Have you ever walked one of Europe’s Corpse Roads? Traversing the rural countryside, you might encounter one of these roadways, paths marked with crucifixes and low stone benches, where the locals once traveled with their dead, on the way to the closest church cemetery. Historically, the church required the dead to be buried on consecrated grounds, for a fee of course. However, villagers didn’t want stinking corpses being rolled past their homes and businesses, so thus the corpse road.
Naturally, a number of superstitious arose about the trails. People reported seeing Corpse Candles, mysterious lights floating close to the ground, including some claimed to be seen at the recently deceased’s home the night before their passing. Some believed the lights wanted to lead travelers astray, while others believed they were the ghosts of unbaptised children. The roads were constructed to cross a body of water, as this would prevent spirits from returning to the community. Stories conflict about whether a coffin road crossing a main thoroughfare was good or bad luck.
What happens along these roads is up to you.
