Tradition: Romanian Mythology
Alternative Names: Schilalyi, Cold One
Category: Rat
The Myth
Schilalyi, whose name means “Cold” or “Cold One,” is the fifth of Ana’s children and her third daughter. She and her siblings are demons of disease, born from the unnatural unions between Ana, the Keshalyi queen, and the King of the Loçolico.
According to legend, after Ana gave birth to her fourth child, Melalo advised his father to serve her soup alongside a cooked mouse he had spat on. Ana fell ill, and as she drank water, Schilalyi crawled out of her mouth. Her unnatural birth earned her the hatred of her mother, and Schilalyi tormented her siblings until her husband, Bitoso, was born.
Schilalyi appears as a white mouse with numerous small legs and possibly several tails. She is responsible for chills and cold fevers. In traditional remedies, sufferers were treated with dried mouse lungs and stomachs steeped in alcohol. White mice were considered agents or offspring of Schilalyi, and one reported incident tells of a pharmacist’s laboratory mice being drowned in a well in an attempt to avert disaster.
Sources
“Schilalyi.” A Book of Creatures, November 14, 2016. https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/11/14/schilalyi/