Ihtiriekko

Ihtiriekkos appear to resemble heir body they were killed in; as such some can be still very fetus-like, some can be more resemble a newborn. Oldest childkilling to result into ihtiriekko has been a little less than 2 year old child, so it is unknown if there’s any actual hard age limit for ihtiriekkos creation. Later on, after christianity, ihtiriekko has been labeled as an unbaptised dead child.

Overall ihtiriekkos head appear swollen, eyes bulging out of the skull and slack-jawed. They can have semblances of how they were killed, for example a noose around their neck or appearing wet if they were drowned. Some are just floating heads, but they might also have a shrieveled body just ‘hanging around’ attached to them.
Ihtiriekkos are usually surrounded and engulfed in a ghostly fire, and its color can range from pure white to deep blue, and sometimes even purple. Usually the flame flickers quietly as ihtiriekko moved, but if its antagonized or starts haunting, this flame can brighten and amplify.

The sounds that ihtiriekko makes can be identified as silent weeping, and general baby- and toddler-like noises, sometimes even laughing. When it haunts, it can let out a harrowing screeches and cries.

Ihtiriekko cannot physically harm anyone, but it can petrify someone to an extent with its screech. If touched, or otherwise physically contacted, it can transfer its deaths physical memories to the toucher; they can feel like they’re drowning, buried alive or similar, and it is possible to die of shock due this. They can also accidentally lead travelers astray, as they might wander around aimlessly around their burial site, and travelers can confuse their light to usually helpful liekkiös.

 It is said that ihtiriekko is ‘Born in secret, killed in secret and buried in secret, who cannot have peace until the mother has given out or it has been blessed.’ Usually it has been said that ihtiriekko is a bastard child, who the mother killed to keep a secret relationship a secret. Hence the child could not be buried into a graveyard, but rather had to be buried in a shallow grave near the house or in the forest.

Most believe that first ihtiriekkos were created by Jumi, as he once, during a famine, he saw a two people killing all the newborns in a village to save up food. At first, Jumi thought that it was sad, but justified, so that others could live, but as the killers continued, Jumi appeared to them and created ihtiriekkos to haunt the individuals. The many ihtiriekkos haunted these individuals until they grew mad from being constantly haunted by the ihtiriekkos and finally took their own lives. Thus, the unjust felt by Jumi rooted his ihtiriekkos Syntysana to these actions. Bear in mind that actual ihtiriekkos, and whatever they say, are not actually the children themselves per say: they are twisted versions of the feelings of Jumi, and a life that has been unjustly cut short.

One way to get rid of ihtiriekko is to find the body and bury it properly (usually by a tietäjä or a priest), or to for example burn the corpse. On the contrary to popular belief, exposing the parents of an ihtiriekko actually does absolutely nothing, and if these individuals die, ihtiriekko will just stay haunting the area close to its body.
Ihtiriekko will eventually die out naturally, if its body is completely destroyed, or after it has decomposed into nothing.