# Hortdan

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{{Short description|Creature in Turkic mythology}}
{{Turkic mythology}}

{{refimprove|date=July 2025}}

In Turkic mythology, '''Hortdan''' ([Turkish](/source/Turkish_language): ''Hortlak'') is the troubled soul of the dead rising from the grave.<ref>Haqqında - [http://haqqinda.net/xortdan/ "Xortdan"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021143036/http://haqqinda.net/xortdan/ |date=2013-10-21 }}</ref> Some Hortdan can be living people with certain magical properties. Some of the properties of the Hortdan include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss. Hortdans are also known as immortal [vampires](/source/vampires).

==Origin==
The Hortdans are creatures of [Tatar folk mythology](/source/Turkic_mythology), as a representation of evil spirits, the spirits of the dead. As these stories were transmitted only by [oral tradition](/source/oral_tradition), legend has lost its original substance, and [Turkic people](/source/Turkic_peoples) have transformed the Hortlak into bloodthirsty creatures. Originally, the ''Hortlak'' ghost is said to "appear" where the souls of murdered people have departed or where human blood has been shed. However, people most often encounter the ghost above the graves of the slain. It doesn't harm people; they only "see" it wandering or sitting there, mournfully making a sorrowful sound.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaripova |first=Çulpan |title=TATAR TÜRKLERİNDE MİTOLOJİK VARLIKLARLA İLGİLİ MİTLER VE İNANIŞLAR |url=https://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/HALKBILIM/culpan_zaripova_cetin_tatar_turkleri_mitoloji.pdf}}</ref>

Hortdans are fictional undead creatures regularly encountered in horror and fantasy themed narratives. They are typically depicted as mindless, reanimated corpses with a hunger for human flesh.

==Etymology==
The name Hortdan (or Hortlak) is related to the Turkic verb ''hortlamak'',<ref>Türk Mitolojisi Ansiklopedik Sözlük, Celal Beydili, Yurt Yayınevi (Page - 243)</ref> which in Turkish means ''get out'' and especially ''get out of the grave''.

==Different types of Hortdan==
* '''Hortlak''' is the name of this creature in Turkish culture. And refers to a [Zombie](/source/Zombie)-like entity. 
* '''Xortdan''' is the Azerbaijani etymology of the vampire.
* '''Hortan''' (sometimes Аза-Хортан "Aza-Hortan") is a [poltergeist](/source/poltergeist) like an evil spirit in Tuva tradition.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.kayipdunya.com/wp-content/uploads/kalins-pdf/singles/turk-mitolojisi-sozlugu-h-j.pdf Türk Mitoloji Sözlüğü, Pınar Karaca] (Hortlak)
* [http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/HALKBILIM/culpan_zaripova_cetin_tatar_turkleri_mitoloji.pdf Tatar Mitolojisinde Varlıklar, Çulpan Zaripova] (Hortlak)
* [http://www.yasarkalafat.info/dosyalar/kalafat20086487.pdf Rize ve Yöresinde Eski Türk İnançları, Yaşar Kalafat]
* [http://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/cilt2/sayi9pdf/koksel_behiye.pdf Dinan-ı Lügat-it Türk'te Yer Alan Efsaneler, Behiye Köksel]

Category:Ghosts
Category:Vampires

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hortdan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortdan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortdan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.