The Doubleheader

A human being capable of combining two souls, one of which is demonic, and the second is human. Sometimes it was about combining two hearts in one person. The number "two" carried shades of supernatural, dangerous, demonic or "unclean" meaning.

A double-minded person could be a person of any gender, both male and female; they included sorcerers, bosorkans, pestilence, witches, vitryans, volkolaks, vampires, etc.

In the Carpathians, people with an "evil" eye were considered to be double—minded, in Poland - topelnik (water) and various mythological characters associated with the atmospheric element, showers and hail clouds.

According to folk tales, in the daytime, a double-hearted person was no different from an ordinary person, but in the dark he immediately fell asleep with a particularly sound sleep, so much so that it was impossible to wake him up. During this dream, he was outside his physical body, while he could maintain his appearance or take the form of an animal (dog, horse, hare, etc.)For example, a double-minded witch had the opportunity to turn into a bat, a dog, a mouse, a cat, or any object: a poker, a wheel, a roller, etc.

Wandering around the world, the restless soul of such a person could harm ordinary people, send them damage, bad weather, drought, drink blood, etc. At the same time, if someone tried to detain a double-minded person, then he could kill either with his own power or with the power of the wind element, from which it is impossible to escape.  The person could not remember what happened to him during the "dream".

According to the beliefs of believers, the soul of such a creature leaves and returns to its body through its mouth in the form of a mouse, fly, etc., therefore, a double—hearted person could be quickly awakened if his position was changed - to turn his head over to the place of his legs, however, this would lead him to a serious illness for at least two weeks due to the fact that that the soul will not be able to move back into the body.

The reasons for the birth of a double-hearted person were most often associated with improper behavior of his parents, for example, people conceived during menstruation or born by a woman who, during pregnancy, allowed herself to look at a clergyman with a cup during the "great exit" could become double-hearted. In some places, it was believed that if one girl is born in a family in a row, then the seventh one necessarily becomes a doubleheader.

It was possible to recognize a double-hearted person by some signs that distinguished him from ordinary people: double-hearted people are born with teeth, talk to themselves, have a red neck, they have two tufts on top of their heads, etc. In Poland, it was believed that people suffering from sleepwalking belong to double-minded people.

People believed that the deceased double-hearted person became the cause of a strong storm, rain or hail. After the death of the double-hearted, his pure soul went to the next world, and the unclean soul became a dangerous ghoul who lived in the grave, under water, in thickets, remote places, etc. This creature could not only drink blood, but also cause diseases of children, pestilence, livestock deaths, drought, etc.