The Talason #FaeVisions

Guest post by Vladimia Becić

Casa Encantada, based on original by Lolatower, CC-BY-SA

Belief in the talason is spread out throughout the Balkans, either under the same or similar name. In Macedonia it used to be called the talas'mim, and in Bosnia either the tilisum or the tilisun.

Talason is the spirit-protector of a building and it ties itself exclusively to it, not the ones that inhabit it. For this reason, the talason is considered to be a mythical creature that relates to places, not people. Its main purpose is to protect the building from people who approach it with bad intentions.

A talason can protect public buildings such as post offices, town halls or schools. However, a talason can protect family homes as well, but in that case it does not represent an ancestral spirit, like, for example, Roman Lares and Penates, and it is in no relation to the inhabitants of the house. Even though it is invisible to humans, according to legend, it can be seen by those born on a Tuesday or Saturday. A talason appears to them in a form of a dark shape or a shadow. There are also mentions of it being seen by dogs.

The relationship between talasons and shadows sprouts from the belief that a shadow is an equivalent of a man's soul, and that the soul/shadow and body can be separated. It was also believed that, through separation from the body, a man's soul would tie itself to a building. During construction, builders would wait for a passer-by's shadow to fall upon the foundations, measure its length and build the measurement into the foundations. For this they would strictly use silk thread. It is during the measuring that the soul/shadow separates from the body. The person whose shadow was measured and built into the foundations usually falls ill and dies within forty days. Their soul becomes inextricably bound to the building and becomes known as the spirit-protector of the building, i.e. its talason.

Since builders secretly measured the shadows of passers-by in order to ensure a building got its spirit-protector, people tended to avoid building sites, and mothers forbade their children to go near them.

According to tradition, the protection of buildings used to be ensured by walling up living people inside the foundations. That way the spirit of the victim would become the protector, i.e. the talason. Allegedly this method used to be applied in the Balkans. Later on, it was replaced by the more subtle version of measuring the shadow with silk thread.

Vladimira Becić’s “The Scythe and the Hourglass” can be found in Fae Visions of the Mediterranean.

Interview with Vladimira Becić #FaeVisions

Fae Visions of the Mediterranean is a new anthology featuring twenty-four stories and poems of horror and wonder of the sea. Among these stories is Vladimira Becić’s “Kod Kose i Sata”—translated as “The Scythe and the Hourglass” and published in both Croatian and English versions—an oneiric, mythical allegory of writing challenges and haunted houses. We asked Vladimira a few questions about her work.

After a career as a military psychologist, Vladimira Becić started writing on a bet (which she lost). Her published works include a YA vampire novel Orsia and a number of short stories, mostly in the fantasy genre. This is her first English publication.

TFF: “Kod Kose i Sata” reads like a Borgesian take on a dark folktale—postmodern allegory meets atavistic beliefs. What did the story mean for you?
Vladimira Becić: I thought it would be interesting to put together a real place surrounded by stories of being haunted with a non-existing, actually haunted place as is the case with “The Scythe and the Hourglass”.

What sort of a connection do you feel with the Mediterranean Sea itself?
As someone who grew up on the seaside, I am firmly in the camp of those who say, sea is beautiful, land is reliable.

If you could meet the Talason of your house, what would you ask her/him?
I would ask what the moment of transition from a human soul to a house-protecting soul looks like.

Would you dare be a guest at "The Scythe and the Hourglass"?
On good days, when writing is easy, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Otherwise, I'd have to think twice.

Are the vampires in your novel Orsia dusty castle-dwelling predators, super cool red-eyed assassins, or sparkly-skinned, sulky teens?
Orsian vampires live in a subterranean, not in the least dusty city under Zagreb, and they are more entrepreneurs and businessmen than assassins. Their teenagers are insufferable, though, like all teenagers are—especially when they come up with plans that turn the whole of Orsia upside-down.

What is your favourite (real or literary) sea creature and why?
Octopus. Because they are smart and they look totally cool and unreal, like fairy-tale characters.

What is under your bed?
Ghouls that are yet to get their place in the attic.

Where else can fans of your work find stories of yours to read? Anything in the pipeline?
Most of my previously published stories and articles can be found at vladimira-becic.com. I am currently working on several projects, most of which connect my current main interests: psychology, writing, languages and music.

Thank you, Vladimira!

Vladimira Becić’s “The Scythe and the Hourglass” can be found in Fae Visions of the Mediterranean.