer, who was being interviewed in the paper, said the best thing to do is surround yourself with people who love and support you.

S: That seems like good advice for anyone, tokoloshe or not.

E: Agreed. He was speaking in the context of dealing with a problem. In the paper, the woman liked to gamble with her friends, playing a game similar to mahjong. And she had been winning a lot lately and she was having terrible nightmares. So everyone said it was a tokoloshe created by someone jealous.

Record 

S: Can I ask what her dreams were about?

E: Fair warning listeners- get the kids out of the room. She was a black lady and she was having recurring sex dreams where she met a handsome white man.

S: That doesn’t sound like a nightmare.

E: Well no, she didn’t seem too disturbed. But the tokoloshe is, for whatever reason, a very sexual little creature. So something out of the ordinary is blamed on a tokoloshe.

S: Weird. I feel like this is totally different than what you were talking about earlier. You said that the tokoloshe is often blamed for serial killings and child abuse. And now it’s blamed for bad dreams?

E: Fair enough. It is a little confusing. The tokoloshe is often blamed for an entire range of things. I think as violence has decreased through the decades, the tokoloshe has also become peaceful. In that the tabloid I referenced earlier, there are some seriously wild stories.

S: Like what?

E: Okay, again, listeners with little ears, turn it off. There’s one where a guy says a gay tokoloshe has been visiting him and raping him. Then he has no energy to be with his wife so he has spent over 10 grand trying to get rid of the tokoloshe.

S: Okay, wait, that is so offensive. On several levels.

E: It is. There’s a cartoon that accompanies it that is even more offensive.

I also feel bad for the guy that he feels like he needs to lie about this. Another newspaper responded and said this is super offensive. And they sort of explain in that South Africa has a macho culture, similar to Latin American countries. A man is judged on his virility so having none, he would be shamed.

S: That’s interesting. Because I immediately went to- oh okay, so he is gay.

E: That’s possible. It’s also possible he has low testosterone or other physical issues. In which he should see a doctor, not a sangoma. Sorry sangomas.

S: Did you find any other juicy stories?

E: No, not really. Just a lot of being poked or having rocks thrown at you. Which is obviously not fun, but not as salacious.

S: In these stories, do they interview the healer and get his advice?

E: In some of the stories they do, yes. Not an interview, but they did get some advice from him. And it made me laugh because he was like, okay, so surround yourself with people who build you up. And if that doesn’t work, call me at and then he gave his phone number.

S: Did you call it?

E: No way. First I don’t waste his time and second, those international calls were seriously cost you.

S: Did he say anything about the bricks under the bed?

E: He did and he said that is very effective so definitely try that. He did say though that a tokoloshe can be amped up by the sight of the bricks and work even harder to possess you.

Stop

S: Based on these ridiculous stories, it seems as if the creature isn’t taken too seriously.

E: It sort of depends. I think it’s evolved. The tokoloshe seems to take on whatever fear society has at the moment.

S: Okay, say more about that.

E: In the 90’s, there was a spate of child abuse being blamed on tokoloshes for a while. Mothers would take their kids to the hospital and when questioned, they would say it was a tokoloshe. On the positive side, the kids were getting treatment. On the negative side, they were the ones committing the violence.

S: Ugh that is terrible.

E: It kind of makes sense though. I feel like only in the past what, fifteen years, have people seriously talking about child abuse. People are so loathe to believe that a parent, especially a mother, could inflict abuse. So using a mythical being was one way to talk about it.

S: But that just further hurts the child and society because abuse can only happen when it is hidden.

E: Agreed. Further examples of the tokoloshe representing society’s fears- There’s a movie I was reading about where the tokoloshe was the symbol of the patriarchy and the abusive men in a character’s life.

S: Oh that is interesting.

E: another example of how the tokoloshe represents the culture is during the late 80’s, early 90’s.

S: During apartheid?

E: Yes, so that was when the south African government was just starting to get held to account. Countries were imposing sanctions and it seemed like the white government would have to do something. And after many, many violent deaths, the system was brought down. During this time of unrest, people reported seeing tokoloshes in churches with primarily white congregations.

S: A tokoloshe just waltzed into the church?

E: Apparently so. And the symbolism there is quite obvious- an African folktale interrupting a white, Christian church. An obvious reflection of white South Africans fears of dismantling apartheid.

S: That’s almost bizarre to me. White South Africans I would imagine would reject Zulu folklore and dismiss it as backward and all of that. So why would they see that figure?

E: It is strange. But I don’t think they are embracing it, I think it’s more of a cruel way to use someone’s beloved beliefs as a weapon.

S: Like they are using that creature against them?

E: right, like they are seeing the tokoloshe, an ugly, grotesque monster, and equating it with the people. There’s a well know author, can’t remember the name, so I’ll link it in the show notes, where he puts it better. To paraphrase- a violent, vengeful Africa invading the peaceful white community.

S: Terrible. That does make sense though, because with the tearing down of apartheid, white people would see it as black people invading their land. Which is of course, insane and ignores the country’s history.

E: It is terrible. So the tokoloshe has been used as a scapegoat for society’s fears, but it’s also been used as a scapegoat for actual crimes.

S: Like that movie you mentioned earlier?

E: Yes. so that was based on a real case from the 30’s, where an African herdsman murdered his one year old nephew because he believed it was really a tokoloshe.

S: I could have lived my whole life without hearing that story.

E: I know, sorry. There was another guy who killed fifteen people in the 1950’s. When he was caught, eighteen months later, he claimed to be possessed by the spirit of a tokoloshe. I should say that was also about seventy years ago.

He was sentenced to death and several Zulu chiefs asked to be present so that they could confirm that he did not come back as a tokoloshe. They were permitted and it seems that he did not.

S: Ugh that’s terrible.

E: It really is.

S: Is there any reason for the myth? We talked about changelings being created as a way to explain disabled children. I wonder if that has any bearing here.

E: so there is a theory that has been floated which is rooted in the way the people slept. Earlier I mentioned thatched huts and they would sleep on the floor, next to the fire. And part of avoiding the tokoloshe is stuffing bricks under your bed to raise the bed higher. So people have theorized that people were dying because the fire would deplete the oxygen level, if you were near the ground.

S: What would that do?

E: Well, it’s possible that as oxygen levels were depeleted, it would be replaced by carbon monoxide that the fire is pumping out. Since carbon monoxide is heavier that oxygen, it would sink to the ground, right where you were sleeping.

S: Oh that does make sense.

E: So that’s pretty much all I know. The main thing that I took from my research is the tokoloshe just serves a scapegoat. He is the monster responsible for your nightmares, however evil or banal they might be.

S: That does make sense. That he is the ultimate scapegoat.

E: Yep. he seems to embody whatever people’s fears are and that is why he has evolved so much over the decades.

S: Well I guess that’s how a myth survives through the years. They take on whatever the fears are of the day.

E: Agreed.

S: Well, this was definitely different. And I found this interesting.

E: Right? Well that’s all I have on this subject. Unless you have questions/comments?

S: Answer

Erin: listeners! Tell us what you think! Tweet at us over at mythsinmovies or email as at mythsinmovies@gmail.com. 

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And goodbye!