On: Medieval villagers mutilated the dead to stop them...

[pherq]

There are records of similar practices (binding toes or piercing the soles of the feet to stop the dead from escaping) in Scandinavia, so it may have been something that came over with the Norse influence in Scotland.

See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr#Means_of_prevention

[jnbiche → pherq]

>so it may have been something that came over with the Norse influence in Scotland.

Not only via Scotland. Vikings regularly raided and colonized Ireland directly, too.

[pherq → jnbiche]

I know -- I just apparently parsed Gaelic as Scottish and forgot that the spelling is same for Irish Gaelic...