The Twelve Nightmares of Christmas: Day Three — The Birth of Nero

Nero is one of the Roman emperors that even non-Classics nerds recognize. He’s best known for denying he set the fire that burned for six days in 64 AD and destroyed two-thirds of Rome. (He blamed the Christians.) Four years later, while facing his execution, Nero committed suicide. He wasn’t buried in Augustus’ mausoleum, the … Continue reading The Twelve Nightmares of Christmas: Day Three — The Birth of Nero

Nero is one of the Roman emperors that even non-Classics nerds recognize. He’s best known for denying he set the fire that burned for six days in 64 AD and destroyed two-thirds of Rome. (He blamed the Christians.) Four years later, while facing his execution, Nero committed suicide.

He wasn’t buried in Augustus’ mausoleum, the resting place of other members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Instead, he was buried in the family tomb of his ancestors, the Ahenobarbi, on the Pincian Hill. Legend has it that a massive walnut tree grew near his grave, and flocks of ravens came to roost in it.

Superstitious Romans claimed that Nero’s soul was trapped on earth, pinned by the tree and guarded by the spooky ravens. They also claimed that Nero’s evil soul had attracted a bunch of demons who infested the area. Apparently, Nero was still partying in the afterlife — only now his dinner companions were demons. Over the centuries, people living in the area reported feelings of terror, mysterious injuries, possessions, and inexplicable killings. In 1099, the Christian population asked the Pope to do something about the creepy tree, the demons, and Nero’s ghost.

Pope Pascal II retreated for three days of fasting and prayer. It’s said he was visited by the Virgin Mary, who told him how to settle the situation. The Pope ordered the tree cut down, and Nero’s tomb destroyed. The human remains found in the tomb were burned and thrown into the Tiber River. To consecrate the ground, a church was built on the site and dedicated to Mary. In 1472, Pope Sixtus V rebuilt the church and named it Santa Maria del Popolo (from the Latin populus, people, because it was the people who had demanded the demons be removed).

It’s said Nero’s ghost still wanders the Piazza del Popolo at night, scaring unwary tourists. The emperor had his own run-ins with ghosts during his life. He tried really hard to kill his mother, Agrippina. He tried drowning her in a collapsible boat, but she swam to safety. He had her bedroom ceiling rigged to collapse on top of her, but that failed to kill her. Finally, he stopped messing around and had one of his guards just stab her. After Agrippina’s death, her ghost came back to haunt him. Nero tried to conjure her spirit with the help of necromancers and magicians, to beg her to leave him alone, but no — she haunted him for the rest of his life.

Hmm … I wonder what’s going on over at http://www.weirddarkness today? You should go see. (I hear they’ve got cookies.)