A while back I wrote an article for an online magazine, introducing some of the various supernatural beings of the Norse myths; whilst a lot of them are post-Christian they all have their roots in the Scandinavian folklore. Whilst I dont go into too much detail on each, this was meant to inspire an interest in a mainly American audience with little to no insight in Scandinavian (or indeed European) folklores: Näcken - The Fiddler of the Stream. This supernatural spirit can be found in streams, lakes and swamplands; it often takes the shape of a naked man but can take many other forms, not uncommonly a horse. When in the shape of a man, he will sit upon a stone in the water, playing on a violin or key fiddler; his unearthly music will allure and tempt anyone who hears his melody and put them in a trance. Those under his spell will then dance to his polka, but before the song ends they will have danced into the waters and drowned. When in the shape of a horse, he often travels short bits from the stream, often to lure children into trying to ride the seemingly friendly creature - but once theyre sat upon his back he will ride so fast that they will have no choice but to hold onto him to avoid falling off and injure themselves; he will then ride into the waters and bring those he carried with him beneath the surface, never to be seen again. Skogsfrun - The Lady of the Forest. Also known as; Vittra, or Huldra, she is a peculiar forest nymph. Charcoal burners, lumberers and hunters alike had to keep out a watchful eye for the lady of the forest; she would appear as a respectable and charming lady who could sometimes bless those who came across her - but she could also be very dangerous if angered or just in the mood for some mischief. A common legend is of how she would approach a coaler guarding his mill and offer to spend the night with him in his hut, and then watch the fire for him. This may be seen as a test of faith, for she is indeed described as a wonderful woman - but some warn that sleeping with her may cost your soul, and once having been in her arms one could never wrestle out of his obsession for her. If she encounters more than one man she would often play a mean prank on them; her voice would echo through the forest, speaking of how she would now stretch or cut one of them to make them the same height - a truly painful process of course; fire was one way to protect oneself from her, iron was always a way to ward off evil but when it comes to the Huldra the best way to avoid trouble would simply to be polite. Shes known for having no sense of humour and easily taking offence, in which case you would most certainly be in for some trouble. Whilst always described as beautiful, she is said to have a dense tail and if seen from behind, she will appear as a rotten and hollowed piece of lumber. The Draug, or Draugr - The Scandinavian answer to revenants and vampires. As with most Norse creatures, however, this is not a subtle and charming creature that will seduce the living. There are two well known tales of Draugr; In the first, we meet a young herder who every day would go out to watch his sheep. Near his fields towers the burial mound of an infamous warlord who met a brutal and violent death; his spirit haunted the local area and almost every afternoon the herder would be chased home by a screaming reventant, appearing as a flayed and decayed man. Every day the herder would be just quick enough to make it through the doorway of his home and come into safety - but one day his family only hears the screaming of the ghoul approach from the distance, and then silence. The boy was never seen or heard from again. Another tale is of two warriors who swore an oath, that if one were to be wronged, the other would defend him; if one were killed, the other would watch over his grave for three nights and then protect the others family. After many years of plundering, one of the men died and, as promised, his friend brings him back home and buries him, watching over him for three nights. The first night, the Draugr rises from his mound and kills the dogs, devouring them whole. The second night, the Draugr rises again and this time tears large pieces of flesh out of the horses, eating them alive. On the third night, the watcher is so very tired from his restless watch and finally shuts his eyes - only to be thrown back into wakefulness by having his ears ripped off; the last thing he sees is his friends standing over him, ready to eat him. The Draugr are known for their restlessness, their greed and their insatiable hunger. They could change their appearance and size, taking great pleasure in growing tall as the trees to slowly crush people or chasing animals or people in guise of fiendish ghouls, hunting them until they would die of exhaustion. Another version of Draugr is that of returned mariners; they prey on sailors and terrorize settlements along the shores of the sea. They appear as partially decayed, often with a discolored hue in their skin from their submerged afterlife - twisted and adorned by kelps and seaweeds. The Myrling - Ghosts of murdered or un-baptized children. If an unmarried woman had a child, she would often kill the baby. These children would often return to haunt people. One tale tells us of a tailor who sits working late at night when his candle light flickers out. He hears childrens laughter and soon discovers a spectral child in his workshop. The child doesnt appear harmful, but tells of how he cant go to sleep and how he misses his mother. The tailor manages to trick the juvenile wraith to tell him where his resting place lies and, the next morning he finds the skeletal remains of a child under the threshold of his workshop. A priest is called for to bless the remains to allow the spirit to rest in peace. Some say that if the mother were to encounter the spirit of her wronged child, the consequences could be brutal and deadly. Nattramnen - The Night Raven. The souls of people who had taken their own lives were said to be lost until the end of the world and its resurrection; one way for these souls to travel the world was in the shape of a large, demonic raven. These creatures were ill omens, seeing one almost certainly meant death would follow you, hearing one meant someone would soon die or that a plague was soon to erupt. One tale tells of how, to avoid the torture of Hel or Satan, the Night Raven would have to send them a new soul every decade. The person would have to share the same birthday date as the undead. Three nights before the victims birthday, the raven would appear outside their bedroom window and claw against the pane. If the victim knew what they were dealing with, or if they could consult a wise person, they would have one and only one chance to ward themselves from certain doom; Five nails from a buried coffin, and a bag of dirt from a graveyard. One would have to, on the final night before the birthday, draw a protective circle around the bed with the dirt - this would allow some protection for when the Raven would enter the room and hopefully give you enough time to finish the ward. To do this you would have to hammer the nails into the head of your bed, putting them in the pattern of a cross. If you did this in time the Raven would be dispelled; but if you failed your soul would be forever lost.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 18:16:17 +0000