14. Symbolizing the risk of heart attacks during hard labors, Lady Midday of Slavic mythology is replicated in the world of The Witcher in the form of noonwraiths
Appearing in picturesque fields on windless days, noonwraiths are monsters who only appear around the climax of the sun’s arc. Hovering above the ground, taking the form of a sun-burned elderly woman in white robes, these wraiths are the spirits of young women and girls who fell victim to violent deaths prior to their weddings. Driven mad by anger, these spirits, unable to leave the world, roam the fields seeking unfaithful lovers to punish. Drawing from Polish folklore, noonwraiths from The Witcher are evidently inspired by the Południca: a female supernatural figure that wanders fields inflicting a host of ills upon the villagers.
Also known as Lady Midday, due to the belief she commonly appears during the middle of hot summer days, the spirit attempts to engage workers in conversation. Failure to answer or reject the topic results in the murder of the individual by the wraith. Widely believed to have been a mythological personification of heatstroke, with delirious conversations with imaginary individuals a frequent symptom of the condition, Lady Midday was commonly blamed for the deaths of workers whilst farming due to heart attacks. For fear of her, however, it became common practice for farmers to take breaks in the middle of a summer’s day to avoid her.