The darkest and most dangerous times of the year have just started for the Nordic people. “Mørketiden” were no joke in the old times, before electricity and modern comfort. Everyone way back then had to be extra careful while also pleasing the underworld, as they were the most active up until Christmas. Being alone and unguarded could potentially mean evil spirits kidnapping you, destroying your house or kill your livestock.
Let’s present some of the scariest folklore everyone in the Nordics have heard of since childhood:
Mara — the mare who was sitting on you
From Germanic and Slavic folklore appears a female demon named Mare or Mara, in Norwegian she names the word for nightmare “mareritt” — or “mare riding”. She sat on topof the person or animal having a nightmare either choking them, pressing on their chest, or rode them. Mara was an old, unmarried woman turned into a demon who revisited people to haunt them. To protect oneself from this animal-like haunting demon, people used steel, “marekvist” which is a branch that grows tightly together on birch trees, a phenomena caused by the fungus Taphrina. This branch was hung over doors to attract the Mara to it, as she preferred the branch over people.
Nøkken — the water spirit
To keep your family members from drowning was quite necessary. Parents could not pay attention to their offspring at all times, especially not if the children were sent of to herd the livestock in outside of the farm. How to solve that problem? Scare them away from the water! The story everyone heard was about a water spirit living near all forms of water, who could shapeshift or even scream in advance of a drowning which only the person who will drown will hear. The water nix “Nøkken” have been written about since the Nordic Middle Ages, as in the shape of a grey stallion rising from the sea, an old grey man with huge eyes, a log, bird, or a beautiful man or woman. In Sweden the water nix often comes in the shape of a white horse, who silently grasses next to a lake. If people would sit on the back of the horse, it would dive into the water and drown the victims. In Norway there are tales of the nix appearing in the shape of a beautiful person, who lures the victim into the water and drown them. The water nix were especially dangerous after sunset, and if a you came to a lake you could protect yourself by yelling out: “Nykk, Nykk! Needle in the water. Virgin Mary threw steel into the water. You sank! I float!”
Should you be lured by a shapeshifting Nøkken who is trying to pull you into the water to drown, you can scream it’s name. Then the nix will release you. But it will not guarantee your safety anyway, as Nøkken do not forget you and will scream back “The time is ready, but not the man!” A person saved from drowning by Nøkken would be very thirsty and desperately asking to drink after the event. Should that person get to drink water however, he or she will die.
Draug — a dead man who drowned
the sea and it’s dangers were known to people, and relying on warning signs of bad weather were crucial. Sometimes the weather was not enough, and you had to look for other signs of bad or evil coming your way. The “Draugen” or “draugr” were of such, an evil spirit who once was a man that died at sea and never came to be buried in Christian soil. He would appear to the the fishermen dressed in fishing clothes with seaweed as hair, sailing in a broken boat. If you saw him, someone would die pretty soon.
Lussi — the dark version of St.Lucia
Right before Christmas, Lussi made sure that the Christmas celebrations were going well. The evil spirit is the flipside of the Catholic Saint of St.Lucia, and is thought to derive from the demon Lilith. The solistice around 13th of December was her most active day: she could punish the farm or the women preparing for Christmas if she was not happy about the progress. Women who were baking could have their hands paralyzed, or loose a hand. Which is why all types of work that involved objects that rolled or spun should have been finished by 13th of December. If not, the pipe could be destroyed, or she could steal the horses for her carriage of steel which she rode in. She was described to be a big, ugly woman and/or a creature with a horn in her forehead. To protect your animals and house, a farmer could paint a wooden cross in tar on the buildings.
In Western and South-Western Norway it was custom for young men to dress up and take a trick-or-treat walk around in the villages of December 12th. They dressed up as an old woman in skirts, apron and a shawl with a wooden horn in the forehead, or a slaughtered calf mask. The joy was to scare old people or children, and knock on doors to get a snack. “To walk Lussi” is still common in these areas, but replacing the scary part with more Christmas-themed costumes.
Who is your favourite?
