COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD

People who return after their death to haunt the world of the living exist in several forms within Nordic folklore. Examples are a “myling”, who are spirits after unbaptized children, and “lyktgubbar”, who are not allowed to rest in the grave because they have taken parts of someone else's land. Both of these examples are so-called “gengångare” , that is, spirits who after death have retained character traits from their time as living. Other spirits lose their characteristics and turn into more shapeless beings of death, which are then called “gastar”. The “strandvaskare” belongs to the latter.
The strandvaskare is a spirit after someone who drowned and was never found. They are oftentimes sailors or fishermen who have died out on the water, but they can also be someone who drowned. Since the bodies of these spirits have not been found in the sea, they have not received a proper burial and therefore have no peace. In southern Sweden, there are stories of unknown sailors who have floated ashore and then been buried under a cairn on the beach. Nor was such a funeral enough to calm the soul of the dead, but resulted in these strandvaskare moving at the edge of the water. <>\brSometimes it happened that a strandvaskare gripped onto the back of someone who happened to pass by at night, hoping to be carried to consecrated soil.
When there is a storm, the shouts of these uneasy spirits can sometimes be heard. Then it is best not to go out to sea, because whoever comes in contact with a strandvaskare might suffer from an illness. It used to be called “gastkramad”. Anyone who is chased or gets caught in a strandvaskare's grip can try to free themselves by crossing a stream or river since they are not able to cross streams.