In the summer of 2025, a Norwegian subscriber generously sent me a fascinating Norwegian-language book by Swedish illustrator and author Johan Egerkrans, the title of which translates to Supernatural and Underworld Beings from Folklore. This 2019 publication contains written descriptions and spectacular illustrations of various preternatural entities of Scandinavian tradition.
While scanning and translating the pages of this hardcover, I was struck by some of the uncanny similarities between the boreal monsters of old Nordic legend, which Egerkrans so enchantingly rendered in paint and prose, and the Canadian stories I had researched over the years. In this piece, we will examine some of the parallels between the preternatural entities of Scandinavian folklore and their legendary counterparts from the Great White North.
Alver
The first class of supernatural beings which Egerkrans included in his book are the Vetter, which appear to be elemental spirits associated with particular forces of nature. The first Vetter listed are the Alver, or Elves, which the author described as diminutive shapeshifters with the ability to shield themselves from human eyes. These legendary creatures have many elements in common with the fairies of Newfoundland folklore, abiding in marshes and meadows, and travelling along elf-paths which follow underground streams. Like their Newfoundlandic counterparts, they inflicted illnesses on humans whom they perceived to have wronged them.
The Scandinavian Alver also share an element in common with the dwarves of Iroquoian legend, namely their ability to warp the fabric of time. “Sometimes, they lure passing humans into their dance,” Egerkrans wrote in Norwegian. “These people then lose all sense of time and space, and may discover that years – or even decades – have passed by the time the dance finally ends. Time flows differently in the elves’ world.”
The Alver also share a trait with the dwarves of Kashubian-Canadian legend, said to abide in Ontario’s Madawaska Highlands. Both creatures were believed to leave rings of mushrooms in the earth upon which they had danced.
Nisse
After touching on entities called the Ash Lady and the Mountain Queen, Egerkrans launched into a description of the Nisse, which he regarded as “the best-known of all the hidden folk”. These diminutive gnome-like creatures, clad in grey clothes and red caps, bear great resemblance to the lutins or goblins of French-Canadian tradition. Both creatures were said to watch over farms, play harsh pranks on farmers who offended them, and plait the manes of their favourite horses into finely-woven braids.
Like the dwarves of Cree legend, which are described as excellent and enthusiastic wrestlers, the Nisse were said to far more physically powerful than their tiny frames would suggest.
Havfrue
Next, Egerkrans included a chapter on the Havfrue, or Mermaid – a beautiful woman with long-flowing hair and a fishtail instead of legs, who lived in both freshwater and saltwater. Similar to Canada’s Cree and Algonquian peoples, who traditionally offered gifts of tobacco to the memegwesewak, or water sprites of the lakes and rivers, in the hope of securing calm waters, the Norse gave presents of coins, bread, and woven garments to the Havfrue they encountered, hoping that the water maidens might warn them of impending storms or hazards in the water.
Like the Suyetupi, or Underwater People, of Blackfoot tradition, the Havfrue were believed to live in comfortable humanlike dwellings underwater.
Kjemper
Like the Inuit of Canada’s High Arctic, who have stories about powerful, clumsy, dim-witted giants called Toonijuk, Scandinavians traditionally believed in the existence of colossal, lumbering, stupid men, which they called Kjemper. Both northern peoples contend that the giants were relatively friendly, and regarded humans with casual curiosity, although they sometimes killed them accidentally in their offhand attempts to interact with them. The giants in both the Old World and the New were said to have been more numerous in the ancient past, but gradually retreated to the deep wilderness, where they have not been seen for generations.
Huldra
Another Vetter which appears in Egerkrans’ book is the Huldra, or Forest Spirit – a beautiful but uncanny-looking woman who dwells in the deep woods. Although Egerkrans characterized this entity as a capricious elemental spirit which might help or hinder human travellers in accordance with her own whimsical fancies, he also attributed her with several strangely-specific characteristics which have also been ascribed to the fairies of Newfoundland tradition. Like the Rock’s so-called ‘Good People,’ the Huldra sometimes puts a spell on those who trespass on her domain, causing them to hallucinate and become lost in the woods. “She clouds their vision so they lose their way, wandering in circles,” Egerkrans wrote. “Some never find their way back and vanish forever into the depths of the forest. The only remedy is to turn one’s jacket inside out – then one awakens as if from a dream, and finds the right path again.”
The mysterious compulsion which forces lost woodland travellers to wander aimlessly in a circle is a common motif in Canadian folklore, which Newfoundlanders call being “lost in a fairy ring,” and which French-Canadians refer to as “la folie du bois,” or the “folly of the woods”. Like Scandinavians, Newfoundlanders say that this spell can be broken by turning one’s jacket inside out, which will awaken the sufferer from a trance-like state.
Nokken
While the Huldra held sway over the forest, a male entity called the Nokken haunted inland rivers, streams, lakes, and waterfalls, sharing his domain with the Havrue and another female water sprite called the Sjora. The lonely Nokken pines for human company, and expresses his heartache by making beautiful, mournful music. His delight is to ensnare human travellers and take them with him to his watery lair, where they invariably drown.
This water spirit bears elements in common with the Bukwus, or Wild Man of the Woods, which the Kwakwaka’wakw say haunts the wooded inland streams of Vancouver Island. It also strongly evokes the Kushtaka, or Land Otter Man, of Tlingit and Tahltan folklore, which is said to prey on drowning victims in the Alaskan Panhandle, hypnotically drawing luckless fishermen to their underwater abodes.
Troll
Another of the preternatural denizens of Scandinavian folklore is the troll – a race of manlike creatures that dwell in the deep woods and mountains, living much as humans do. Like the Nakani, or northern wildman, of Canadian Dene tradition, trolls were said to steal human women for wives.
There are two elements of troll folklore which accord perfectly with Newfoundlandic fairy lore. Like the so-called ‘Fair Folk’, trolls were said to steal human infants and leave ugly and cantankerous substitutes in their stead. And, as in Newfoundland tradition, a bereaved parent could force the preternatural kidnapper to restore the original child by threatening to scorch the changeling with a red-hot shovel.
Another commonality between fairy lore and troll tradition is the troll’s ability to put humans under its spell by coercing them into eating its food. Trolls and fairies share this characteristic with the Bukwus of Vancouver Island.
Tusser
Like the Canadian Stoney, Plains Cree, and Wyandot, Scandinavians believed in a race of dwarves who lived in underground caves, which they called the Tusser. Unlike Canada’s legendary subterranean dwarves, however, who were said to live far from human habitations, the Tusser were believed to make their abodes near farms, like the French-Canadian lutins. Like the dwarves of the Madawaska Highlands, they rewarded humans who assisted them with gold coins and other treasures.
Mare
Another class of Scandinavian underworld creatures is the Hamlopere, or shapeshifter – human beings cursed to transform into inhuman creatures. One of these is the Mare, a woman who takes the form of a hideous crone at night as punishment for attempting to prevent the birth of a child. At night, the Mare invades bedrooms and crawls onto the chests of sleeping men to drain them of their life force, being a Scandinavian variation of the succubus or ‘night hag’ common to various folk traditions throughout the Old World.
Similar to the arithmomaniacal vampires of Kashubian-Canadian legend, who cannot leave their graves without counting every grain of sand inside their coffins, the Mare cannot enter a bedroom before counting every strand of horsehair which has been placed in a hymnbook on the bedroom windowsill.
Like the lutin of French-Canadian tradition, the Mare has a penchant for stealing farmers’ horses and riding them throughout the night, returning them before daybreak exhausted and lathered in foam. Like the Nisse, the Mare leaves tangled braids in the manes of the horses she has ridden.
Varulv
Another Hamlopere is the Varulv, or werewolf – a man doomed to transform into a mindless, bloodthirsty wolf at night, either through a dark ritual conducted on his own malicious volition, or by the agency of a curse.
The Varulv has many parallels in Canadian folklore, not only in the European-influenced loup-garou of French-Canadian tradition and the related rougarou of Metis lore, but also in a variety of unrelated First Nations legends across Western and Northern Canada. Indigenous peoples with traditional tales of men that can transform into wolves include the Inuit, Dogrib, Gwich’in, Kaska, Carrier, Nootka, Coast Salish, Stoney, Blackfoot, and Plains Cree.
Lyktemann
Another class of preternatural entity is the Dodsvesener, or Death Creature, which Egerkrans defines as “spirits, ghosts, phantoms specters, [and] revenants… Restless souls who, because of a tragic death, unfinished business, or punishment, cannot find peace in the grave and are doomed to remain on earth.” One of these is the Lyktemann, or Lantern Man. “On dark nights,” the author wrote of this mysterious entity, “one can sometimes glimpse a ghostly flicker of light between the trees. The light can change form and color in an instant. It moves very unpredictably – it may dark forward like lightning, then stop abruptly, change direction, or vanish only to reappear some distance away.”
In Sweden and Denmark, this Lyketmann is believed to be a restless spirit of a dead man who cheated his neighbour out of his land, moving the boundary markers which mark the border of their properties. “As punishment,” Egerkrans wrote, “he finds no rest in the grave, but is doomed to walk along the ‘false’ boundary line for eternity.” Out of malice, the Lantern Man sometimes leads lost travellers astray, leading them into dangerous bogs in the hope of drowning them.
The Lyketmann seems to be a Scandinavian variation of the Will-o’-the-Wisp, a mysterious phantom light sometimes spotted in forests, or hovering over swamps. In Canada, this phenomenon has been observed at night over at least four different stretches of railroad, spawning several classic ghost stories, including the legend of Vancouver’s headless brakeman. It has also been spotted on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, the site of Canada’s longest-running treasure hunt; home to a storied triangular swamp.
Sjoorm
The last category of creature which Egerkrans included in his book is the Uhyrer, or Monster, whose members he described as large, dangerous beings “with more animalistic than human traits.” The author included chapters on uniquely Scandinavian monsters like the Kraken, an immense multi-armed sea monster; the Gravso, a huge dangerous pig that haunts graveyards; the Drage, or dragon, which guards hidden gold; and the Kirkegrim – a frightening animal spirit that watches over certain churches.
One Nordic monster which also appears in Canadian folklore is the Sjoorm, or sea serpent – a giant swimming snake which is said to have haunted the ocean long before Viking longships plied the waters of the North Sea. A similar aquatic serpent is nearly ubiquitous in First Nations tradition, appearing in campfire stories across the country, as well as in settler folktales from Newfoundland, the Maritimes, Canada’s Pacific Coast, and countless inland lakes. Most of the sea serpents of Canadian folklore possess a curious attribute which the Sjoorm of Scandinavia lacks, namely a pair of horns or antlers on its head.
Lindworm
The Lindworm is a similar creature, which Egerkrans described as enormous snake with terrible fangs and a pale, crown-like mane. “The Lindworm is a powerful being,” he wrote, “and eating its flesh was believed to grant magical powers. Lindworm soup was said to provide the ability to glimpse the future, to heal humans, or to converse with birds and beasts. Another method was to keep a Lindworm captive, for it regularly shed its skin, which is imbued with magic power.”
In addition to evoking a giant worm which appears in the traditions of the Inuit, the Gwich’in, the Sahtu Dene, and the Iroquois, the Lindworm is reminiscent of a certain variety of legendary water serpent common to the indigenous traditions of Canada’s West Coast. Known to the Kwakwaka’wakw as the Sisiutl and the Coast Salish as the Seelkee, this slithering monstrosity was said to be imbued with powerful and dangerous medicine which especially gifted shamans could harness, wielding the snakes’ bones, skin, or teeth to effect incredible healing or terrible destruction. Despite its many uncanny similarities with the Lindworm of Scandinavian tradition, this West Coast slalakum, or medicine animal, has one defining characteristic which its Nordic counterpart lacks, namely a second head.
Despite being separated by an ocean and untold degrees of cultural evolution, these complex folkloric traditions on opposite sides of the northern hemisphere address a common set of mysterious phenomena, which they attribute to the workings of preternatural entities. Both contend that wild forests and underground caves are home to elusive beings that can warp the fabric of time; which induce hallucinations in lone travellers, causing them to wander in circles in a trance; which trap their victims in their otherworldly realms by coercing them into eating their food. Both believe that farms are home to diminutive manlike creatures with red caps, which ride farmers’ horses at night, and weave tiny inextricable braids into their manes. And both have stories about mermaids, sea serpents, werewolves, ancient giants, giant worms, and phantom lights. Are these similarities nothing more eerie coincidences, or might there be some truth behind the common belief that dangerous entities beyond human understanding dwell in forests, bogs, waterways, and oceans throughout the Northern Hemisphere?
Sources
Overnaturlige og Underjordiske Vesener Fra Folketroen (2019), by Johan Egerkrans
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