Mormo

For the moth genus, see Mormo (moth).

In Greek mythology, Mormo (Greek: Μορμώ, Μορμών, Mormō) was a spirit who bit bad children, and was said to have been a companion of the goddess Hecate. The name was also used to signify a female vampire-like creature in stories told to Greek children by their nurses to keep them from misbehaving. This reference is primarily found in some of the plays of Aristophanes.^[1][2] He is also referenced in The Alexiad, which goes to show that Mormo was still taught to children during Byzantine times. The Mormo would steal children in revenge of Queen Laestrygonian who was deprived by her children.

Modern references

"The Horror at Red Hook" by H. P. Lovecraft (1925), describes an inscription to Hecate, Gorgo, and Mormo, found in the raid of Red Hook.

Mormo is the name of an evil witch in the Neil Gaiman novel, Stardust and its 2007 film adaptation (played in the latter by Joanna Scanlan). This Mormo lives with her two sisters, Lamia and Empusa.

Mormo is the name of a character in the role-playing video game, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology for the PSP, a flying sentient cat who accompanies the player's character throughout the game.

Warraguk, a Flying Mormo is a dance suite composed by James Cuomo in the late 1960s, based on concepts from Australian Aboriginal mythology. Cuomo later named his band Mormos.

According to Anton LaVey, in The Satanic Bible, Mormo is the "King of the Ghouls, consort of Hecate".

In the film The God Makers, anti-Mormon activist Ed Decker claims that Mormons are followers of Mormo, citing The Satanic Bible as evidence. Opponents of this theory note that The Satanic Bible was published almost 140 years after the Book of Mormon was translated.^[3]

Notes

References

• Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Mormo"