# What supernatural creatures are there in France, Italy, Spain, and Scandinavia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823 "2009-02-21T05:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/1 "2009-02-21T05:47:12Z")
A few months ago I asked for recommendations for books that were encyclopedias of supernatural creatures. I ended up with the **Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures** and **A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits**. They contain a lot of creatures from legends in the UK, the US, South & Central America, Australia, Germany, Russia, the Middle East, and all over Asia and Africa. But Gods aside, I don’t recall finding any references yet to tales of supernatural creatures from France, Italy, Spain or any of the Scandinavian countries. (I say “yet” since I haven’t read the books cover to cover.) It would be rather remarkable if there **weren’t** any such myths and legends from those countries. Does anyone know of some mythical creatures from those countries? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/2 "2009-02-21T06:30:00Z")
Scandinavia has dragons, and the Viking (Norse) Gods. But as Europe pretty much invented the modern fairy tale, I think you can take a cross-section of Germany, the UK, and the Brothers Grimm, and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/3 "2009-02-21T06:59:43Z")
You might find [monstropedia](http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Category:European_mythology) a useful place to start. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/4 "2009-02-21T07:41:57Z")
Tales of the Näcken (or [Neck)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A4cken) in English) is a popular way of scaring children. The Näcken is a enchanted boy like creature that lures women and children to drown in lakes with his enchanted violin playing. Then there’s the [Tomte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomten). A creature similar to the Leprechaun. The traditional Tomte is not to be confused with Santa’s helpers that are also referred to as Tomtes. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/5 "2009-02-21T08:03:20Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Then there’s the [Tomte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomten). A creature similar to the Leprechaun. The traditional Tomte is not to be confused with Santa’s helpers that are also referred to as Tomtes. Tomtes generally fall under the class of “Nisse,” which one can easily confuse with elves (the proper, fairy-tale elves, not the bastardizations that Tolkien perpetrated). Nisse/Elves from Scandinavian fairy-tales are far closer to how leprechauns are portrayed today, but with a stronger resemblance to goblins than anything else. Mischievous tricksters. Norse mythology is, of course, filled with fairy-tale creatures. Ice- and fire-giants (Jotun), overtly large serpents (Jormungard, the Midgard Wyrm) magic rings (Draupne), magic gifts (A golden lock of hair, a ship and the magical spear Gungne), enormous sea creatures (Hafgusa) and so on and so forth. To return for a moment to elves, the word nightmare originates from the germanic/norse term “mareritt.” Literally, ridden by a mare. Mare was the german term for female elves (elfe), who were incredibly posessive, violent when opposed and surpassingly cruel. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/6 "2009-02-21T08:13:40Z")
Supernatural creatures in Norway? _(checks watch)_ Look, how much time do you have? Several races of beings live hidden in Norway, though the taxonomy is a subject of considerable debate. They’re not exactly easy to study, after all. But you’ve heard of trolls, I bet, right? Okay, we’ll start with trolls. Giants, well, some people say giants are just very large trolls, and some people say they’re a separate race. Never met a giant myself so I wouldn’t want to say. They used to fight the old gods, but since no one much believes in the old gods anymore I don’t know if they’re still fighting. The nøkk will try to lure you into fresh water - he may be closely related to the fossegrim, who plays his fiddle behind the waterfalls, or maybe he’s the same sort. Too dangerous to get close to. In any case the nøkk can turn himself into a white horse, but if you jump on his back, you’re lost forever to the river. The draug is the creature that tries to pull you into salt water; you’ll see him in whirlpools and eddies, if you’re brave enough. The huldrer live on land. They’re not the same as trolls, they look much like humans, but if you look closely they have tails, and they’re hollow inside. Mostly we only see the women, and they are beautiful from a distance. They try to lure men to them. If a man can get a huldre woman to come to church and marry him, her tail will fall off, she’ll take on human form, and she’ll be a wonderful wife. But it’s a dangerous game, as she can also draw him into the hidden world. edited to add: I almost forgot the nisse. He lives in barns and lofts, near people, particularly on farms. If people keep him happy, treat him nicely and give him a big bowl of porridge with lots of butter and sugar every Christmas Eve, then the people and the farm will prosper. If he feels mistreated, though, there’s no end to the mischief he can make. Best to keep him happy. In short: don’t wander too far from civilization on your own, if you don’t know what you’re doing. The forests and the highlands have dangers you can’t even see. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/7 "2009-02-21T08:14:48Z")
To quote Terry Pratchett > [@](#): > > Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. > Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. > Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. > Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. > Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. > Elves are terrific. They beget terror. > The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. > No one ever said elves are nice. > Elves are bad. Elves in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/8 "2009-02-21T11:22:09Z")
I suppose this doesn’t count, but Guy de Maupassant invented the Horla in his short story by the same name : [Short Stories: The Horla by Guy de Maupassant](http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Horl.shtml) - an invisible being that can take possession of your body A couple of names I remember from French books (and some found at the french Wikipedia site) Basajaun (Basque Pyrénées region) half-man / half-bear [Basajaun — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basajaun) La bête glatissante (King Arthur’s Questing Beast) originated in a French Arthurian romance [Bête glatissante — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%AAte_glatissante) La serre [Serre (mythologie) — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serre_(mythologie)) - an ocean creature similar to a sawfish but with a saw in the dorsal fin area - the saw is used to destroy boats, then the creature turns into a winged dog or a harpy to pursue the sailors who escaped from the capsized ship. The Beast of Gevaudan [Bête du Gévaudan — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%AAte_du_G%C3%A9vaudan) a wolf-like creature that terrorised a town in 18th-century France ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/9 "2009-02-21T12:50:18Z")
We still have Elves living in some hills out in the countryside and each elfdoom is lead by a Queen. They are evil, wicked creatures (Pratchett was right) and try to tempt you with all sorts of treasure if you come upon them, but don’t accept, cause they’ll take you prisoner and you’ll never see the light of day again. Yes, [I’m kinda serious](http://www.ismennt.is/vefir/ari/alfar/alandslag/aelvesmod.htm). Also, we have the [Yule lads](http://www.randburg.com/is/icelandic-yule-lads/index.asp), who used to be bad, but they have reformed and now give kids presents. This would be Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/10 "2009-02-21T13:00:38Z")
Beside the usual culprits of witches and _loup-garous_ (werewolves), there is always the [tarasque](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarasque) and [Melusine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melusine). ---
**Author:** ![Walpurgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Walpurgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walpurgis)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/11 "2009-02-21T13:15:05Z")
As for Sweden, there are the ones **flodnak** describes (we have many critters in common), with similar names. Of course there a regional variations so that one species will transform into another, depending on what region you’re in. **flodnak’s** nökk is known as **Näcken** or **Strömkarlen** in Sweden, a nude fiddle-player with a penchant for luring virgins into his waterfall. A similar creature is **Bäckahästen** , in some areas simply another of Näcken’s shapes. Bäckahästen is a horse who lures children to hop onto its back, so that it can run off to the nearest stream and drown them. An interesting detail is that Bäckahästen can fit any number of kids; it simply\* elongates\*. The **vittra** live in the mountain or side by side with humans. They look similar to humans, except taller and more beautiful, and they commonly dress in red. The vittra keep fabled fat cows that are sometimes gifted or lent to farmers as thanks for their aid. (Astrid Lindgren writes of another variety of vittra in _Ronia the Robber’s Daughter_, but I haven’t seen anything like them in historical folklore) In some regions this is what **trolls** look like, except they also have cow tails. In other regions trolls are the more common ugly ogre variety. I think the tomte is the most common creature, since one could find them at practically every farm. Small, wizened humanoids, they’ll keep your cows and pigs fat and happy as long as you treat them well; if you forget to give them porridge or forget to warn them before you toss the hot bath water out (they’ll drown!), your cattle will die at best and your farm burn at worst. There’s also **di sma under jordi** , or “the little folk underground”, similar to the tomte. Another one is the **myling** , which is the spirit of a child that’s been killed before it could get baptised. They appear as young men or women, accosting travelers on lone roads, asking to be given a name. [Ebbe Schön](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebbe_Sch%C3%B6n) I think is our most prominent, now living expert in Swedish folklore. If you can find any translations of his work, it’s bound to be both entertaining and informative. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/12 "2009-02-21T14:59:14Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > The Beast of Gevaudan [Bête du Gévaudan — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%AAte_du_G%C3%A9vaudan) a wolf-like creature that terrorised a town in 18th-century France That’s the one I came in to mention. Since I was beaten to it, I’ll add that the Beast was the subject of [Le Pacte de Loups](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0237534/), an entertaining French film released in the U.S. as **Brotherhood of the Wolf**. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/13 "2009-02-21T16:09:26Z")
France also had my favorite, the Tarasque. The Tarasque was this giant monster with the shell of a turtle, the head of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, the body of an ox, and the legs of a bear that terrorized the people of Nerlac. The King of Nerlac tried everything to kill it. He even hit it with catapults, but it didn’t do any good. Then, Saint Martha comes along and sings the Tarasque hymns and prays that it will become peaceful. The Tarasque became peaceful and followed her into the city, where the people of the city slaughtered it. Martha, as you might imagine, got upset about that, and started preaching to the city. So, the entire city converted to Christianity, felt guilty about killing the Tarasque, and renamed the city Tarascon, in honor of the monster. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/14 "2009-02-21T16:14:21Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > The Beast of Gevaudan [Bête du Gévaudan — Wikipédia](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%AAte_du_G%C3%A9vaudan) a wolf-like creature that terrorised a town in 18th-century France [Here’s the English Wikipedia article, for those who can’t read French.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/15 "2011-11-17T21:54:55Z")
::sings:: “It’s my thread, and I’ll bump it if I want to…” So, anyone got anything else for France? (or French by way of Canada - but not wendigo, since that’s Native American/Canadian rather French-Canadian) The closer to human/oid the better. I could probably use a couple more French-Canadian kids or faculty in my NaNoWriMo story to go with the loup-garou the protagonist has a thing for. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/16 "2011-11-17T22:03:42Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > ::sings:: “It’s my thread, and I’ll bump it if I want to…” > > So, anyone got anything else for France? (or French by way of Canada - but not wendigo, since that’s Native American/Canadian rather French-Canadian) The closer to human/oid the better. I could probably use a couple more French-Canadian kids or faculty in my NaNoWriMo story to go with the loup-garou the protagonist has a thing for. You’ve got the Bete du Gevaudan one post and several years above. I used to read a lot of mythology books as a kid, each province of France tends to have quite a rich folklore. One that I really like is the Tarasque, from the SE. Brittany’s got a shitload of Celt myths, like l’Ankou, a death-like figure. You could wiki it easily I imagine (I mean there must be a list of mythological creatures of France). ETA: hadnt seen \*\*Captain Amazing’s \*\*post. Ninja’ed by two years, I’m getting old. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/17 "2011-11-17T23:46:38Z")
Psst ! **Capitaine Zombie** , check post # 10 Also, the good Captain reminded me of the Kannerezed-noz, Brittany’s equivalent of the banshee. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/18 "2011-11-18T00:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Walpurgis** : > Another one is the myling, which is the spirit of a child that’s been killed before it could get baptised. They appear as young men or women, accosting travelers on lone roads, asking to be given a name. Do the tales tell what befalls a traveler who grants the request? Are they blessed, or cursed? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/19 "2011-11-18T03:57:18Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > You’ve got the Bete du Gevaudan one post and several years above. Here I thought using the phrase “anything else” would have made it clear that I had noticed the earlier posts. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823/20 "2011-11-18T04:29:16Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > You’ve got the Bete du Gevaudan one post and several years above. > > I used to read a lot of mythology books as a kid, each province of France tends to have quite a rich folklore. > One that I really like is the Tarasque, from the SE. Brittany’s got a shitload of Celt myths, like l’Ankou, a death-like figure. > You could wiki it easily I imagine (I mean there must be a list of mythological creatures of France). [Here it is](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_mythology). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supernatural-creatures-are-there-in-france-italy-spain-and-scandinavia/486823.md?page=2)