Also called Draug, Aptrgangr (again-walker), Haugbúi (mound-dweller).
The tale
In the Icelandic sagas, the draugr is a dead man who will not stay in his grave, heavy as an ox and strong beyond nature, guarding his treasure or terrorising the living. The most famous is Glámr in Grettis saga, a surly shepherd who dies on Christmas Eve and haunts the farm, breaking the backs of men and beasts. Grettir the Strong wrestles him in the dark hall until the roof beams crack, and as the moon breaks through the clouds Glámr curses him with ill luck and fear of the dark before Grettir beheads him. People tried to keep the dead from walking by carrying the body out through a hole in the wall, as Egil does for his father in Egils saga.
When they are met
- midwinter, when saga hauntings were worst
- at funerals and remembrance
- Winter Nights
Staying on their good side
- proper, respectful rites for the dead
- settling debts and quarrels before death
- leaving grave goods undisturbed
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Honour your own dead properly: visit graves, tell their stories and settle old family quarrels.
- Never disturb graves or take things from burial sites.
- Read the story of Glámr in Grettis saga on a dark winter evening.
- Keep a small remembrance candle for those who have passed, rather than fearing them.
What their tales teach
- the lesson of treating the dead with respect
- facing old grudges
- understanding saga courage
- letting go
Symbols
- a burial mound
- a swollen, dark-skinned corpse
- grave goods
- eyes that shine in the moonlight
Mostly from medieval Icelandic sagas, which are literary works rather than direct records of belief.
More Norse folklore
- Huldra The hidden woman of the forest
- Nisse The little old man of the farm
- Trolls The old dwellers in mountain and stone
- Valkyries The choosers of the slain
- Fossegrim The fiddler beneath the waterfall
- Nøkken The fiddler in the still water
- Mara The spirit who rides sleepers
- Myling The spirit of the unburied child