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The Vitterfolk Trolls
Main article: huldra
The second tradition is most prominent in southern Scandinavia. Conversely, what would be called trolls in southern Sweden and Denmark would be called huldrefolk in Norway and vitterfolk in northern Sweden. The south-Scandinavian term probably originate in a generalization of the terms haugtrold (mound-troll) or bergtroll (mountain-troll), as trolls in this tradition are residents of the underground.
These trolls have a human-like appearance. Sometimes they had a tail hidden in their clothing, but even that is not a definite. Many of these trolls had a single lock of hair that no human could comb, whereas the rest was generally messy. A frequent way of telling a human-looking troll in folklore is to look at what it is wearing: Troll women in particular were often too elegantly dressed to be human women moving around in the forest. They could attract human males to do their bidding, or simply as mates or pets. Later these would be found wandering, decades later, with no memory of what had happened to them in a troll woman's care.
More often than not, though, the trolls kept themselves invisible, and then they could travel on the winds, such as the wind-troll Ysätters-Kajsa, or sneak into human homes. Sometimes you could only hear them speak, shout and make noise, or the sound of their cattle. Similarly, if you were out in the forest and smelled food cooking, you knew you were near a troll dwelling. The trolls were also great shapeshifters, taking shapes of objects like fallen logs or animals like cats and dogs. A fairly frequent notion is that the trolls liked to appear as rolling balls of yarn.
Whereas the large, ogrish trolls often appear as a solitary being, the "small" trolls were thought to be social beings who lived together, much like humans except out in the forest. They kept animals, cooked and baked, were excellent at crafts and held great feasts. Like many other species in Scandinavian folklore, they were said to reside in underground complexes, accessible from underneath large boulders in the forests or in the mountains. These boulders could be raised upon pillars of gold. In their living quarters, they hoard gold and treasures. Opinion varied as to whether or not the trolls were thoroughly bad or not, but often they treated people as they were treated. Trolls could cause great harm if vindictive or playful, though, and regardless of other things they were always heathen. Trolls were also great thieves, and liked to steal from the food that the farmers had stored. They could enter the homes invisibly during feasts and eat from the plates so that there was not enough food, or spoil the making of beer and bread so that it failed or did not end up plentiful enough.
The trolls sometimes abducted people to live as slaves or at least prisoners among them. These poor souls were known as bergtagna ("those taken to/by the mountain"), which also is the Scandinavian word for having been spirited away. To be bergtagen does not only refer to the disappearance of the person, but also that upon returning, he or she has been struck with insanity or apathy caused by the trolls. Anyone could be taken by the trolls, even cattle, but at the greatest risk were women who had given birth but not yet been taken back to the church.
Occasionally, the trolls would even steal a new-born baby, leaving their own offspring �?a (bort)byting ("changeling") �?in return.
To ward off the trolls you could always trust in Christianity: Church bells, a cross or even words like "Jesus" or "Christ" would work against them. Like other Scandinavian folklore creatures they also feared steel. Apart from that they were hunted by Thor, one of the last remnants of the old Norse mythology, who threw Mjolnir, his hammer, causing lightning bolts to kill them. Though Mjolnir was supposed to return to Thor after throwing, these hammers could later be found in the earth (actually Stone Age axes) and be used as protective talismans. |
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VODNIK: Water Demon from Russia.
When a man or boy falls into a lake or pond and drowns, their spirit becomes a VODNIK. He's green, bloated, scary and very unfriendly.
Unable to come to terms with his drowning, VODNIK takes it out on the rest of humanity. Don't go swimming in his pond �?he'll grab your legs and pull you under to keep him company for the rest of eternity.
We are told by those in the know that VODNIK can be appeased taking your cap off as you pass his pond. Say hello in a cheery respectful voice. If you don't have a cap, offer him a fish. If you don't have a fish, you may be in trouble as he will tear your fishing net to pieces. |
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VOLADORA
A Witch who can turn herself into a bird to become a sorcerers messenger. In order to fly and avoid recognition by humans she slims down by vomiting her intestines into a pan leaving them well hidden in the forest and takes on the shape of a bird. She can fly without a magic stick. Some believe that Voladora actually remains on the ground whilst the devil flies for her.
This nocturnal messenger fills the air with unpleasant cries or hysterical laughing. Her missions end at dawn when she must land and retrieve her intestines in order to regain human form. If she fails to find them she is condemned to remain in this form for the rest of her life, which will not be long.
The cry of Voladora is like that of a wounded animal or grieving woman. A neighborhood may hear it like the cry of a bird it will leave a legacy of bad luck and death. |
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Russian Myths:
The Water Snake
I found this story of a girl marrying a water snake in a large book of Russian myths.
In the depths of a lake, a human girl lived with her snake husband, who in the water took the form of a man, for many years. One day she asked to visit her mother and her husband agreed. He took her and their children to the surface and said, "When you wish to return, come to the lake and call 'Joseph, Joseph, come and fetch me.'"
During the visit, her mother asked how she was to get back to her husband. The daughter explained little knowing her mother's plan.
That night, her mother when to the lake with an ax and called, "'Joseph, Joseph, come and fetch me." When the snake appeared she cut off his head. Of course, she did not tell her daughter about this.
The next day, when the girl returned to the lake and called, her husband did not appear. After a time she found a head floating in the water and realized what had happened.
"My mother has killed him," she said.
Using the magic she had learned from the snake people, she turned herself and her children into birds.
I found this story of a girl marrying a water snake in a large book of Russian myths.
In the depths of a lake, a human girl lived with her snake husband, who in the water took the form of a man, for many years. One day she asked to visit her mother and her husband agreed. He took her and their children to the surface and said, "When you wish to return, come to the lake and call 'Joseph, Joseph, come and fetch me.'"
During the visit, her mother asked how she was to get back to her husband. The daughter explained little knowing her mother's plan.
That night, her mother when to the lake with an ax and called, "'Joseph, Joseph, come and fetch me." When the snake appeared she cut off his head. Of course, she did not tell her daughter about this.
The next day, when the girl returned to the lake and called, her husband did not appear. After a time she found a head floating in the water and realized what had happened.
"My mother has killed him," she said.
Using the magic she had learned from the snake people, she turned herself and her children into birds. |
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