October 24, 2025 • 53 mins
Step into the shadows (and Wi-Fi dead zones) with The Strange History Podcast in this 11-episode journey through trolls across time and continents. Host Amy takes you from Norse fjords to Iceland’s lava fields, Danish bridge builders, Swedish silver-mine spirits, Finnish peikko, British trows, German kobolds, Breton korrigans, Slavic leshies, and a parade of global ogres — Persian divs, Indian rakshasas, Chinese yaoguai, African tikoloshes, Pacific taniwha, even Himalayan yetis — before landing in the modern era of neon-haired dolls and internet troublemakers. Each chapter blends folklore, history, and humor (with fake ads you didn’t know you needed), revealing why trolls still lurk in stories, mountains, and comment sections worldwide.
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This episode of The Strange History Podcast was lovingly crafted with the help of ElevenLabs.io — the magical technology that gives Amy her time to sleep, eat, work and spend time with her dog Jack. While some might say she sounds too good to be true, we assure you, Amy is absolutely a real person… who just happens to have access to studio-grade AI vocal cords and an unnatural ability to pronounce “necromancy” without flinching. Any resemblance to an AI is purely coincidental — and mildly flattering. Dan the announcers name is really Bill and Patrick, the fake ad guy who thinks he is funny? well he is questionable at best. So yes, AI was used but the people are real and the shinanigans are.... well.... shinanigans.
Like and Subscribe:
Apple
Spotify
IHeart
Audible
This episode of The Strange History Podcast was lovingly crafted with the help of ElevenLabs.io — the magical technology that gives Amy her time to sleep, eat, work and spend time with her dog Jack. While some might say she sounds too good to be true, we assure you, Amy is absolutely a real person… who just happens to have access to studio-grade AI vocal cords and an unnatural ability to pronounce “necromancy” without flinching. Any resemblance to an AI is purely coincidental — and mildly flattering. Dan the announcers name is really Bill and Patrick, the fake ad guy who thinks he is funny? well he is questionable at best. So yes, AI was used but the people are real and the shinanigans are.... well.... shinanigans.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dear listeners, Welcome back to with your ever curious host Amy.
Today we're spelunking into the caves of folklore to meet
trolls in all their shapes, smells, and surprisingly diverse passports.
Grab a torch, a goat, and maybe a lawyer, because
some of these trolls have property disputes. Public service announcement.
(00:24):
This is likely the longest episode we have ever done. Normally,
we like to keep our episodes under fifteen minutes for
all of us crazed, overworked individuals who barely have time
to stir in the cream and sugar before we drink
our coffee. But the history was so vast on trolls
it just could not be done. So grab an extra
(00:45):
extra large troll, a chino, and some snacks, and let's
dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Where trolls come from.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Norse word troll pops up in Viking poetry as
early as the ninth century. In the Haavemal and Skoltskaparmel,
a troll could mean giant witch or any supernatural pest.
Over time, the meaning narrowed hulking mountain dwellers with moss
in their beards. Archaeologists think Norway's sheer cliffs and glacial
boulders made perfect props for scary bedtime stories. A landslide
(01:17):
must be a troll, tossing rocks at the neighbors.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Trolls in the sagas.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Medieval texts immortalized trolls as part time villains and part
time real estate hazards. The Saga of hulfer Kraki describes
trolls attacking royal halls, only to be fought off by
heroes with swords, wit, and occasionally good manners. A fourteenth
century charter from Telemark mentions a troll haunted ferry crossing
(01:45):
on Lake Norjio. According to local lore, the troll of
Norjio demanded tolls and goats. When a priest sprinkled holy
water on the lake, the troll fled, throwing a massive boulder,
still visible on the shore.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Troll steam planning a ferry ride across mysterious Norwegian waters.
Book with troll Free Fairies, the only service with a
ninety nine percent success rate at avoiding supernatural toll collectors.
Troll free Fairies because your goat deserves a safe passage.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Troll architecture and landmarks Norwegian folk tradition claims trolls built
stone bridges, carved valleys, and even raised church spires, but
only if paid in impossible treasures. One story from Vass
tells of a troll mason who agreed to build a
bridge if he could guess a farmer's baby's name. Spoiler.
(02:38):
The farmer overheard the troll bragging about it to himself,
and the contract was void. Even today, trolls loom over
Norway's tourist trade. The famous Trollsteigen Troll's ladder road winds
past waterfalls and cliffs said to be petrified trolls.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Sunlight and stone.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
A key Norwegian belief. Rolls can't stand sunlight. Exposed at dawn,
they turned to stone. This neatly explains Norway's thousands of
oddly humanoid rock formations. Travelers once swore they saw silhouettes
shift just before sunrise. Nineteenth century naturalist Peter Kristen Asburnsen
(03:18):
noted the crags of good Brands doll seem alive when
mist clings, as if a company of trolls were waiting
for dusk to grant them motion.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
This episode is sponsored by Sunblock one thousand for trolls
who love the beach, but don't want to turn into
landscaping SPF granite. Not included.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Every day encounters folklore collected by Asbernsen and Moe in
the eighteen hundreds include stories from farmers who blamed missing
sheep on trolls. In hallingdahl An eighteen twenty diary recounts
a shepherd hearing footsteps heavy as boulders near his hut,
he stayed still, certain a troll was sniffing out dinner.
(04:01):
Trolls weren't always hostile. Some legends describe lonely ones offering
silver spoons to kids in exchange for conversation. Parents, teach
your children to politely decline trolls. In modern Norway, today,
trolls are mascots, shop souvenirs and Instagram stars. Hiker's trek
(04:22):
to troll Tunga a cliff jutting like a giant's tongue
over lake ringadals Vatnet. There's even a troll research station
in Trysle cataloging rock shapes. Just in case, Norway's Ministry
of Tourism leaned in with a twenty nineteen slogan, Meet
the trolls, just don't wake them.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Visit Trollstigan with Norway Troll Tours Complimentary safety helmet optional, goat.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Insurance, Iceland Grila, the Yule Lads and Lava Trolls. Okay,
dear listeners, and welcome into the Icelandic portion of Trolls
for Dummies or a Global History of Trolls. We've hopped
from Norway's Granite Peaks across the Chili North Atlantic to Iceland,
a place where trolls aren't just bedtime monsters. They're woven
(05:07):
into Christmas, lava and even highway planning. Pack a warm
coat and maybe some potatoes. You'll see why trolls in
the Sagas. Trolls appear throughout Iceland's medieval literature, the East
Landing a Sogur and ETA's. They're often described as towering,
weather beaten creatures who live in mountains or lava fields.
(05:30):
Sometimes they're giants, other times surprisingly human looking but big.
A favorite is from the Saga of Bardar snefelsas barter
Half troll himself becomes guardian of the Snefel's Jokul Glacier.
In one story, a farm hand falls into trouble with
(05:50):
mountain trolls near hellnar Barter swoops in like a frosty
batman to save him.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Grila, the Christmas troll mom.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
No Icelandic troll overshadows. Grila, a towering ogress who first
stalked manuscripts in the thirteenth century. By the seventeenth century,
she was fully weaponized as a child scarer, A ragged
giantess who prowled midwinter for misbehaving kids to stew in
her cauldron. Grela's Household is a folkloric sitcom her lazy
(06:21):
husband Leppealouti, and their thirteen chaotic sons, the Yule Lads.
Early descriptions paint the lads as mischief makers, stealing sausages,
slamming doors, and licking spoons. In seventeen forty six, a
government decree actually banned using Greela to terrify children, which
(06:42):
only made her legend cooler.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
This segment is brought to you by Grilla's gourmet cauldrons
roomy enough for reindeer stew, or that one cousin who
just won't leave after Christmas.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Troll stones and true anecdotes.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Troll lore isn't frozen in parchment, It's alive. In Icelandic
countryside gossip. Many farmers still point out oddly shaped lava
rocks as petrified trolls. In sixteen twenty five, a Reykiavik
parish record mentioned shepherds who avoided certain boulders near Mosfel's
Heidi fearing night walkers of stone. In twenty thirteen, a
(07:21):
road project near Borgerfjorder paused when locals argued that blasting
through a mound would injure the trolls within. The work
was re routed after an official elf and troll consultant
gave a careful thumbs up.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Caves, coasts and singing giants.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Sea cliffs also house stories. The Rhinus Dranger basalt stacks
off vic are said to be trolls who tried to
drag a ship ashore, caught by dawn and frozen mid hall.
At Dimuborger, a lava labyrinth, legends say trolls once held
a wedding feast there so raucous they forgot to get
home before sunrise. Their statuesque forms still dance in the
(08:02):
jagged rock. Eighteenth century traveler Egert Olafsen wrote, the rocks
of Meveton seem not born of nature, but of some
giant feast turned to stone.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Need a venue for your next volcanic wedding book, demuborger
event hall, freeze to lagmites.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Petrification not included trolls and religion.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
When Christianity arrived around one thousand CE, clerics took a
dim view of trollish partying. Sermons warned against wandering after
dark lest trolls lure you, Bells were said to drive
them off, and some chapels were built on troll haunted
ground to civilize the rocks. Yet the church sometimes borrowed
(08:45):
troll power. In thirteen forty, a priest near Skagafjorder reportedly
enlisted a friendly troll woman to help locate lost sheep.
Paperwork for that partnership remains sadly unarchived.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Modern Icelandic troll tourism.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Today, trolls are mascots of everything from cafes to hiking tours.
Rain As Fiora beach signs politely remind tourists beware of
sneaker waves and trolls. Children leave notes for Yule lads
in December, hoping for gifts or at least a potato
that isn't rotten. There's even an annual troll Walk in Hafnarfjorder,
(09:25):
where locals dress up as the entire Grila clan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Visit Iceland with troll trek adventures. Our guides guarantee at
least one questionable boulder sighting per hour refunds. If your
guide turns to stone mid sentence.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
That's it for our Icelandic expedition. Dear listeners. From Grila's
terrifying parenting to trolls trapped in lava mid wedding, Iceland
proves folklore can be equal parts spooky and practical. If
you're hiking near Dimuborger, be polite to every rock, just
in case it's on break. In the next section, we
(10:00):
sniff out Denmark's trolls, swap mountain layers for church spires
and eventually toy store fame. Until then, keep your goats close,
your spoons clean, and don't let Greila catch you misbehaving. Next,
we're paddling across the Skagarak into Denmark, a country famous
for pastries, lego, and of course, trolls. Danish trolls are
(10:24):
a little different from their Norwegian cousins. Less about hurling boulders,
more about crafty deals, building projects and eventually wild hairdos
that swept the world.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Early Danish troll lore.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Trolls slip into Danish texts as early as the twelfth century,
often described as trollda or berg folk mountain people. Chronicler
Saxo Grammaticus mentions forest spirits that sound suspiciously trollish. Peasants
spoke of trolls dwelling in burial mounds, standing stones, or
wooded hill They were strong, long lived, and nocturnal. Farmers
(11:05):
sometimes left butter or ale on stone outcrops to keep
them happy. One of Europe's oldest neighbor diplomacy strategies.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Trolls as builders and shady contractors.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
A favorite Danish theme trolls as master builders who demand
outrageous fees. Folk songs tell of trolls offering to erect
churches or bridges, but only if paid with the sun,
the moon, or a firstborn child. One legend from Vila
recounts a troll who agreed to build a spire overnight.
As dawn neared, the farmer shouted the troll's name, Sindra,
(11:42):
breaking the spell. Furious Sindra hurled his hammer into the river,
leaving a boulder known locally as trolls Stone. Fifteenth century
church records from Jutland even worn, do not parlay with
the hill folk regarding holy foundations.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Need your barn roof fixed before sunrise? Call Sindre and
Sun's midnight masonry payment plans available, Goats accepted.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Bridge trolls and royal roads.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Medieval travelers dreaded dark bridges after dusk. Folklore from Skanderborg
and Rhos claimed trolls exacted tolls or occasionally just swiped
a traveler. The three Billy goats Gruff, though Norwegian and origin,
became beloved in Danish nursery books by the eighteen hundreds,
cementing the idea of the troll as grumpy bridge keeper.
(12:33):
Denmark's flat terrain meant fewer mountain layers, so trolls gravitated
toward hills, earth barrows and riverbanks anywhere a dramatic entrance
could be staged.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Troll dolls and modern reinvention.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Jump forward to nineteen fifty nine. Danish wood carver Thomas
Dam carved a small, big bellied troll doll for his daughter.
The toy exploded into an international craze, especially after being
licensed in the early sixties, good luck trolls, also called
dam dolls, sported neon hair and permanently optimistic grins, the
(13:11):
most cheerful trolls ever imagined. By the nineteen nineties, they
were reborn as treasure trolls with bejeweled bellies. Suddenly trolls
weren't cautionary monsters but collectible icons perched on every office desk.
Dam reportedly said he wanted to make a troll that
looked so happy no one could help but smile. Mission accomplished.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Feeling nostalgic, adopt a certified vintage Damn troll at Happy
Hair Emporium, where all trolls are house trained and moderately lucky.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Trolls in Danish culture.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Today, modern Denmark embraces its trolls. Copenhagen gift shops overflow
with carved wooden figures and sculpture artist Thomas Dambo hides
gigantic recycled wood trolls in forests around the country, encouraging
treasure hunts. Even municipal projects nod to tradition. A twenty
(14:08):
fifteen highway plan in Zealand avoided a Boulder local said
was the last seat of an ancient troll bureaucracy meets
folklore and folklore.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Wins lessons from Danish trolls.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Danish trolls show how stories evolve, from pagan earth spirits
to Christian era builders to toy shop celebrities. They embody
resourcefulness and sometimes petty vengeance. They also prove that good
marketing can transform a bog monster into a global superstar.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Planning a woodland sculpture hunt, bring snacks, and rent our
troll tracker GPS batteries not guaranteed in enchanted areas.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
That's it for our Danish detour dear listeners. From spire
building giants to neon haired charmers, Denmark's trolls remind us
that myths can leap from folklore to pop culture with
surprising ease. Now we're wandering into Sweden, home of pine forests, Fika,
breaks Abba, and an impressive roster of trolls. Here they
(15:13):
guard silver mines, lure shepherds with music, and occasionally get
themselves petrified for dancing.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
After curfew, trolls take root in Swedish folklore.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Swedish sources speak of troll plural trollin from the Middle
Ages onward. They dwell in deep forests, mountains, or near lakes,
and range from dim witted giants to sly shape shifters.
Unlike Norway's strictly mountainous trolls, Swedish ones wander into human settlements,
sometimes as beggars, sometimes in disguise. The thirteenth century Speris saga,
(15:49):
recorded in Norway but retold in Sweden, mentions troll kona
troll women who could brew storms or mislead hunters ate
the great folklore collectors like Gunner Oloff Hilton Cavalius in
the eighteen hundreds gathered thousands of tales of trolls stealing butter, tangling,
(16:10):
spinning wheels, and hosting rowdy feasts. Underground silver mines and Burgatrol,
Sweden's mining boom in the fifteen hundreds, created a new
troll niche. The Burgatrol or mountain troll. Miners around Fallen
believed trolls oversaw ore veins. They were said to whistle
(16:31):
warnings about cavins or punish greed by hiding the richest seams.
A real anecdote in seventeen nineteen, a Fallen mine diary
recorded workers abandoning a shaft after hearing low laughter and
seeing stones roll uphill. Superstition kept that tunnel sealed for decades. Today,
(16:53):
some guides at the Fallen mine jokingly invite tourists to
thank the Burgatrol before you descend.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
This episode is brought to you by burga troll safety
helmets guaranteed to withstand falling rocks, mischievous mountain spirits, and
questionable karaoke echoes.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Forest trolls and midnight musicians.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Outside the mines, Swedish trolls haunt spruce woods and mossy hills.
They love music, especially fiddles, and occasionally abduct promising players.
One classic legend tells of Pare the fiddler in Helsingland,
lured by ethereal tunes to a clearing where trolls danced
around glowing stumps. He played along until dawn. Then sunlight
(17:38):
froze the trolls midjig, leaving Paar with new melodies and
a lifelong aversion to forestry work after dark.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Lakes stones and shape shifters.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Lakes have their share of trolls stories from yempland say
the stores. Ojurret Great lake Monster was born when two
trolls stirred a cauldron too vigorously. Along Wheden's west coast,
fishermen claimed to see sea trolls with kelp for hair
pulling boats astray standing stones called jetta greetor giants kettles
(18:10):
were once thought to be abandoned troll cooking pots. Children
were warned never to shout near them lest a troll
chef returned for leftovers.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Planning a moonlit jam session in the woods. Pack trolltne
rosen the only violent accessory infused with pine, sap and
questionable folklore.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Religion, trolls, and tolerance.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
After Sweden adopted Christianity in the twelfth century, trolls were
recast as heathen spirits avoiding church bells, but coexistence wasn't
always hostile. Some seventeenth century parish records mentioned farmers hiring
priests to read blessings on the boundary stone so the
trolls stay polite.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Modern Swedish troll culture.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Today trolls peak from every gift shop shelf. Children's author
John Bauer painted dreamy forest trolls with melancholy eyes, shaping
how Scandinavians picture them. Hiking trails through Smolen's woods, still
whisper about trolls at dusk. There's even an annual Trollsteigen Run,
a trail race named for the troll Path, where costume
(19:19):
volunteers jump from behind birches to motivate runners.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Join the Smollen troll Trek half hiking adventure, half troll Safari.
One hundred percent chance of needing dry socks.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And that wraps up our Swedish Safari dear listeners. From
silver hoarding bergatrol to fiddling forest dancers, Sweden's trolls prove
that folklore can be both eerie and oddly hospitable. Next,
we cross east to Finland, where Hesi and Pako spirits
blur the line between sacred groves and mischief, a land
(19:53):
of shimmering lakes, dense spruce forests, and trolls who know
how to play both sides of the folklore game. Here
they're called Hesi and peiko, sometimes sacred guardians, sometimes mischievous
shoe rearrangers. Grab your wool socks and a strong cup
of coffee. We've got stories to tell.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Ancient roots the Hesi.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Before Christianity arrived, Hecey referred to sacred groves, rocky hills,
and holy clearings. These places were thought to hold protective
spirits who watched over hunters and travelers. Archaeologists have found
iron age offerings, antlers, fishbones, small tools buried near boulders,
(20:37):
labeled in later folklore as hecy stones. When Christianity spread
in the twelfth century, the term hesi slid from sacred
site to demonic occupant. By the fifteen hundreds, Finnish priests
used it to warn about lurking forest fiends. Some seventeenth
century sermons even instructed parishioners to pray loudly when crossing
(21:01):
a hesi path.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Meet the peiko.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
If the hec were lofty and ominous, the pico were
their more domestic cousins. They're usually described as squat, furry, shy,
and prone to minor sabotage, like moving your boots or
souring your cow's milk if you forget to greet them.
A charming anecdote from seventeen seventy three, a Turku vicar
(21:25):
wrote about villagers who left bread near a large boulder
lest the peiko spoil the cream. Think of it as
Finland's original dairy insurance policy.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Today's show is sponsored by Pico buns our cinnamon buns
are so good even trolls leave coins on the counter
instead of stealing them.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
The national epic Kalavala mentions Hesi as adversaries of the hero.
Veinamoiinin Hesi forged weapons or steeds often symbolized chaos against order.
In one runo veinamoiin must capture he sees elk, an
otherworldly creature from a misty forest. Moral never accept an
(22:06):
elk from someone whose address is cave behind the third Pine.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Lakes, stones and local legends.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Finland's landscape brims with troll geography. Smooth glacial boulders are
called he denkiv he sees stones. Some say they're rocks
thrown at churches by offended spirits. Villagers in Karelia once
claimed a huge stone in the Peelinen Lake was a
sleeping pey. Co Fishermen allegedly tapped it with oars for
(22:36):
good luck, but only gently. Waking a troll was bad business.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Need protection for your dairy or a solid lullaby for
a cranky rock spirit Call Heasy Home services, peace offerings
delivered straight to your doorstep.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Christianizing the trolls, medieval clerics tried to tame Finland's spirits
by planting chapels on old hezy grass. Some succeeded, others
only annoyed the locals and allegedly the trolls. A sixteen
forty one court record from Savonia mentions farmers refusing to
cut down heasy trees despite royal edicts, fearing paiko revenge.
(23:16):
Yet coexistence thrive too. Rural households kept a respectful tone
when talking about the hesi or peiko, speaking of them
as the good folk, never by name.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
After dark modern Finnish troll culture.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Today, trolls peak from picture books, tourist shops, and even
modern art installations. Sculptor Vaco Huovinen carved whimsical peiko statues
dotting Lapland's trails in Helsinki. Cafes sell paco lattes with
little chocolate ears. And let's not forget Finland's most famous
troll adjacent franchise, Tove Jansen's Moomens. Though sweeter than their
(23:56):
folkloric kin, the Moomans borrow traits from ako, rounded noses,
love of coziness, and a knack for philosophical musings.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Explore Lapland with peiko pathfinders. Our guides guarantee a seventy
percent chance of seeing a troll shaped boulder and a
thirty percent chance it might wink.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
And that concludes our finished leg of the journey. Dear listeners,
from Holy Hezy Hills to Peyiko with a sweet tooth.
Finland's trolls remind us that folklore can soften even the
gruffest guardian. Next we sail west to Scotland's Shetland Isles,
where trows play fiddles and steal sheep with equal enthusiasm.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
The British Isles trows, bridge keepers and mischievous kin.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Now we are rowing across the North Sea to the
British Isles, a place where trolls are fewer hulking giants
and more sly pint sized troublemakers. Here they go by
many names, Trows in the Shetlands, Sprigin's in Cornwall, even
the infamous bridge guardians who keep goats on their toes.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Trows of Shetland and Orkney.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
The far northern islands of Scotland give us trows, small
wrinkled folk who love music and mischief. Early references appear
in the sixteenth century kirk Session records noting night dancing
by Strange little Men, a famous yarn. In eighteen forty,
fiddler Willie Irons vanished during a Hogmanay sailith in Lerwick.
(25:32):
When he returned the next morning, dazed, he claimed to
have been taken below by troughs, who demanded reels until dawn.
He emerged with new tunes and a new found habit
of avoiding crossroads after dark. Folklorist Walter Trail Denison described
trows as brown skinned, long nosed, and sly, quick to
(25:55):
steal an infant or a sheep, yet gracious to a
fiddler with steady bow.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Tonight's show is brought to you by Troetunes, Shetland's only
music school where your teachers might whisk you underground mid
lesson free sheep with enrollment.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
England bridge trolls and nursery tales.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
While England doesn't have a native troll word, the idea
seeped in via Norse settlers and later fairy books. By
the nineteenth century, three billy goats gruff was a story
time staple across the country, introducing generations to the grumpy
bridge dweller with a taste for goat chops. English folklore
(26:36):
also has bugbears, boggarts and knockers, mischievous mind spirits who
share DNA with trolls. In Lancashire, a sixteen eighty five
pamphlet warned of boggerts who steal infants in Curdle cream
Stone bridges in Yorkshire sometimes bore nicknames like trolls leap,
suggesting older legends about shadowy guardians.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Cornwall Spriggans and other rogues.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Cornwall's rugged, Moor's host sprigans, stocky guardians of barrows and treasure.
They're blamed for broken tools, sudden storms and swapped babies.
Eighteenth century miners left bits of pasty near standing stones
to keep spriggans from fowling tin seams. A miner's diary
from seventeen ninety nine complaints tools vanished again, likely sprigans
(27:27):
or ned borrowing, always hard to prove sprigan sabotage in court.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Protect your tools and goats with sprigan shield insurance covering
loss from theft, storms and mischievous short beings.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Wales and Ireland distant cousins.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Whales leans more toward goblins Bubba cood, but echoes of
trollish habits crop up guarding bridges demanding riddles. In Irish lore,
solitary giants like the Fomorians or the Furbolg occupy a
similar mythic niche, though they're old and grander than Norse trolls.
A County Clare folk story tells of a bridge ogre
(28:05):
who demanded a gold coin or a good joke from
anyone crossing after sunset. Locals claim he retired once a
pub opened nearby.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Trolls meet Christianity.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Across Britain, Clergy folded older spirits into morality. Tales, troughs
and Spriggans became imps. Bridge lurkers were cast as diabolical
testers of virtue. Church bells, as in Scandinavia, were said
to drive them away. In Shetland, a seventeenth century minister
urged parishioners not to parley with the small gray men. However,
(28:41):
polite their invitations.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Modern British troll culture.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Today, British trolls live on in literature and pop culture
Tolkien's Cave Trolls, Rowling's Mountain Troll, and Harry Potter and
a thousand cheeky mascots on tea towels. Folk festivals in
Orkney occasionally feature trouhunts, essentially pub crawls in costume. And
let's not forget Internet trolls, whose ancestral homeland is apparently
(29:07):
every comments section.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Visiting the isles, download the bridge Guard app gives goat
friendly directions and alerts you to lurking folklore figures that.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Wraps up our British Isles adventure. From Shetland's subterranean fiddlers
to Cornwall Spriggans, these stories remind us that even the
smallest trolls can cast a long shadow across bridges, moors
and the occasional dairy churn. Next we'll head to Germany
and Central Europe, where trolls get tangled up with cobolds,
(29:37):
berg spirits and mining folklore. We're leaving the islands behind
to wander through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and their Central European neighbors. Here,
trolls mingle with miners, haunt forests, and occasionally provide workplace
safety tips, whether you asked for them or not.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Troll kim in the German imagine.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Germany didn't inherit the exact word troll from the Norse,
but it bred plenty of close relatives. Medieval manuscripts mentioned
Bergheist mountain spirits, cooebolds and bergmanline little men of the hills.
They lived inside caves, mines and stone towers. The brothers
(30:22):
Grim collected dozens of tales where these beings are half helper,
half hooligan. In der Teufel Mitindrei goldenen Haaren, a giant
like figure demands riddles and tributes trollish behavior in all
but name.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Berg Trolla and mining lore.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Mining culture gave us berg Trolla creatures thought to guard
or veins. A fifteen sixty Saxon record tells of workers
in the Ore mountains hearing three solemn knocks before a
roof collapse, later chalked up to a berg troll warning
them At the vast silver mines of Schwaz Tyrol guides
still recount stories of troll lanterns, ghostly lights said to
(31:03):
lead lucky miners to rich seams or unlucky ones straight
to a drop shaft.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Safety first. This dig is sponsored by berg troll helmets
protecting miners from falling rocks, spontaneous hauntings, and troll related headbuts.
Since fourteen fifty six.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Coebolds helpful until they're not.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Cobalds are Central Europe's most famous household or mine spirits.
At home, they tidy kitchens and sharpened tools, unless offended,
in which case they dump ash in your soup. Underground,
they take the shape of tiny miners with glowing eyes.
The seventeenth century scholar Georg Agricola noted cobold's contaminating silver
ore miners called the worthless stuff coop for nickel old
(31:50):
nick's copper, a word that later became nickel so yes.
Coebolds helped name an element.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Austrian and Swiss rock trolls.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
The Alps birthed their own legends Steinbach trolls living in
crags or stonemen who shepherded Chemois Tyrolean folk tales worn
hikers not to nap near lonely boulders. Some are disguised
trolls waiting to roll you down the slope. In Switzerland's
Uri Valley, a story tells of a troll demanding a
(32:21):
toll from goat herders crossing a narrow ledge. When a
clever boy fed it cheese instead of coins, the troll tripped, tumbled,
and became the oddly goat shaped rock still shown to tourists.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Heading to the Alps. Pac goat cheese plus perfect snack,
handy troll bribe and doubles as emergency fondue.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Czech, Slovak and Polish shadows.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Further east, check tails mentioned Skalnizzi rock men who lurk
in sandstone caves. Slovak miners feared Churpazliti dwarfish spirits who
might whistle disaster Pulli. Folklore speaks of Beeboch or Skurzat,
Goblin like figures who pinch breadloaves or tangle flax. All
(33:07):
share the trollish taste for hiding treasure and punishing arrogance.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
From pagan hills to Christian morality.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Monastic chroniclers rebranded these spirits as cautionary figures. Laziness could
earn you a COBALT's prank, Greed might anger a berg troll.
Some churches were built atop haunted hills to sanctify them.
Others installed bells to keep trolls from tapping on windows during.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Mass Modern trolls in Central Europe.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Today, Central Europe celebrates its stone spirits more cheerfully. Visitors
to the Erscheburga find carved Bergman line souvenirs. Austrian ski
towns host troll hikes, complete with wooden statues and mulled wine.
Even heavy metal bands borrow cobolds and trolls as mascots,
(33:57):
proving folklore pairs well with the gold tar riffs.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Bring home your very own pocket cobold, now with adjustable
mischief settings, Helper Heckler or chaos gremlin available wherever ethically
sourced sprites are sold.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
And that's our German and Central European adventure. Dear listeners,
from helpful cobolds to gruffberg trolla, these tails remind us
that even under tons of rock people imagined companions, sometimes kindly,
sometimes catastrophically clumsy. Next, we venture into Brittany and Northern France,
where moonlit corrigans keep wells and wandering nights on their toes.
(34:39):
We've arrived in Brittany and Northern France, a place where
troll like spirits wear smaller shoes, drink cider, and prefer
moonlight to mountain caves. Here they're corrigans, Lutens, Gobelins and
other sprightly cousins who've been haunting wells and village greens.
Since the Middle.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Ages, Corrigans Brittany's moonlit folk.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
Corrigans are Brittany's most famous otherworldly residents, small silver haired
sprites who dance near sacred wells or stone circles. Early
references appear in the thirteenth century Breton ballads, where knights
are lured by ladies of the night beautiful until dawn,
when they reveal sharp teeth and a fondness for tossing
(35:22):
mortals into ponds. Local tradition says corrigans hate church bells,
a recurring Trallish allergy. Some villages placed iron bars across
well openings to keep the water women from slipping inside homes.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Gobelens, lutenes, and the French imagination.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Northern France gave us gobelns yes, the word that later
inspired goblin and lutens, impish helpers who polish shoes or,
if offended, hide your wine corks. A fifteenth century Parisian
household manual warns leave milk at the hearth lest the
lutins sour your se. The city of Evreux has records
(36:02):
from thirteen ninety two describing gobiland lights flickering in streets,
possibly willow wisps, possibly a lutant union demanding better candle hours.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
Need your cider cellar organized by mischievous hands, higher lutont logistics,
efficiency guaranteed until they get bored.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Stone circles, wells and midnight duels.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Breton countryside brims with menhirs and dolmens often blamed on
trolls or coregans. Farmers and finistaire still point out the
queen of the corgan's seat alichen covered stone, where offerings
of butter or buckwheat cakes were once left. One fifteenth
century romance tells of sir Even who challenged a corrigan
(36:46):
at a moonlit well. She offered him gold if he'd
renounced Sunday mass. He declined, and she vanished with a hiss.
A medieval psa about peer pressure.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Pagan roots, and Christian casting.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Before Christianity, these spirits likely stemmed from Celtic fertility and
water cults. As monasteries spread in the sixth to eighth centuries,
storytellers recast them as little devils. Priests rang bells during
processions to keep them at bay, while lay folk continued
slipping offerings near wells just in case planning a midnight
(37:24):
stroll through a Dolmen field grab Corrigan guard lanterns bright
enough to spot tricky spirits, dim enough to keep the romance.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Later history and literary life.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
By the seventeenth century, Corrigan's and Gobelens strutted into literature.
Charles Perode's fairy tales borrow from Luton lore, and nineteenth
century focalists like Paul Sebillot documented stories of Corgan's spinning
flax or kidnapping inattentive dancers. In eighteen twenty five, locals
near Quimper reported a tiny woman who for a thimble
(38:01):
of cream. When refused, she hects the churn. Butter output
allegedly recovered once cream was poured at her stone.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
Modern Brittany and French troll tourism.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Today, Brittany celebrates its Coregans with festivals, puppet shows and
souvenir mugs. The Gobelin's manufactory in Paris preserves the name,
if not the sprite. Hiking paths wind past wells signposted
beware of dancing Corrigans, handy folklore marketing for thirsty walkers.
(38:33):
Visit Brittany with moonlit mischief tours our guides guarantee at
least one suspiciously small footprint near an ancient well, and
that's our moonlit meander through Brittany and northern France. Dear listeners,
from coregans twirling by wells to lutens hiding your corkscrew,
These tales remind us that troll kind doesn't always stomp
(38:55):
and roar, sometimes at pirouettes, snacks and rearranging your pantry. Next,
we'll explore the deep forests and shadowy clearings of Slavic lands,
home to chorts, leshies and spirits who really really don't
want you whistling in their trees. So let's trek through
the birch woods and broad plains of the Slavic world Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Cechia,
(39:21):
Slovakia and the Balkans. Here trolls are a little leaner,
a bit more horned, and very fond of leading travelers, astray.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Chorts, horned mischief makers.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
The chort or zort is one of Eastern Europe's oldest
trickster figures. Medieval Russian chronicles describe him as a short
horned creature with goat legs, lurking near crossroads or village baths.
He tempts people with bargains, sometimes for souls, sometimes for vodka.
A sixteenth century homily warns avoid lonely paths at dusk
(39:59):
les short bargain your boots away. In Polish folk tales,
a chort might help with chores if you sign an
agreement written in suspiciously sooty.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
Ink leschie lord of the forest.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
The Leshie is a tall, green tinged forest spirit who
rules the trees. He can change sighs from a blade
of grass to a towering giant, and often whistles to
lure wanderers off trails. One eighteen fifties account from Smolensk
tells of a hunter who followed a laughing voice until
he realized he was walking in circles around the same stump.
(40:35):
Only when he turned his coat inside out. An old
charm against leschies, did the forest fall silent.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Planning a hike bring shortstop trail snacks guarantee to distract
mischievous spirits long enough for you to find the way out.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Dumbavoi, Bannik and other household troll cousins.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Not all Slavic spirits are willed. Blas Domovoi live behind
the stove, protecting families if treated with respect and bowls
of porridge. Bannock spirit of the bathhouse enjoys hot steam
and privacy. Failing to greet him before bathing might earn
you a splash of scalding water. Though smaller than Norse trolls,
(41:20):
their temperament fits quick to help, quicker to grumble.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Check Slovak and Polish variants.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Czech and Slovak Skalnitzi rock men haunt caves and sandstone towers,
warning miners of bad luck. Polish scrizati or bee box
steal loaves of bread or whisper to children from dark corners.
A Krockoff story tells of a beeboch who demanded honey
from market sellers. Refusal led to mysteriously overturned barrels. All
(41:52):
share the troll job description metal protect treasure, punish arrogance.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
Lose your way among birches, rent our leshi locator the
only compass calibrated for supernatural sarcasm.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Pagan roots and Christian morality.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Pre Christian Slavs revered forest and household spirits as guardians.
With Christianity's arrival tenth to thirteenth centuries clergy reframed them
as devils or fallen angels. Bells were rung to keep
Leschi's out of fields, and icons sometimes hung on bathhouse
doors to tame the bannock. Yet folk belief endured villagers
(42:32):
would still pour the first sip of class on the
ground for the chort, hedging their bets folklore.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
In the modern era.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Collectors like Alexander Afanashiev nineteenth century preserved hundreds of chort
and leshy tales. Soviet ethnographers, despite official atheism, cataloged rural
stories of green men warning against careless logging. Today, themed
cafes in Moscow feature plush Leshi's serving herbal tea, while
(43:03):
Polish children read about cheeky scrizati in bedtime books.
Speaker 3 (43:07):
Relax after a long forest trek with Domovoi home spa
porridge based facials for the household spirit in us all.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
And there we have it. Slavic trolls, imps, and woodland
lords alive in stories from the Carpathians to the Urals.
Whether they guard birches, tempt at crossroads, or protect your soup,
these spirits prove. Trolls come in all sizes and sometimes
wear moss instead of noses. We leave Europe behind, exploring
(43:37):
the troll like ogres and guardians of Persia, India, China,
Africa and the Pacific, and meet the far flung relatives
of our stone footed friends, from Persian divs to African Tickeloshi's,
Himalayan Yetti's and Polynesian Taniwa. Humanity seems determined to imagine
something living in the shadows, So buckle up, we're going inner.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Continental Persia and Central Asia.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Divs and devs Persian epics, especially for Dowsy's Shahnameh tenth
to eleventh century, introduced divs horned giants guarding treasure or
challenging heroes like Roastam. One famous story pits Rostam against
the white div whose cave lair reads like a proto
troll den, complete with chains, treasure, and an inconvenient hostage.
(44:28):
Turkic tales mentioned devs and albusty mountain ogres blamed for
sickness or bad luck on caravan roots.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
India and South Asia, Rakshasas and Asuras.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
Hindu epics team with Rakshasas shape shifting ogres fond of
disrupting Sage's meditation. The Ramayana's villain Ravana is king of
these beings, ruling from Lanka, with ten heads and an attitude.
Buddhist texts call similar figures yakshas, sometimes benevolent guardians, sometimes
bandits with fangs. Medieval temple carvings across India depict rakshasas
(45:05):
with bulging eyes standing sentinel proof their reputation as night
time hooligan's lasted centuries.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Heading to Lanka pack Ravana repel suncream tan head protection
factor guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
China and Mongolia Yauguay and mangus.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
Chinese folklore speaks of yaouguai animal spirits or mountain demons
gone rogue. Classical novels like Journey to the West feature
entire parliaments of troll adjacent beings, pig spirits, rock demons,
and shape changing ogres with bureaucratic ambitions. In Mongolia, stories
tell of the Mangus, a hulking mountain fiend who wrestles shamans.
(45:48):
Some shamans still battle mangus in trance rituals, echoing the
duel with troll theme.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Africa, ticcoloshe and river ogres.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Southern Africa because tikolosha or tokolosha is a goblin sized
trickster said to sneak into homes, spill water jugs or worse.
Zulu households once raised beds on bricks to keep these
squat spirits from climbing. In West African folklore gives us
river ogres and bush devils, often protective of sacred groves.
(46:20):
They test hunter's manners the way Scandinavian trolls test bridge etiquette.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Need a bed riser with style, try tokoloshi block, because
sleeping low is just an invitation.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
The Pacific, Taniwa Moo and friends.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Across Polynesia, stories tell of Taniwa maori serpentine guardians of
rivers or caves. Some Taniwa protect villages, others challenge reckless canoeists.
In Hawaii, moo lizards guard freshwater pools and sometimes steal swimmers.
Missionary journals from the eighteen hundreds note chiefs making offerings
(46:59):
to tell niwa before new voyages a blend of respect
and risk management.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
Indigenous Americas giants and aggresses.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
First nations on the Northwest coast speak of Zunuqua, a huge,
long haired ogress who lures children with a haunting call.
Plains tribes tell of stone giants roaming blizzards. Cherokee lore
includes Yunuit sunsti, little people protecting forests, more fairy than troll,
(47:29):
but equally territorial. Spanish missionaries in California recorded stories of
Yokut's rock babies, boulder like beings who demanded songs before
letting travelers pass.
Speaker 3 (47:41):
Explore New Zealand rivers with tannywa tours, free paddle, optional
life insurance.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
The Himalayas and Arctic shaggy outliers.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
While often branded cryptids, the Yeti of Nepal and Tibet
or the Almas of Siberia, share the troll resume, big,
shagg mountain dwelling, and shy of daylight. Early British mountaineers
logged giant tracks in the nineteen twenties, fueling pop culture fame,
themes and threads across continents. Troll like beings guard liminal spaces, caves, bridges,
(48:17):
river mouths, forests. They worn against arrogance, reward cleverness, and
remind us that nature is not always tame. Whether called
div rakshasa yauguay tikoloshe taniwa or Yeti. They serve the
same purpose as their Nordic cousins, putting teeth and claws
on our respect for the unknown. And there you have it,
(48:40):
a global caravan of trolls, ogres, and spirits from Persian
caves to Polynesian lagoons. Every culture seems to imagine someone
watching from the shadows, ready to challenge goats, heroes, or
just unwise swimmers. Next, we're stepping out of sagas and
folklore into the neon lige of collectibles, cartoons, and comments sections.
(49:04):
Trolls didn't retire when we invented electricity. They just updated
their wardrobes and learned to type in all caps.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
Toy store trolls the happy Hair Revolution.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
In nineteen fifty nine, Danish woodcarver Thomas dam sculpted a
squat smiling troll as a gift for his daughter. Neighbors
clamored for their own, and the Damn Doll was born.
By the early sixties, good luck trolls were an international sensation,
complete with wild hair and gemstone belly buttons. Toy historians
(49:37):
note their enduring appeal part charm, part kitch, and one
hundred percent desktop mascot. In the nineteen nineties, they re
emerged as treasure trolls, while DreamWorks twenty sixteen Trolls Movie
turned them into singing technicolor pop stars.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Bad Hair Day Embrace It with troll top styling gel
guaranteed to hold even if You're turned to stone mid meeting.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Trolls on stage and screen.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
Trolls have stormed pop culture for decades. Norwegian composer Edvard
Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King eighteen seventy
five gave trolls their own earworm soundtrack. J R. R.
Tolkien's The Hobbit nineteen thirty seven and The Lord of
the Rings nineteen fifty four to fifty five cemented them
(50:28):
as lumbering brutes turned to stone by sunlight. The Moomans
Finland softened troll dom into gentle philosophy. Films from Earnest,
Scared Stupid to Frozen reinvent trolls as goofy helpers or
earthy sages. Even theme parks joined in Walt disney World's
Norway Pavilion features a three headed troll who loves photo bombs.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Folklore, tourism, and marketing.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Modern Scandinavia has leaned into troll branding. Souvenir shops sell
plush trolls with authentic, grumpy expressions. Hiking trails like troll
Tunga or Trollsteigen lure visitors with a hint of myth.
There's even a troll museum in Tromsu, Norway, complete with
VR encounters.
Speaker 3 (51:14):
Plan your next selfie at Trolltunga, tours, scenic cliffs, legendary monsters,
and zero guarantees the rock won't yawn mid picture.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
The Internet troll emerges.
Speaker 1 (51:26):
In the nineteen nineties, a new species was born, the
Internet troll. The term appeared in early Usenet groups describing
users who trolled for newbies with baiting posts. By the
two thousands, it meant anyone who posted inflammatory comments for sport.
Digital trolls don't hide under bridges. They lurk in forums, chats,
(51:48):
and social feeds. Their weapons are sarcasm, memes and an
endless supply of unsolicited opinions. Internet culture historian Whitney Phillips
notes that trolling thrives where attention is a currency. From
flame wars to fake news, the troll evolved into a
cautionary tale for the online commons.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
Trolls in activism, art and memes.
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Some communities flip trolling into performance art or political satire.
Think of social campaigns that troll bigots with humor, or
artists who create surreal accounts to challenge algorithms. Memes like
don't Feed the Trolls remind us that engagement is the
oxygen of online mischief.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
Need a firewall for your feelings? Download bridge guard pro
filter spam, caplock rants, and anything that smells like swamp breath.
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Why trolls endure.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
From medieval stone throwers to pixel provocateurs, Trolls endure because
they personify the hazards of stepping off the safe path,
whether into dark woods or endless scrolls. They challenge us
to stay clever, laugh at absurdity, and occasionally unplug. And
there we are, dear listeners, every bit of troll history,
(53:06):
from saga pages to status updates. Trolls have danced through
every era, teaching caution, inspiring art, and sometimes just demanding
goats or clicks. Thank you for joining me on this
bridge hopping odyssey. Subscribe to the Strange History podcast. Leave
a kind review, not a trollish one and keep an
eye on your feed. There's always another strange history waiting
(53:29):
under the next metaphorical bridge.
Dear listeners, Welcome back to with your ever curious host Amy.
Today we're spelunking into the caves of folklore to meet
trolls in all their shapes, smells, and surprisingly diverse passports.
Grab a torch, a goat, and maybe a lawyer, because
some of these trolls have property disputes. Public service announcement.
(00:24):
This is likely the longest episode we have ever done. Normally,
we like to keep our episodes under fifteen minutes for
all of us crazed, overworked individuals who barely have time
to stir in the cream and sugar before we drink
our coffee. But the history was so vast on trolls
it just could not be done. So grab an extra
(00:45):
extra large troll, a chino, and some snacks, and let's
dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Where trolls come from.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
The Norse word troll pops up in Viking poetry as
early as the ninth century. In the Haavemal and Skoltskaparmel,
a troll could mean giant witch or any supernatural pest.
Over time, the meaning narrowed hulking mountain dwellers with moss
in their beards. Archaeologists think Norway's sheer cliffs and glacial
boulders made perfect props for scary bedtime stories. A landslide
(01:17):
must be a troll, tossing rocks at the neighbors.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Trolls in the sagas.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Medieval texts immortalized trolls as part time villains and part
time real estate hazards. The Saga of hulfer Kraki describes
trolls attacking royal halls, only to be fought off by
heroes with swords, wit, and occasionally good manners. A fourteenth
century charter from Telemark mentions a troll haunted ferry crossing
(01:45):
on Lake Norjio. According to local lore, the troll of
Norjio demanded tolls and goats. When a priest sprinkled holy
water on the lake, the troll fled, throwing a massive boulder,
still visible on the shore.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Troll steam planning a ferry ride across mysterious Norwegian waters.
Book with troll Free Fairies, the only service with a
ninety nine percent success rate at avoiding supernatural toll collectors.
Troll free Fairies because your goat deserves a safe passage.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Troll architecture and landmarks Norwegian folk tradition claims trolls built
stone bridges, carved valleys, and even raised church spires, but
only if paid in impossible treasures. One story from Vass
tells of a troll mason who agreed to build a
bridge if he could guess a farmer's baby's name. Spoiler.
(02:38):
The farmer overheard the troll bragging about it to himself,
and the contract was void. Even today, trolls loom over
Norway's tourist trade. The famous Trollsteigen Troll's ladder road winds
past waterfalls and cliffs said to be petrified trolls.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Sunlight and stone.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
A key Norwegian belief. Rolls can't stand sunlight. Exposed at dawn,
they turned to stone. This neatly explains Norway's thousands of
oddly humanoid rock formations. Travelers once swore they saw silhouettes
shift just before sunrise. Nineteenth century naturalist Peter Kristen Asburnsen
(03:18):
noted the crags of good Brands doll seem alive when
mist clings, as if a company of trolls were waiting
for dusk to grant them motion.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
This episode is sponsored by Sunblock one thousand for trolls
who love the beach, but don't want to turn into
landscaping SPF granite. Not included.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Every day encounters folklore collected by Asbernsen and Moe in
the eighteen hundreds include stories from farmers who blamed missing
sheep on trolls. In hallingdahl An eighteen twenty diary recounts
a shepherd hearing footsteps heavy as boulders near his hut,
he stayed still, certain a troll was sniffing out dinner.
(04:01):
Trolls weren't always hostile. Some legends describe lonely ones offering
silver spoons to kids in exchange for conversation. Parents, teach
your children to politely decline trolls. In modern Norway, today,
trolls are mascots, shop souvenirs and Instagram stars. Hiker's trek
(04:22):
to troll Tunga a cliff jutting like a giant's tongue
over lake ringadals Vatnet. There's even a troll research station
in Trysle cataloging rock shapes. Just in case, Norway's Ministry
of Tourism leaned in with a twenty nineteen slogan, Meet
the trolls, just don't wake them.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Visit Trollstigan with Norway Troll Tours Complimentary safety helmet optional, goat.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Insurance, Iceland Grila, the Yule Lads and Lava Trolls. Okay,
dear listeners, and welcome into the Icelandic portion of Trolls
for Dummies or a Global History of Trolls. We've hopped
from Norway's Granite Peaks across the Chili North Atlantic to Iceland,
a place where trolls aren't just bedtime monsters. They're woven
(05:07):
into Christmas, lava and even highway planning. Pack a warm
coat and maybe some potatoes. You'll see why trolls in
the Sagas. Trolls appear throughout Iceland's medieval literature, the East
Landing a Sogur and ETA's. They're often described as towering,
weather beaten creatures who live in mountains or lava fields.
(05:30):
Sometimes they're giants, other times surprisingly human looking but big.
A favorite is from the Saga of Bardar snefelsas barter
Half troll himself becomes guardian of the Snefel's Jokul Glacier.
In one story, a farm hand falls into trouble with
(05:50):
mountain trolls near hellnar Barter swoops in like a frosty
batman to save him.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Grila, the Christmas troll mom.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
No Icelandic troll overshadows. Grila, a towering ogress who first
stalked manuscripts in the thirteenth century. By the seventeenth century,
she was fully weaponized as a child scarer, A ragged
giantess who prowled midwinter for misbehaving kids to stew in
her cauldron. Grela's Household is a folkloric sitcom her lazy
(06:21):
husband Leppealouti, and their thirteen chaotic sons, the Yule Lads.
Early descriptions paint the lads as mischief makers, stealing sausages,
slamming doors, and licking spoons. In seventeen forty six, a
government decree actually banned using Greela to terrify children, which
(06:42):
only made her legend cooler.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
This segment is brought to you by Grilla's gourmet cauldrons
roomy enough for reindeer stew, or that one cousin who
just won't leave after Christmas.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Troll stones and true anecdotes.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Troll lore isn't frozen in parchment, It's alive. In Icelandic
countryside gossip. Many farmers still point out oddly shaped lava
rocks as petrified trolls. In sixteen twenty five, a Reykiavik
parish record mentioned shepherds who avoided certain boulders near Mosfel's
Heidi fearing night walkers of stone. In twenty thirteen, a
(07:21):
road project near Borgerfjorder paused when locals argued that blasting
through a mound would injure the trolls within. The work
was re routed after an official elf and troll consultant
gave a careful thumbs up.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Caves, coasts and singing giants.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Sea cliffs also house stories. The Rhinus Dranger basalt stacks
off vic are said to be trolls who tried to
drag a ship ashore, caught by dawn and frozen mid hall.
At Dimuborger, a lava labyrinth, legends say trolls once held
a wedding feast there so raucous they forgot to get
home before sunrise. Their statuesque forms still dance in the
(08:02):
jagged rock. Eighteenth century traveler Egert Olafsen wrote, the rocks
of Meveton seem not born of nature, but of some
giant feast turned to stone.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Need a venue for your next volcanic wedding book, demuborger
event hall, freeze to lagmites.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Petrification not included trolls and religion.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
When Christianity arrived around one thousand CE, clerics took a
dim view of trollish partying. Sermons warned against wandering after
dark lest trolls lure you, Bells were said to drive
them off, and some chapels were built on troll haunted
ground to civilize the rocks. Yet the church sometimes borrowed
(08:45):
troll power. In thirteen forty, a priest near Skagafjorder reportedly
enlisted a friendly troll woman to help locate lost sheep.
Paperwork for that partnership remains sadly unarchived.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Modern Icelandic troll tourism.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Today, trolls are mascots of everything from cafes to hiking tours.
Rain As Fiora beach signs politely remind tourists beware of
sneaker waves and trolls. Children leave notes for Yule lads
in December, hoping for gifts or at least a potato
that isn't rotten. There's even an annual troll Walk in Hafnarfjorder,
(09:25):
where locals dress up as the entire Grila clan.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Visit Iceland with troll trek adventures. Our guides guarantee at
least one questionable boulder sighting per hour refunds. If your
guide turns to stone mid sentence.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
That's it for our Icelandic expedition. Dear listeners. From Grila's
terrifying parenting to trolls trapped in lava mid wedding, Iceland
proves folklore can be equal parts spooky and practical. If
you're hiking near Dimuborger, be polite to every rock, just
in case it's on break. In the next section, we
(10:00):
sniff out Denmark's trolls, swap mountain layers for church spires
and eventually toy store fame. Until then, keep your goats close,
your spoons clean, and don't let Greila catch you misbehaving. Next,
we're paddling across the Skagarak into Denmark, a country famous
for pastries, lego, and of course, trolls. Danish trolls are
(10:24):
a little different from their Norwegian cousins. Less about hurling boulders,
more about crafty deals, building projects and eventually wild hairdos
that swept the world.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Early Danish troll lore.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Trolls slip into Danish texts as early as the twelfth century,
often described as trollda or berg folk mountain people. Chronicler
Saxo Grammaticus mentions forest spirits that sound suspiciously trollish. Peasants
spoke of trolls dwelling in burial mounds, standing stones, or
wooded hill They were strong, long lived, and nocturnal. Farmers
(11:05):
sometimes left butter or ale on stone outcrops to keep
them happy. One of Europe's oldest neighbor diplomacy strategies.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Trolls as builders and shady contractors.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
A favorite Danish theme trolls as master builders who demand
outrageous fees. Folk songs tell of trolls offering to erect
churches or bridges, but only if paid with the sun,
the moon, or a firstborn child. One legend from Vila
recounts a troll who agreed to build a spire overnight.
As dawn neared, the farmer shouted the troll's name, Sindra,
(11:42):
breaking the spell. Furious Sindra hurled his hammer into the river,
leaving a boulder known locally as trolls Stone. Fifteenth century
church records from Jutland even worn, do not parlay with
the hill folk regarding holy foundations.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Need your barn roof fixed before sunrise? Call Sindre and
Sun's midnight masonry payment plans available, Goats accepted.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Bridge trolls and royal roads.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Medieval travelers dreaded dark bridges after dusk. Folklore from Skanderborg
and Rhos claimed trolls exacted tolls or occasionally just swiped
a traveler. The three Billy goats Gruff, though Norwegian and origin,
became beloved in Danish nursery books by the eighteen hundreds,
cementing the idea of the troll as grumpy bridge keeper.
(12:33):
Denmark's flat terrain meant fewer mountain layers, so trolls gravitated
toward hills, earth barrows and riverbanks anywhere a dramatic entrance
could be staged.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Troll dolls and modern reinvention.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Jump forward to nineteen fifty nine. Danish wood carver Thomas
Dam carved a small, big bellied troll doll for his daughter.
The toy exploded into an international craze, especially after being
licensed in the early sixties, good luck trolls, also called
dam dolls, sported neon hair and permanently optimistic grins, the
(13:11):
most cheerful trolls ever imagined. By the nineteen nineties, they
were reborn as treasure trolls with bejeweled bellies. Suddenly trolls
weren't cautionary monsters but collectible icons perched on every office desk.
Dam reportedly said he wanted to make a troll that
looked so happy no one could help but smile. Mission accomplished.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Feeling nostalgic, adopt a certified vintage Damn troll at Happy
Hair Emporium, where all trolls are house trained and moderately lucky.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Trolls in Danish culture.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Today, modern Denmark embraces its trolls. Copenhagen gift shops overflow
with carved wooden figures and sculpture artist Thomas Dambo hides
gigantic recycled wood trolls in forests around the country, encouraging
treasure hunts. Even municipal projects nod to tradition. A twenty
(14:08):
fifteen highway plan in Zealand avoided a Boulder local said
was the last seat of an ancient troll bureaucracy meets
folklore and folklore.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Wins lessons from Danish trolls.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Danish trolls show how stories evolve, from pagan earth spirits
to Christian era builders to toy shop celebrities. They embody
resourcefulness and sometimes petty vengeance. They also prove that good
marketing can transform a bog monster into a global superstar.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Planning a woodland sculpture hunt, bring snacks, and rent our
troll tracker GPS batteries not guaranteed in enchanted areas.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
That's it for our Danish detour dear listeners. From spire
building giants to neon haired charmers, Denmark's trolls remind us
that myths can leap from folklore to pop culture with
surprising ease. Now we're wandering into Sweden, home of pine forests, Fika,
breaks Abba, and an impressive roster of trolls. Here they
(15:13):
guard silver mines, lure shepherds with music, and occasionally get
themselves petrified for dancing.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
After curfew, trolls take root in Swedish folklore.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Swedish sources speak of troll plural trollin from the Middle
Ages onward. They dwell in deep forests, mountains, or near lakes,
and range from dim witted giants to sly shape shifters.
Unlike Norway's strictly mountainous trolls, Swedish ones wander into human settlements,
sometimes as beggars, sometimes in disguise. The thirteenth century Speris saga,
(15:49):
recorded in Norway but retold in Sweden, mentions troll kona
troll women who could brew storms or mislead hunters ate
the great folklore collectors like Gunner Oloff Hilton Cavalius in
the eighteen hundreds gathered thousands of tales of trolls stealing butter, tangling,
(16:10):
spinning wheels, and hosting rowdy feasts. Underground silver mines and Burgatrol,
Sweden's mining boom in the fifteen hundreds, created a new
troll niche. The Burgatrol or mountain troll. Miners around Fallen
believed trolls oversaw ore veins. They were said to whistle
(16:31):
warnings about cavins or punish greed by hiding the richest seams.
A real anecdote in seventeen nineteen, a Fallen mine diary
recorded workers abandoning a shaft after hearing low laughter and
seeing stones roll uphill. Superstition kept that tunnel sealed for decades. Today,
(16:53):
some guides at the Fallen mine jokingly invite tourists to
thank the Burgatrol before you descend.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
This episode is brought to you by burga troll safety
helmets guaranteed to withstand falling rocks, mischievous mountain spirits, and
questionable karaoke echoes.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Forest trolls and midnight musicians.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Outside the mines, Swedish trolls haunt spruce woods and mossy hills.
They love music, especially fiddles, and occasionally abduct promising players.
One classic legend tells of Pare the fiddler in Helsingland,
lured by ethereal tunes to a clearing where trolls danced
around glowing stumps. He played along until dawn. Then sunlight
(17:38):
froze the trolls midjig, leaving Paar with new melodies and
a lifelong aversion to forestry work after dark.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Lakes stones and shape shifters.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Lakes have their share of trolls stories from yempland say
the stores. Ojurret Great lake Monster was born when two
trolls stirred a cauldron too vigorously. Along Wheden's west coast,
fishermen claimed to see sea trolls with kelp for hair
pulling boats astray standing stones called jetta greetor giants kettles
(18:10):
were once thought to be abandoned troll cooking pots. Children
were warned never to shout near them lest a troll
chef returned for leftovers.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Planning a moonlit jam session in the woods. Pack trolltne
rosen the only violent accessory infused with pine, sap and
questionable folklore.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Religion, trolls, and tolerance.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
After Sweden adopted Christianity in the twelfth century, trolls were
recast as heathen spirits avoiding church bells, but coexistence wasn't
always hostile. Some seventeenth century parish records mentioned farmers hiring
priests to read blessings on the boundary stone so the
trolls stay polite.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Modern Swedish troll culture.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Today trolls peak from every gift shop shelf. Children's author
John Bauer painted dreamy forest trolls with melancholy eyes, shaping
how Scandinavians picture them. Hiking trails through Smolen's woods, still
whisper about trolls at dusk. There's even an annual Trollsteigen Run,
a trail race named for the troll Path, where costume
(19:19):
volunteers jump from behind birches to motivate runners.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Join the Smollen troll Trek half hiking adventure, half troll Safari.
One hundred percent chance of needing dry socks.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And that wraps up our Swedish Safari dear listeners. From
silver hoarding bergatrol to fiddling forest dancers, Sweden's trolls prove
that folklore can be both eerie and oddly hospitable. Next,
we cross east to Finland, where Hesi and Pako spirits
blur the line between sacred groves and mischief, a land
(19:53):
of shimmering lakes, dense spruce forests, and trolls who know
how to play both sides of the folklore game. Here
they're called Hesi and peiko, sometimes sacred guardians, sometimes mischievous
shoe rearrangers. Grab your wool socks and a strong cup
of coffee. We've got stories to tell.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Ancient roots the Hesi.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Before Christianity arrived, Hecey referred to sacred groves, rocky hills,
and holy clearings. These places were thought to hold protective
spirits who watched over hunters and travelers. Archaeologists have found
iron age offerings, antlers, fishbones, small tools buried near boulders,
(20:37):
labeled in later folklore as hecy stones. When Christianity spread
in the twelfth century, the term hesi slid from sacred
site to demonic occupant. By the fifteen hundreds, Finnish priests
used it to warn about lurking forest fiends. Some seventeenth
century sermons even instructed parishioners to pray loudly when crossing
(21:01):
a hesi path.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Meet the peiko.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
If the hec were lofty and ominous, the pico were
their more domestic cousins. They're usually described as squat, furry, shy,
and prone to minor sabotage, like moving your boots or
souring your cow's milk if you forget to greet them.
A charming anecdote from seventeen seventy three, a Turku vicar
(21:25):
wrote about villagers who left bread near a large boulder
lest the peiko spoil the cream. Think of it as
Finland's original dairy insurance policy.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Today's show is sponsored by Pico buns our cinnamon buns
are so good even trolls leave coins on the counter
instead of stealing them.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
The national epic Kalavala mentions Hesi as adversaries of the hero.
Veinamoiinin Hesi forged weapons or steeds often symbolized chaos against order.
In one runo veinamoiin must capture he sees elk, an
otherworldly creature from a misty forest. Moral never accept an
(22:06):
elk from someone whose address is cave behind the third Pine.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Lakes, stones and local legends.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Finland's landscape brims with troll geography. Smooth glacial boulders are
called he denkiv he sees stones. Some say they're rocks
thrown at churches by offended spirits. Villagers in Karelia once
claimed a huge stone in the Peelinen Lake was a
sleeping pey. Co Fishermen allegedly tapped it with oars for
(22:36):
good luck, but only gently. Waking a troll was bad business.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Need protection for your dairy or a solid lullaby for
a cranky rock spirit Call Heasy Home services, peace offerings
delivered straight to your doorstep.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Christianizing the trolls, medieval clerics tried to tame Finland's spirits
by planting chapels on old hezy grass. Some succeeded, others
only annoyed the locals and allegedly the trolls. A sixteen
forty one court record from Savonia mentions farmers refusing to
cut down heasy trees despite royal edicts, fearing paiko revenge.
(23:16):
Yet coexistence thrive too. Rural households kept a respectful tone
when talking about the hesi or peiko, speaking of them
as the good folk, never by name.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
After dark modern Finnish troll culture.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Today, trolls peak from picture books, tourist shops, and even
modern art installations. Sculptor Vaco Huovinen carved whimsical peiko statues
dotting Lapland's trails in Helsinki. Cafes sell paco lattes with
little chocolate ears. And let's not forget Finland's most famous
troll adjacent franchise, Tove Jansen's Moomens. Though sweeter than their
(23:56):
folkloric kin, the Moomans borrow traits from ako, rounded noses,
love of coziness, and a knack for philosophical musings.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Explore Lapland with peiko pathfinders. Our guides guarantee a seventy
percent chance of seeing a troll shaped boulder and a
thirty percent chance it might wink.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
And that concludes our finished leg of the journey. Dear listeners,
from Holy Hezy Hills to Peyiko with a sweet tooth.
Finland's trolls remind us that folklore can soften even the
gruffest guardian. Next we sail west to Scotland's Shetland Isles,
where trows play fiddles and steal sheep with equal enthusiasm.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
The British Isles trows, bridge keepers and mischievous kin.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Now we are rowing across the North Sea to the
British Isles, a place where trolls are fewer hulking giants
and more sly pint sized troublemakers. Here they go by
many names, Trows in the Shetlands, Sprigin's in Cornwall, even
the infamous bridge guardians who keep goats on their toes.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Trows of Shetland and Orkney.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
The far northern islands of Scotland give us trows, small
wrinkled folk who love music and mischief. Early references appear
in the sixteenth century kirk Session records noting night dancing
by Strange little Men, a famous yarn. In eighteen forty,
fiddler Willie Irons vanished during a Hogmanay sailith in Lerwick.
(25:32):
When he returned the next morning, dazed, he claimed to
have been taken below by troughs, who demanded reels until dawn.
He emerged with new tunes and a new found habit
of avoiding crossroads after dark. Folklorist Walter Trail Denison described
trows as brown skinned, long nosed, and sly, quick to
(25:55):
steal an infant or a sheep, yet gracious to a
fiddler with steady bow.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Tonight's show is brought to you by Troetunes, Shetland's only
music school where your teachers might whisk you underground mid
lesson free sheep with enrollment.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
England bridge trolls and nursery tales.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
While England doesn't have a native troll word, the idea
seeped in via Norse settlers and later fairy books. By
the nineteenth century, three billy goats gruff was a story
time staple across the country, introducing generations to the grumpy
bridge dweller with a taste for goat chops. English folklore
(26:36):
also has bugbears, boggarts and knockers, mischievous mind spirits who
share DNA with trolls. In Lancashire, a sixteen eighty five
pamphlet warned of boggerts who steal infants in Curdle cream
Stone bridges in Yorkshire sometimes bore nicknames like trolls leap,
suggesting older legends about shadowy guardians.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Cornwall Spriggans and other rogues.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Cornwall's rugged, Moor's host sprigans, stocky guardians of barrows and treasure.
They're blamed for broken tools, sudden storms and swapped babies.
Eighteenth century miners left bits of pasty near standing stones
to keep spriggans from fowling tin seams. A miner's diary
from seventeen ninety nine complaints tools vanished again, likely sprigans
(27:27):
or ned borrowing, always hard to prove sprigan sabotage in court.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Protect your tools and goats with sprigan shield insurance covering
loss from theft, storms and mischievous short beings.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Wales and Ireland distant cousins.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Whales leans more toward goblins Bubba cood, but echoes of
trollish habits crop up guarding bridges demanding riddles. In Irish lore,
solitary giants like the Fomorians or the Furbolg occupy a
similar mythic niche, though they're old and grander than Norse trolls.
A County Clare folk story tells of a bridge ogre
(28:05):
who demanded a gold coin or a good joke from
anyone crossing after sunset. Locals claim he retired once a
pub opened nearby.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Trolls meet Christianity.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Across Britain, Clergy folded older spirits into morality. Tales, troughs
and Spriggans became imps. Bridge lurkers were cast as diabolical
testers of virtue. Church bells, as in Scandinavia, were said
to drive them away. In Shetland, a seventeenth century minister
urged parishioners not to parley with the small gray men. However,
(28:41):
polite their invitations.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Modern British troll culture.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Today, British trolls live on in literature and pop culture
Tolkien's Cave Trolls, Rowling's Mountain Troll, and Harry Potter and
a thousand cheeky mascots on tea towels. Folk festivals in
Orkney occasionally feature trouhunts, essentially pub crawls in costume. And
let's not forget Internet trolls, whose ancestral homeland is apparently
(29:07):
every comments section.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Visiting the isles, download the bridge Guard app gives goat
friendly directions and alerts you to lurking folklore figures that.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Wraps up our British Isles adventure. From Shetland's subterranean fiddlers
to Cornwall Spriggans, these stories remind us that even the
smallest trolls can cast a long shadow across bridges, moors
and the occasional dairy churn. Next we'll head to Germany
and Central Europe, where trolls get tangled up with cobolds,
(29:37):
berg spirits and mining folklore. We're leaving the islands behind
to wander through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and their Central European neighbors. Here,
trolls mingle with miners, haunt forests, and occasionally provide workplace
safety tips, whether you asked for them or not.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Troll kim in the German imagine.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Germany didn't inherit the exact word troll from the Norse,
but it bred plenty of close relatives. Medieval manuscripts mentioned
Bergheist mountain spirits, cooebolds and bergmanline little men of the hills.
They lived inside caves, mines and stone towers. The brothers
(30:22):
Grim collected dozens of tales where these beings are half helper,
half hooligan. In der Teufel Mitindrei goldenen Haaren, a giant
like figure demands riddles and tributes trollish behavior in all
but name.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Berg Trolla and mining lore.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Mining culture gave us berg Trolla creatures thought to guard
or veins. A fifteen sixty Saxon record tells of workers
in the Ore mountains hearing three solemn knocks before a
roof collapse, later chalked up to a berg troll warning
them At the vast silver mines of Schwaz Tyrol guides
still recount stories of troll lanterns, ghostly lights said to
(31:03):
lead lucky miners to rich seams or unlucky ones straight
to a drop shaft.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Safety first. This dig is sponsored by berg troll helmets
protecting miners from falling rocks, spontaneous hauntings, and troll related headbuts.
Since fourteen fifty six.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Coebolds helpful until they're not.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Cobalds are Central Europe's most famous household or mine spirits.
At home, they tidy kitchens and sharpened tools, unless offended,
in which case they dump ash in your soup. Underground,
they take the shape of tiny miners with glowing eyes.
The seventeenth century scholar Georg Agricola noted cobold's contaminating silver
ore miners called the worthless stuff coop for nickel old
(31:50):
nick's copper, a word that later became nickel so yes.
Coebolds helped name an element.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Austrian and Swiss rock trolls.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
The Alps birthed their own legends Steinbach trolls living in
crags or stonemen who shepherded Chemois Tyrolean folk tales worn
hikers not to nap near lonely boulders. Some are disguised
trolls waiting to roll you down the slope. In Switzerland's
Uri Valley, a story tells of a troll demanding a
(32:21):
toll from goat herders crossing a narrow ledge. When a
clever boy fed it cheese instead of coins, the troll tripped, tumbled,
and became the oddly goat shaped rock still shown to tourists.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Heading to the Alps. Pac goat cheese plus perfect snack,
handy troll bribe and doubles as emergency fondue.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Czech, Slovak and Polish shadows.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Further east, check tails mentioned Skalnizzi rock men who lurk
in sandstone caves. Slovak miners feared Churpazliti dwarfish spirits who
might whistle disaster Pulli. Folklore speaks of Beeboch or Skurzat,
Goblin like figures who pinch breadloaves or tangle flax. All
(33:07):
share the trollish taste for hiding treasure and punishing arrogance.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
From pagan hills to Christian morality.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Monastic chroniclers rebranded these spirits as cautionary figures. Laziness could
earn you a COBALT's prank, Greed might anger a berg troll.
Some churches were built atop haunted hills to sanctify them.
Others installed bells to keep trolls from tapping on windows during.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Mass Modern trolls in Central Europe.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Today, Central Europe celebrates its stone spirits more cheerfully. Visitors
to the Erscheburga find carved Bergman line souvenirs. Austrian ski
towns host troll hikes, complete with wooden statues and mulled wine.
Even heavy metal bands borrow cobolds and trolls as mascots,
(33:57):
proving folklore pairs well with the gold tar riffs.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Bring home your very own pocket cobold, now with adjustable
mischief settings, Helper Heckler or chaos gremlin available wherever ethically
sourced sprites are sold.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
And that's our German and Central European adventure. Dear listeners,
from helpful cobolds to gruffberg trolla, these tails remind us
that even under tons of rock people imagined companions, sometimes kindly,
sometimes catastrophically clumsy. Next, we venture into Brittany and Northern France,
where moonlit corrigans keep wells and wandering nights on their toes.
(34:39):
We've arrived in Brittany and Northern France, a place where
troll like spirits wear smaller shoes, drink cider, and prefer
moonlight to mountain caves. Here they're corrigans, Lutens, Gobelins and
other sprightly cousins who've been haunting wells and village greens.
Since the Middle.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
Ages, Corrigans Brittany's moonlit folk.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
Corrigans are Brittany's most famous otherworldly residents, small silver haired
sprites who dance near sacred wells or stone circles. Early
references appear in the thirteenth century Breton ballads, where knights
are lured by ladies of the night beautiful until dawn,
when they reveal sharp teeth and a fondness for tossing
(35:22):
mortals into ponds. Local tradition says corrigans hate church bells,
a recurring Trallish allergy. Some villages placed iron bars across
well openings to keep the water women from slipping inside homes.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Gobelens, lutenes, and the French imagination.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Northern France gave us gobelns yes, the word that later
inspired goblin and lutens, impish helpers who polish shoes or,
if offended, hide your wine corks. A fifteenth century Parisian
household manual warns leave milk at the hearth lest the
lutins sour your se. The city of Evreux has records
(36:02):
from thirteen ninety two describing gobiland lights flickering in streets,
possibly willow wisps, possibly a lutant union demanding better candle hours.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
Need your cider cellar organized by mischievous hands, higher lutont logistics,
efficiency guaranteed until they get bored.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Stone circles, wells and midnight duels.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
Breton countryside brims with menhirs and dolmens often blamed on
trolls or coregans. Farmers and finistaire still point out the
queen of the corgan's seat alichen covered stone, where offerings
of butter or buckwheat cakes were once left. One fifteenth
century romance tells of sir Even who challenged a corrigan
(36:46):
at a moonlit well. She offered him gold if he'd
renounced Sunday mass. He declined, and she vanished with a hiss.
A medieval psa about peer pressure.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Pagan roots, and Christian casting.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Before Christianity, these spirits likely stemmed from Celtic fertility and
water cults. As monasteries spread in the sixth to eighth centuries,
storytellers recast them as little devils. Priests rang bells during
processions to keep them at bay, while lay folk continued
slipping offerings near wells just in case planning a midnight
(37:24):
stroll through a Dolmen field grab Corrigan guard lanterns bright
enough to spot tricky spirits, dim enough to keep the romance.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Later history and literary life.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
By the seventeenth century, Corrigan's and Gobelens strutted into literature.
Charles Perode's fairy tales borrow from Luton lore, and nineteenth
century focalists like Paul Sebillot documented stories of Corgan's spinning
flax or kidnapping inattentive dancers. In eighteen twenty five, locals
near Quimper reported a tiny woman who for a thimble
(38:01):
of cream. When refused, she hects the churn. Butter output
allegedly recovered once cream was poured at her stone.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
Modern Brittany and French troll tourism.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Today, Brittany celebrates its Coregans with festivals, puppet shows and
souvenir mugs. The Gobelin's manufactory in Paris preserves the name,
if not the sprite. Hiking paths wind past wells signposted
beware of dancing Corrigans, handy folklore marketing for thirsty walkers.
(38:33):
Visit Brittany with moonlit mischief tours our guides guarantee at
least one suspiciously small footprint near an ancient well, and
that's our moonlit meander through Brittany and northern France. Dear listeners,
from coregans twirling by wells to lutens hiding your corkscrew,
These tales remind us that troll kind doesn't always stomp
(38:55):
and roar, sometimes at pirouettes, snacks and rearranging your pantry. Next,
we'll explore the deep forests and shadowy clearings of Slavic lands,
home to chorts, leshies and spirits who really really don't
want you whistling in their trees. So let's trek through
the birch woods and broad plains of the Slavic world Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Cechia,
(39:21):
Slovakia and the Balkans. Here trolls are a little leaner,
a bit more horned, and very fond of leading travelers, astray.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
Chorts, horned mischief makers.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
The chort or zort is one of Eastern Europe's oldest
trickster figures. Medieval Russian chronicles describe him as a short
horned creature with goat legs, lurking near crossroads or village baths.
He tempts people with bargains, sometimes for souls, sometimes for vodka.
A sixteenth century homily warns avoid lonely paths at dusk
(39:59):
les short bargain your boots away. In Polish folk tales,
a chort might help with chores if you sign an
agreement written in suspiciously sooty.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
Ink leschie lord of the forest.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
The Leshie is a tall, green tinged forest spirit who
rules the trees. He can change sighs from a blade
of grass to a towering giant, and often whistles to
lure wanderers off trails. One eighteen fifties account from Smolensk
tells of a hunter who followed a laughing voice until
he realized he was walking in circles around the same stump.
(40:35):
Only when he turned his coat inside out. An old
charm against leschies, did the forest fall silent.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Planning a hike bring shortstop trail snacks guarantee to distract
mischievous spirits long enough for you to find the way out.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Dumbavoi, Bannik and other household troll cousins.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Not all Slavic spirits are willed. Blas Domovoi live behind
the stove, protecting families if treated with respect and bowls
of porridge. Bannock spirit of the bathhouse enjoys hot steam
and privacy. Failing to greet him before bathing might earn
you a splash of scalding water. Though smaller than Norse trolls,
(41:20):
their temperament fits quick to help, quicker to grumble.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
Check Slovak and Polish variants.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Czech and Slovak Skalnitzi rock men haunt caves and sandstone towers,
warning miners of bad luck. Polish scrizati or bee box
steal loaves of bread or whisper to children from dark corners.
A Krockoff story tells of a beeboch who demanded honey
from market sellers. Refusal led to mysteriously overturned barrels. All
(41:52):
share the troll job description metal protect treasure, punish arrogance.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
Lose your way among birches, rent our leshi locator the
only compass calibrated for supernatural sarcasm.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
Pagan roots and Christian morality.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Pre Christian Slavs revered forest and household spirits as guardians.
With Christianity's arrival tenth to thirteenth centuries clergy reframed them
as devils or fallen angels. Bells were rung to keep
Leschi's out of fields, and icons sometimes hung on bathhouse
doors to tame the bannock. Yet folk belief endured villagers
(42:32):
would still pour the first sip of class on the
ground for the chort, hedging their bets folklore.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
In the modern era.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Collectors like Alexander Afanashiev nineteenth century preserved hundreds of chort
and leshy tales. Soviet ethnographers, despite official atheism, cataloged rural
stories of green men warning against careless logging. Today, themed
cafes in Moscow feature plush Leshi's serving herbal tea, while
(43:03):
Polish children read about cheeky scrizati in bedtime books.
Speaker 3 (43:07):
Relax after a long forest trek with Domovoi home spa
porridge based facials for the household spirit in us all.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
And there we have it. Slavic trolls, imps, and woodland
lords alive in stories from the Carpathians to the Urals.
Whether they guard birches, tempt at crossroads, or protect your soup,
these spirits prove. Trolls come in all sizes and sometimes
wear moss instead of noses. We leave Europe behind, exploring
(43:37):
the troll like ogres and guardians of Persia, India, China,
Africa and the Pacific, and meet the far flung relatives
of our stone footed friends, from Persian divs to African Tickeloshi's,
Himalayan Yetti's and Polynesian Taniwa. Humanity seems determined to imagine
something living in the shadows, So buckle up, we're going inner.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Continental Persia and Central Asia.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Divs and devs Persian epics, especially for Dowsy's Shahnameh tenth
to eleventh century, introduced divs horned giants guarding treasure or
challenging heroes like Roastam. One famous story pits Rostam against
the white div whose cave lair reads like a proto
troll den, complete with chains, treasure, and an inconvenient hostage.
(44:28):
Turkic tales mentioned devs and albusty mountain ogres blamed for
sickness or bad luck on caravan roots.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
India and South Asia, Rakshasas and Asuras.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
Hindu epics team with Rakshasas shape shifting ogres fond of
disrupting Sage's meditation. The Ramayana's villain Ravana is king of
these beings, ruling from Lanka, with ten heads and an attitude.
Buddhist texts call similar figures yakshas, sometimes benevolent guardians, sometimes
bandits with fangs. Medieval temple carvings across India depict rakshasas
(45:05):
with bulging eyes standing sentinel proof their reputation as night
time hooligan's lasted centuries.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Heading to Lanka pack Ravana repel suncream tan head protection
factor guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
China and Mongolia Yauguay and mangus.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
Chinese folklore speaks of yaouguai animal spirits or mountain demons
gone rogue. Classical novels like Journey to the West feature
entire parliaments of troll adjacent beings, pig spirits, rock demons,
and shape changing ogres with bureaucratic ambitions. In Mongolia, stories
tell of the Mangus, a hulking mountain fiend who wrestles shamans.
(45:48):
Some shamans still battle mangus in trance rituals, echoing the
duel with troll theme.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Africa, ticcoloshe and river ogres.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Southern Africa because tikolosha or tokolosha is a goblin sized
trickster said to sneak into homes, spill water jugs or worse.
Zulu households once raised beds on bricks to keep these
squat spirits from climbing. In West African folklore gives us
river ogres and bush devils, often protective of sacred groves.
(46:20):
They test hunter's manners the way Scandinavian trolls test bridge etiquette.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Need a bed riser with style, try tokoloshi block, because
sleeping low is just an invitation.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
The Pacific, Taniwa Moo and friends.
Speaker 1 (46:38):
Across Polynesia, stories tell of Taniwa maori serpentine guardians of
rivers or caves. Some Taniwa protect villages, others challenge reckless canoeists.
In Hawaii, moo lizards guard freshwater pools and sometimes steal swimmers.
Missionary journals from the eighteen hundreds note chiefs making offerings
(46:59):
to tell niwa before new voyages a blend of respect
and risk management.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
Indigenous Americas giants and aggresses.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
First nations on the Northwest coast speak of Zunuqua, a huge,
long haired ogress who lures children with a haunting call.
Plains tribes tell of stone giants roaming blizzards. Cherokee lore
includes Yunuit sunsti, little people protecting forests, more fairy than troll,
(47:29):
but equally territorial. Spanish missionaries in California recorded stories of
Yokut's rock babies, boulder like beings who demanded songs before
letting travelers pass.
Speaker 3 (47:41):
Explore New Zealand rivers with tannywa tours, free paddle, optional
life insurance.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
The Himalayas and Arctic shaggy outliers.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
While often branded cryptids, the Yeti of Nepal and Tibet
or the Almas of Siberia, share the troll resume, big,
shagg mountain dwelling, and shy of daylight. Early British mountaineers
logged giant tracks in the nineteen twenties, fueling pop culture fame,
themes and threads across continents. Troll like beings guard liminal spaces, caves, bridges,
(48:17):
river mouths, forests. They worn against arrogance, reward cleverness, and
remind us that nature is not always tame. Whether called
div rakshasa yauguay tikoloshe taniwa or Yeti. They serve the
same purpose as their Nordic cousins, putting teeth and claws
on our respect for the unknown. And there you have it,
(48:40):
a global caravan of trolls, ogres, and spirits from Persian
caves to Polynesian lagoons. Every culture seems to imagine someone
watching from the shadows, ready to challenge goats, heroes, or
just unwise swimmers. Next, we're stepping out of sagas and
folklore into the neon lige of collectibles, cartoons, and comments sections.
(49:04):
Trolls didn't retire when we invented electricity. They just updated
their wardrobes and learned to type in all caps.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
Toy store trolls the happy Hair Revolution.
Speaker 1 (49:15):
In nineteen fifty nine, Danish woodcarver Thomas dam sculpted a
squat smiling troll as a gift for his daughter. Neighbors
clamored for their own, and the Damn Doll was born.
By the early sixties, good luck trolls were an international sensation,
complete with wild hair and gemstone belly buttons. Toy historians
(49:37):
note their enduring appeal part charm, part kitch, and one
hundred percent desktop mascot. In the nineteen nineties, they re
emerged as treasure trolls, while DreamWorks twenty sixteen Trolls Movie
turned them into singing technicolor pop stars.
Speaker 3 (49:56):
Bad Hair Day Embrace It with troll top styling gel
guaranteed to hold even if You're turned to stone mid meeting.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Trolls on stage and screen.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
Trolls have stormed pop culture for decades. Norwegian composer Edvard
Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King eighteen seventy
five gave trolls their own earworm soundtrack. J R. R.
Tolkien's The Hobbit nineteen thirty seven and The Lord of
the Rings nineteen fifty four to fifty five cemented them
(50:28):
as lumbering brutes turned to stone by sunlight. The Moomans
Finland softened troll dom into gentle philosophy. Films from Earnest,
Scared Stupid to Frozen reinvent trolls as goofy helpers or
earthy sages. Even theme parks joined in Walt disney World's
Norway Pavilion features a three headed troll who loves photo bombs.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Folklore, tourism, and marketing.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Modern Scandinavia has leaned into troll branding. Souvenir shops sell
plush trolls with authentic, grumpy expressions. Hiking trails like troll
Tunga or Trollsteigen lure visitors with a hint of myth.
There's even a troll museum in Tromsu, Norway, complete with
VR encounters.
Speaker 3 (51:14):
Plan your next selfie at Trolltunga, tours, scenic cliffs, legendary monsters,
and zero guarantees the rock won't yawn mid picture.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
The Internet troll emerges.
Speaker 1 (51:26):
In the nineteen nineties, a new species was born, the
Internet troll. The term appeared in early Usenet groups describing
users who trolled for newbies with baiting posts. By the
two thousands, it meant anyone who posted inflammatory comments for sport.
Digital trolls don't hide under bridges. They lurk in forums, chats,
(51:48):
and social feeds. Their weapons are sarcasm, memes and an
endless supply of unsolicited opinions. Internet culture historian Whitney Phillips
notes that trolling thrives where attention is a currency. From
flame wars to fake news, the troll evolved into a
cautionary tale for the online commons.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
Trolls in activism, art and memes.
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Some communities flip trolling into performance art or political satire.
Think of social campaigns that troll bigots with humor, or
artists who create surreal accounts to challenge algorithms. Memes like
don't Feed the Trolls remind us that engagement is the
oxygen of online mischief.
Speaker 3 (52:32):
Need a firewall for your feelings? Download bridge guard pro
filter spam, caplock rants, and anything that smells like swamp breath.
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Why trolls endure.
Speaker 1 (52:45):
From medieval stone throwers to pixel provocateurs, Trolls endure because
they personify the hazards of stepping off the safe path,
whether into dark woods or endless scrolls. They challenge us
to stay clever, laugh at absurdity, and occasionally unplug. And
there we are, dear listeners, every bit of troll history,
(53:06):
from saga pages to status updates. Trolls have danced through
every era, teaching caution, inspiring art, and sometimes just demanding
goats or clicks. Thank you for joining me on this
bridge hopping odyssey. Subscribe to the Strange History podcast. Leave
a kind review, not a trollish one and keep an
eye on your feed. There's always another strange history waiting
(53:29):
under the next metaphorical bridge.
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