Ghost Upon the Floor

Tonight, we continue a seasonal series, exploring the darker side of Christmas. In this season of the darkest nights of the year and ancient traditions celebrating the passing of the season, those of us who are lucky enough to have haunted hearts appreciate the darker, creepy and sometimes terrifying aspects of the winter holiday-- some of which could not be more a part of the Christmas holiday in their own right.

Before we leave Iceland, one more scare of Christmas that lurks there is too good to leave behind. That is the myth of the Yule Cat. 



 According to Icelandic legend, at Christmastime, the Yule Cat lurks in the woods. The monster is a gigantic cat, who exists mainly to eat people who have not received new clothes in time to wear for Christmas Eve. Popular legend also links the cat to Gryla as, of course, her pet house cat. While Gryla was popularizred as a cautionary tale for badly behaved children, the myth of the Yule Cat has been viewed as a cautionary tale to spur productivity in clothing workers, to process the autumn season's wool before Christmas.

Picture Credit: http://themonsterguys.com/tag/yule-cat/

Tonight, we continue a seasonal series, exploring the darker side of Christmas. In this season of the darkest nights of the year and ancient traditions celebrating the passing of the season, those of us who are lucky enough to have haunted hearts appreciate the darker, creepy and sometimes terrifying aspects of the winter holiday-- some of which could not be more a part of the Christmas holiday in their own right.


 For our next scare of Christmas, we remain in Icelandic mythology-- and on the mischevious child-eating Gryla's own family tree. The Yule Lads are a group of 15 unique troll creatures who commit their deeds year round and especially on Christmas. And they just so happen to be Gryla's children, although the legend of Gryla and the Yule Lads existed independently for centuries before they came to be associated as family. 

 Unlike their mother, who abducts, devours and makes stews out of children, the Yule Lads are-- while their own individual brand of creepy -- not as brutal as their mother. Like a demented take on Snow White's seven dwarves, the Yule Lads, each with a name and a certain fascination, are quite the crew. 

 There is Stekkjastaur, who has peg legs and harasses sheep; Askasleikir, who hides under beds and steals bowls; Gattapefur, who uses his large nose to sniff out laufabraud, a type of bread to steal; Gillagaur, who steals milk from cows, Hurdaskellir, who slams doors during the night; Ketkrokur, who has a hook he uses to steal meat; Stufur, who steals pans; Skyrgamur, who steals skyr, a kind of Icelandic strained yogurt; Kertasnikir, who steals candles from children; Pvorusieikir, who steals wooden spoons to lick; Bjugnakraekir, who hides in rafters and steals sausages; Pottasiekir, who steals leftovers from pots; Gluggagegir, who looks through people's windows for things to steals; and, finally, Leppaludi, who is Gryla's husband. 

 And here they are all, explained in a graph from iceland.is. 

Tonight, we continue a seasonal series, exploring the darker side of Christmas. In this season of the darkest nights of the year and ancient traditions celebrating the passing of the season, those of us who are lucky enough to have haunted hearts appreciate the darker, creepy and sometimes terrifying aspects of the winter holiday-- some of which could not be more a part of the Christmas holiday in their own right.


 The Seventh Scare of this Christmas is a drastic departure from the kindly old, gift-giving lady of the Befana. Readers, meet Gryla, an Icelandic giantess of myth, whose legend dates back to at least the thirteenth century. Her legend last for centuries, and became associated with Christmas sometime during the seventeenth century, when she became known as the mother of the Yule Lads, who will be chronicled in their own post here at the 12 Scares of Christmas. 

 Gryla's legend dates back to the "Edda," which was a thirteenth century written account of Old Norse prose and poetry, which is the main source of what we know today as Old Norse mythology. The legend of Gryla, as it was come to be known, goes something like this. Throughout the year, from her mountain cave home, Gryla can detect misbehaving, bad children. At Christmas she comes out of her home to eat bad children. End of story. Gryla eats children. As evidenced in this painting below.