The folklore surrounding these magic pair of pants, called by several appellations in Iceland, were described by
Jón Árnason in his folklore collection, under section on "" ('magic tricks'),
Ritual The
nábrók is obtained by first making a (mutual It is otherwise given as the Gimhringur stave The stave is mentioned in
Halldór Laxness's historic novel,
Íslandsklukkan ("Iceland's Bell" 1943) where a character named Jón Þeófilusson is caught possessing the sign of the (translated as "Blusterer") and the (sign of the "'''Corpse's Breeches'''"), thereby facing the prospect of being burned as a sorcerer. This may in turn be related to the Ginnir ("enticer") stave used to charm a love interest.
Removal The diabolical () nature of the object has been emphasized by commentators. According to some, the pants were the gift of the devil to those who have sold his soul to them. These pairs cannot be removed by its wearer until he is at his life's end, but it will become imperative for him to remove his pair and pass it onto another, otherwise, the "salvation of his soul" is at stake, and his corpse will be smothered by vermin. And the particular sequence must be followed. The wearer cannot simply remove and hand over the pants, but must do it one leg at a time. That is to say, he must first "doff" the pants off his right leg, and make his successor wear the right
pant leg. At that point, his successor is committed to his fate; even if he tries to change his mind and take off the right pant leg, he will wind up wearing the left leg, regardless of his will. == Related folklore ==