Believe Norway’s huge mountains and sprawling fjords will safeguard you from the werewolf? Think again.
Picture the scene. You’re on holiday in Norway, breathing in the fresh mountain air and totally welcoming the national principle of friluftsliv, the outdoors lifestyle.
< img data-lazyloaded =" 1" data-placeholder-resp =" 768x432" src= "https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know.jpg" decoding=" async" width =" 768 "height =" 432" alt=" Werewolf moon image in Norway. "class=" wp-image-73871 "data-sizes ="( max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" srcset=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-5.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-6.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/werewolf-full-moon-norway-image.jpg 2000w" >
< img decoding =" async" width =" 768" height=" 432 "src =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know.jpg "alt= "Monster full moon image in Norway. "class= "wp-image-73871" srcset= "https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-5.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-6.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/werewolf-full-moon-norway-image.jpg 2000w" sizes ="( max-width: 768px )100vw, 768px" >
Possibly you’re treking to Trolltunga or following the Old King’s Road, surrounded by fantastic surroundings and sensation more revitalized with every action. Or possibly you’re camping in Lofoten
or Jotunheimen National forest, sitting around a bonfire under the stars. Perhaps the northern lights are even dancing over your head. It’s best. Till it isn’t. An abrupt noise breaks through your comfort: an abnormal, pointed rustle of trees from the close-by forest or a heavy, purposeful thump. You leap and whirl around.Seeing nothing,you turn back, laughing at yourself a little; it
‘s the wilderness, naturally there are going to be weird sounds. Now you believe of it, there’s no sound at all
- anymore. All the sounds of nature have actually vanished and only the suffocating silence stays, making even the soft crackle of your bonfire
- or the smothered thud of your footsteps uncomfortably loud in comparison.< img data-lazyloaded =" 1" data-placeholder-resp=" 768x346" src=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-1.jpg "decoding =" async" width =” 768″ height =” 346″ alt= “Nordic campsite illustration.” class=” wp-image-73876″ data-sizes= “( max-width: 768px )100vw, 768px “srcset= “https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-1.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-7.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-8.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/nordic-campsite-illustration.jpg 1600w” >
< img decoding=" async" width= "768" height= "346" src =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-1.jpg" alt=
” Nordic camping site illustration.” class =” wp-image-73876″ srcset= “https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-1.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-7.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-8.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/nordic-campsite-illustration.jpg 1600w “sizes=” (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px “> The noise comes again, more detailed this time, and when you turn, you spot something darting out of the shadows and across the landscape towards you.
Something huge. Something quick. Nearly naturally, you race to a huge stone nearby and clamber up on top of it, only simply handling to pull your foot securely out of reach prior to it reaches you. A massive wolf leaps up at the stone, its jaws snapping extremely, blood on its mind and death on its breath. This is no regular wolf. This is a hamløper, a varulv …
a werewolf. Monster 101 If you asked somebody to describe a monster, they would probably discuss at least one of these qualities: Monsters look like normal people most of the time, only to turn into an enormous wolf-like beast during a full moon, Werewolves can just be harmed by silver (a silver bullet is typically the most practical solution ), Werewolves can change other individuals into werewolves by biting them. While all of these qualities originate from twentieth century
Hollywood( for instance, The Wolf Guy and An American Monster in London), the werewolf itself has actually been a staple of European folklore since the ancient Greeks, and similar to the nature of the monster, werewolf tradition varies from nation to country.< img data-lazyloaded =" 1" data-placeholder-resp=" 768x432" src=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-2.jpg" decoding=" async" width=" 768" height=" 432" alt=" Wolf symbol on a tree in Norway." class=" wp-image-73877" data-sizes="( max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" srcset=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-2.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-9.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-10.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wolf-emblem-on-tree-in-norway.jpg 1600w" >< img decoding=" async" width=" 768" height=" 432" src=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-2.jpg" alt=" Wolf symbol on a tree in Norway." class=" wp-image-73877" srcset=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-2.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-9.jpg 300w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-10.jpg 1536w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wolf-emblem-on-tree-in-norway.jpg 1600w" sizes="( max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" > Werewolves aren’t as common in Norwegian folklore as these other animals, including the nisse, the hulder and the troll. Nor did Norway have any monster trials like France or Germany. Do not start thinking that this implies there are no monsters in Norway. They’re simply better at hiding. Tigers and lions and( were) bears, oh my! In Norwegian folklore, the werewolf or” varulv” is a type of shapeshifter or” hamløper”. Other kinds of shapeshifter consist of the” mannbjørn”( lit. man bear) and, in Danish folklore, the” valravn
“( raven of the killed). Werewolf stories comprise a handful of tales in the University of Oslo’s Norwegian Folklore Archives. The general story is that a
husband and wife are out working in the fields together when the husband (totally randomly and not at all suspiciously )tells the better half what to do if she unexpectedly experiences a huge wolf or bear, before disappearing. Quickly after, a massive wolf/bear attacks her, and the other half defends herself, hurting
the animal while doing so. The other half then comes back, bearing a mark where the wife harmed the animal– confirming that it was him. Naturally, there are variations to this story. For instance, in many cases, the husband
offers the better half no caution at all prior to vanishing and after that attacking her– which I, personally, would think about grounds for divorce. Learn more: Creatures in Norse Folklore A lot of the time, it’s not discussed how the husband became a monster. According to one story( SIN1168), monsters are either cursed by somebody else or actually a wizard themselves.< img data-lazyloaded= "1" data-placeholder-resp=" 768x566" src =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-3.jpg" decoding=" async" width=" 768" height=" 566 "alt=" Red monster illustration." class =" wp-image-73879" data-sizes ="( max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" srcset =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-3.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-11.jpg 300w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/werewolf-red-illustration.jpg 1200w" >
< img decoding=" async "width=" 768" height =" 566 "src =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-3.jpg "alt =" Red werewolf illustration.
” class =” wp-image-73879 “srcset=” https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-3.jpg 768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-11.jpg 300w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/werewolf-red-illustration.jpg 1200w” sizes=” (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px” > Norwegian werewolves do not require the moon to become beasts– but they can begin to end up being more hazardous and “wolflike” in the evening. While they can’t control their modification, they can sometimes sense when it happens (and ideally let their poor spouses understand). They put on a real animal skin when they alter. As such
, you can cure a werewolf by finding the skin and
burning or stabbing
it. Men are werewolves; women are problems Monsters in Norwegian folklore are
often guys. Pregnant and” fertile “ladies seem to be the most at risk fromwerewolf attacks. Norwegian folklore does have a female shapeshifter: the mare. The mare is a sinister being whose name comes from the Norwegian word “mareritt “( nightmare). She sits on her victim’s chest while they’re sleeping and abuses them with bad dreams. Stories about the mare are really similar to stories about the werewolf. The myths are so interconnected that in Danish folklore, it’s said that while a pregnant lady who crawled through a colt’s membrane would have a pain-free birth, her child would be a mare if it was a woman and a monster if it was a young boy.
Werewolf folklore The Norse legends have actually been a huge influence on werewolf folklore in Norway. There are a number of instances of individuals being described as” hamrammar” (lit. shape strong), who can turn into something else. This is more of a magical power than a curse, as a hamrammr can change into an animal at will. The
legends likewise discuss the “beserkir”( lit. bear coats– berserkers ), who are warriors who end up being so concentrated on fight that they essentially develop into animals. This is where the expression” to freak out”(” hamask” in Old Norse) comes from. < img decoding =" async" width =" 768" height=" 513 "src=" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-4.jpg" alt =" A wild wolf in Norway." class =" wp-image-73881" srcset =" https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-4.jpg
768w, https://everythingviking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/norse-mythology-the-werewolf-in-norway-everything-you-need-to-know-12.jpg 300w, https://www.lifeinnorway.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wild-wolf-in-norway.jpg 1200w “sizes=” (max-width: 768px )100vw, 768px” > A wolf in Norway. The” ulfhedinn” (lit. wolf cape) were a type of berserker that handled the elements of a wolf in fight rather of a bear. Going beserk was closely related to shapeshifting. Nevertheless, as Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir keeps in mind, there is an essential distinction
between them:” The condition is therefore psychological when it comes to the berserk, however physical when it comes to werewolves and other shape-shifters.” That isn’t to state that the lines don’t blur. Werewolves in the Norse sagas Among the most popular sagas featuring monsters is Egils legend.
The saga begins in 9th century Sogn, Norway, with Ulf Bjalfason. He is referred to as both a” hamrammar
” and an” ulfhednar”, and while he’s frequently in high spirits in the morning, he gets increasingly more sullen in the evening, offering him the name” Kveldulf”( lit.” night wolf “).
Ulf’s child Grimr is of a similar nature. At one point, the family is playing games, and Grimr starts weak because he’s a senior male. But
as the evening goes on, he gets more powerful and wilder, up until he practically kills his own son, Egill, in a fit of unmanageable rage. Egill, for whom the saga is called, also inherits these qualities as a berserker. None of these guys are clearly referred to as werewolves, and their wolfish traits may be descriptors of their behaviours or mindsets. Nevertheless, there does appear to be some physical modification– at least in regards to their strength. Werewolves in modern-day Norway Werewolves don’t have nearly the very same cultural influence in Norway as other fairy tale animals– such as trolls. That stated, as a few months after the release of Troll, Netflix released another Norwegian fantasy movie: Viking Wolf. The film is embeded in Telemark, and concentrates on a teenage lady called Thale, who starts acting strangely after being bitten by an unusual animal, and her law enforcement officer mom, who’s investigating some gruesome deaths in their town. In spite of being a Norwegian film, it adheres to a lot of the Hollywood-established tropes about werewolves– from contagious bites to silver bullets. Personally, I ‘d be much more interested in seeing more stories based on actual werewolf folklore– especially if it cultivates interest in Norway’s own decreasing wolf population, which are now considered to
be critically threatened. A final word about wilderness security If you go hiking in the Norwegian wilderness( and I highly advise you do ), it’s unlikely that you’ll experience a real wolf, not to mention a werewolf. You ought to still take the appropriate precautions before setting out.
Nature is full of adequate risks without needing fairytale ones. Were you shocked by any of the werewolf stories? Has your spouse ever mysteriously deserted you in a field minutes prior to you were assaulted by an enormous wolf? Did you divorce him directly
- after? Let us know in the comments!
- after? Let us know in the comments!