Prodigy

Noun, plural –gies.

1a: a portentous event: Omen. b: something extraordinary or inexplicable.

2a: an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event. b: a highly talented child or youth.

[Origin: Middle English, from Latin prodigium omen, monster, from pro–, prod– + igium (akin to aio I say).]

(15th Century).

“In the northern parts of England as well, we know of another prodigy, not unlike this one and equally strange, that happened around the same time. At the mouth of the river Tweed and under the jurisdiction of the king of Scotland, there is a noble town called Berwick. In this town there lived a man of wealth, but a scoundrel, as became clear afterward. After his death he was buried, but at night he went forth from his grave through the workings – as some believe – of Satan. And followed by a pack of loudly barking dogs, he wandered about hither and thither.” – The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters, Scott G. Bruce.

“In truth, we should clearly remember very carefully that whenever prodigies are clearly revealed to people who are still alive whether by good or evil spirits, it often happens that those who see them do not live for very long thereafter.” – The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters, Scott G. Bruce.