RAT KING

ORIGIN: European folklore

The Rat King is a phenomenon where multiple rats become entangled by their tails, forming a writhing, squirming, struggling mass of living rats. 

This unnatural formation is often said to be caused by disease, filth, and bad omens.

It is a scary tale in European folklore, especially in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

The most infamous case of a Rat King was discovered in 1828 in a miller's fireplace in Buchheim, Germany. 

The entangled rats— a total of 32—, were found dead with their tails mysteriously fused tightly together by dirt, frozen excrement and blood from their torn hides (which was a result of the desperate struggles to tear apart from their joined tails).

Their remains was preserved and still exist in a museum today.

Some believe it happens naturally when rats huddle together in harsh cold weather, so their tails end up freezing and sticking together.

But some think it's the work of human hands— maybe an act of cruelty or a dark ritual.

In legends, the Rat King is often a harbinger of doom which appears right before plagues or disasters.

Some tales say that an enormous Rat King commands swarms of rodents and whispers to them like an evil hive mind.