Norwegian Ghost Folklore

The Draugen

The word Draugen is derived from the Norse “draugr” it is used traditionally to denote ghosts.

The Draugen is a wicked water ghost entity. They are said to be the ghosts of sailors or fishermen who lost their lives at sea. 

They then are doomed to haunt the waves. In these tales any man who takes to the sea dreads meeting up with this entity.

The Draugen is described as being monstrous in size covered in seaweed. He is seen only after dark during stormy seas. He is always seen rowing the remnants of his shattered boat. The legend states that the unlucky sailors that encounter him are first alerted to his presence by his terrible screams.

If sailors encounter the Draugen, it will drag their boats down to the depths of the sea and the men on board will all drown. Some of these unfortunate victims are then condemned to become Draugens.

There is only one way to escape this terrible fate. The sailor or sailors must reach the shore before the Draugen. But in one classic Draugen tale even though the sailor wins the race to the beach, the Draugen continues to pursue him.

This sailor out of desperation enters a dark churchyard and beseeches the spirits of the dead to protect him. Unfortunately, he is never seen again, but the next day the townsfolk find all the graves in this churchyard empty and covered in seaweed.

Today the Draugen is often associated with anything dark or mysterious about the sea. It is a well known mythical entity or “creature” from Northern Norway.

The Sea-Spirits

For almost 1000 years, it is believed "Old Norwegian Sea Chiefs" still haunt the furthermost coastlines of Norway’s remote isles.

All these spirits lost their lives at sea.

Their boats are seen rising out of stormy waves only to dip down again into oblivion.

It is believed if a person can catch a glimpse of these proud Norwegian forefathers it will bring them good luck.

But seeing them also brings sadness and a sense of loneliness, for these sailors, are doomed to search for a safe harbor to berth their vessels.

These tales always end tragically for the sea-spirits are never welcomed with open arms--so it is their fate to be always searching.

Norwegian Ghost Tale

A good collection of ghost folktales from Norway were first written down over 200 years ago. 

Several of these originated after the Black Plague had devastated the country. This disease hit Norway harder than the rest of Europe. The result was many of the tales that came out of this period of Norway's history were still being told in the 1800s. 

The following tale, The Midnight Mass of the Dead * is one of these stories.

It was late one Christmas Eve as Adelina sat by her fire; she hoped the firelight would help keep her awake. She wanted to attend the Midnight Mass. But the fire’s warmth had the opposite effect--it lulled her to sleep. She did not wake until she heard the village’s church bells ringing for the start of Mass.

In a panic she ran out of house and down the snow-laden hill. She arrived at the church just as the Mass started. She took a seat and focused upon the priest who stood on the altar.  

She had trouble concentrating as a feeling that something was amiss overtook her. With every breath she exhaled the church seemed to become colder and colder. She noticed that the other parishioners that sat near her seemed pale and motionless.

She wondered at the quiet joyless responses they gave the priest. At Christmas normally people were happy. Halfway through the Mass a feeling of horror clouded her thoughts as she realized what was wrong. 

Everyone that she had recognized in the various pews were villagers who had died. Now she sat frozen afraid to move looking neither left or right.

She felt several sets of eyes glaring at her as many of the dead around her started to grumble under their breath. Shortly before the priest gave his last blessing a neighbor she recognized approached her. This lady had died a few weeks before. 

She took Adelina by the arm and whispered frantically, “You must leave.” Terrified Adelina stayed frozen in place. The neighbor shook her and said, “Go now, before the priest ends his prayer.” “They will kill you.”

Coming to her senses she fled the church and ran up the hill quickly as ghostly footfalls seemed to pursue her. She had no trouble staying awake till sunrise. The next day as she entered the village church only the living were inside and she was able to stay until the Mass ended.

*  Scandinavian Folktales, translated by Jacqueline Simpson

Norway: The Bloody Monk

Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway. Within this city sits one of Europe’s oldest and largest stone churches. The Nidaros Cathedral or “Nidarosdomen” in Norwegian is a medieval cathedral built in 1070. It was restored in 1814. 

Photograph: Morten Dreier

This church is the result of many craftsmen who spent their entire lives working on it. Norway’s most famous ghost haunts the Nidaros Cathedral.

Several generations of Norwegians have seen the ghost of a bloody monk in this cathedral. Like most good ghost stories there are legends about this monk as well as a real haunting. 

One reliable witness account was printed in the newspaper, Aftenposten in 1930. A bishop’s wife by the name of Marie Gieditsch during a church service in 1924 saw a most unusual sight. As the priest was singing a hymn, she saw an apparition of a medieval monk first standing in an archway in the cathedral. This figure’s sad bright blue eyes locked with hers.

“He had a tonsure and wore monks robe. His face was beautiful, with sharp lines and glowing eyes. The monk walked right through one of the choir members attending the mass. While the priest was in front of the altar, the monk moved behind him.”

Alarmed Marie saw this figure place its hands around the priest’s throat and begin to choke him. Others in the church saw his hands encircle the priest’s neck, but they did not see the rest of him.

“Then he raised his head, and the woman (Marie) saw that he had a stripe of blood on his throat.”

Marie repelled by the sight of blood dripping from his slashed throat averted her eyes downward only to look up a moment later to see the monk standing in the area near the church archway again. Despite the blood, she described him as being young and very good looking.

“I looked back up, the monk was standing with his arms crossed then he just disappeared.”

The priest who conducted the service later stated he had gotten a feeling of desperation, and then a sense that something was stuck in his throat. Part of the legend is that Marie also saw this apparition remove its head from its bloody body before it disappeared.

Various witnesses over the years have seen this monk in the cathedral, in the smaller chapels and also outside near the cemetery. 

Yet other church members have seen this monk’s hands reach out and choke other people. It seems this is how he shows his displeasure with people he does not like. Some claim they have even conversed with this ghostly monk.

Recent accounts also mention inexplicable chanting and organ music is heard coming from the Nidaros cathedral late at night.

Another ongoing phenomenon in this church is seen in one small basement room. This room is so low people cannot stand upright in it. 

Photographer: Steve Cadman

Early in the cathedral’s history, the basement was used as a tomb for prominent figures from Trondheim. Ever since people have spotted rose petals scattered across this small room’s floor. 

When recent witnesses have inquired about these petals, they are told that they just appear. It seems once a week fresh rose petals appear and the wilted ones disappear. No one knows who does this. The entrance to this room is always kept barred and locked.

This ghost story about this monk is so popular in Norway that it was made into a television series and it inspired Frid Ingulstad’s novel The Monk, 1991.

One footnote--after I published this post--DeviantArt the largest online community of artists held a contest to see who could draw the "Bloody Monk." They also gave me linkbacks which were wonderful. Here are just two of the art pieces that were drawn--