Iceland is home to a myriad of mysterious legends and among the most bizarre is the story of necropants, pants purportedly fashioned from human skin. These sinister trousers, also known by their Icelandic name Nábrók, are cloaked in dark legends suggesting the magical power to grant endless wealth to the wearer. Passed down through generations in Iceland’s folkloric tradition, this mystical garment has fascinated and horrified many.
The first recorded details of the necropants were penned down in the mid-19th century by Icelandic folklorist Jón Árnason. According to the description, an individual desiring to create necropants would need to secure permission from a living person to use their skin upon death. The process of crafting the trousers involved a grisly night-time act, where the person would exhume the corpse and skillfully remove the skin from the waist down, ensuring the garment remained hole-free.
The wearer would then adorn themselves with this skin, experiencing a physical bond as the flesh attached itself seamlessly, leaving only a single pocket unsealed. This pocket, located at the wearer’s scrotum, became the reservoir for a magic rune and a coin stolen from a destitute widow, setting the stage for unlimited wealth but at a grave moral cost.
The backdrop to this unsettling myth can be traced to Papey Island, off Iceland’s eastern coast, where locals maintained the story’s authenticity, vividly remembering an individual who once possessed a pair of necropants.
The central figure in this tale is Mensalder Jonsson, an 18th-century resident of Papey Island, known for his affluence. The folk story narrates his tragic obsession with the necropants, which eventually led to a divine punishment, vanishing in a storm as a retribution from God.
Sigurður Atlason, manager of the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, emphasized that the necropants remained confined to the realm of folklore. The pants displayed in his museum, which generated significant interest, were artistic renditions created by local artist Árni Páll Jóhannsson, rather than authentic artifacts.
Historical scrutiny of Mensalder Jonsson’s life offers no corroborative evidence to substantiate the lore surrounding him. Despite the uncertain origins of this legend, it persists, captivating imaginations and leaving many to wonder whether the necropants ever bridged the gap from myth to reality. While it is largely considered a tall tale, born possibly from envy and fertile imagination, some still hold a candle to the notion, allowing it to represent a relic from a pagan era lost in the annals of time.