Also called Utburd, Utbøling, Ihtiriekko (Sámi).
The tale
The myling is the ghost of a child left to die in secret without baptism or burial. It cries in the woods at night and may leap on a traveller's back, demanding to be carried to the churchyard, growing heavier with every step; if the traveller cannot reach the churchyard, they may die. Some stories say it can be freed by being named. The tales reflect real hardship and grief in poor rural communities.
When they are met
- night in the woods
- when grief is unspoken
Staying on their good side
- folk tradition: the myling was laid to rest by being given a name and a Christian burial
- a candle for children who died too young
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Remember children lost to hardship; light a candle and speak their memory.
- The tales teach that naming and burying the dead brings peace.
What their tales teach
- compassion for grief
- understanding hidden sorrows
- laying the past to rest
Symbols
- a crying in the woods at night
- a child who grows heavy on your back
- a churchyard
This is a distressing tradition rooted in real infanticide; approach it with care.
Sources
- Kvideland and Sehmsdorf, Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend
- John Lindow, Swedish Legends and Folk Beliefs
More Norse folklore
- Huldra The hidden woman of the forest
- Nisse The little old man of the farm
- Draugr The restless dead of the sagas
- 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