Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.06.2004, Blaðsíða 28

STICK PINS IN THEIR FEET AND SLAP
THEM ON THE CHEEKby Eydís Björnsdóttir
I cut across the adhesive tape, only to discover that there were
staples underneath which held the box firmly shut. I eventually got
it open and proudly displayed the skeleton that was hiding inside.
OUTSIDE REYKJAVÍK
No, not a scene from the latest
horror flick, but for me an average
day at work last summer. It was only
a plastic skeleton, but this shiny,
clean heap of bones was destined
to end up in the Ghost Museum at
Stokkseyri. The Museum is a great
addition to the range of museums
found in Iceland, and should serve
as fine entertainment for everyone
interested in what has been lurking
about in the darkness of Iceland’s
winter nights. And it shouldn’t only
tickle the curiosity of foreigners but
also any Icelander who enjoys a good
tale.
Maybe you don’t believe in ghost
stories? In that case you could prob-
ably do with a trip to some desolate
spot in the country. It’s amazing
what pitch darkness, devoid of ci-
vilisation, will do to any man’s belief
in the eerie. You might not come
back believing in ghosts and goblins,
but you’ll definitely have a better
understanding of the soil from which
Icelandic ghost tales have sprung.
People tend to think up such stories
when they’re faced with nothing but
darkness for the better part of the
year and soon they’ll find them-
selves believing them. Iceland is no
exception for here abound stories of
resurrected bodies, haunting spirits,
killer seals, trolls, men turning into
beasts of all kind, and even the devil
himself.
The one word they can´t say
Anyway, back to ghosts. Here no
one is so entirely dead as to be
unable to walk once more. The
deceased longs to return and this is
exactly what the living must prevent
him from doing. For this there is
a procedure. Firstly, close his eyes
so he cannot see. Secondly, carry
the corpse feet first to the grave so
that it can´t find its way back. It is
usually the wrongdoers or those who
died swiftly or disastrously and can’t
abandon what was left behind, who
become ghosts capable of haunting
the living.
Icelandic ghosts generally are far
more physical than the spectral ap-
paritions we’re used to in the movies.
They wreak havoc and can be strong
as an ox. These ghosts even touch
humans; the most relentless ones
will pursue a person’s descendants
for up to nine generations. There is
also the occasional hopeless romantic
who comes back for the love of his
life, mad with jealousy because she
will eventually wed another (which
definitely brings the concept of a
jealous boyfriend into new dimen-
sions).
While possessing many supernatural
powers, Icelandic ghosts can’t say
the word Guð (God). Whenever a
traveller came upon a farm, he would
knock three times and say “Hér sé
Guð” (Here be God) to prove that
he was but a human visitor. This was
important to do because the com-
mon belief was that ghosts only came
to visit after the sun had set, as they
had difficulty walking in sunlight.
Red sweaters and big hats
In the Viking era, a spirit could be
helpful or serve as a premonition.
Those spirits could be in the form of
an animal or somehow representa-
tive of the person’s character. Later,
the Roman Catholic Church denied
the existence of ghosts and punished
those who believed in them. But
superstitions die hard and although
the edicts from the Church changed
some minds, the common people
refused to give up entirely - they
adapted instead. As an example,
ghosts cannot bear to hear Catholic
verses being spoken and the most
effective of them all is Lilja, written
by the monk Eysteinn Ásgrímsson in
the 14th century.
Accompanying spirits of the 17th
century and onwards seldom helped
the living, but such behaviour wasn’t
entirely unheard of. The mean spirits
were distinguished by gender. Móri
is the male spook and he usually
wore a reddish sweater and a big hat
or something similar to a coif. Skotta
is the female spook and she could be
recognized by her red cap which had
a tail.
Reciting poetry with a troll
People had huge faith in the spoken
word, especially poetry, and a poet
of power could spellbind with his
uttering. Ghastly creatures such as
ghosts and trolls sometimes sought
to increase their power by using po-
etry, but they then made themselves
vulnerable to their victim who could
either finish reciting their poem
before they could, or reply with
another poem. If that happened, the
ogreish being was powerless against
the measly human. No matter how
fiendish the creature, the right
protection is always to be found in
folklore. And there are many ways to
protect yourself, depending on your
means. Burning the hooves of a bull
inside your house will ward off any
possible intruders of an otherwordly
nature, as will the burning of ram
horns. It is also possible to scare
them off by throwing urine on them,
but for those who do not wish to
resort to such desperate measures, it
is quite enough to hang a horseshoe
over the door. The horseshoe has to
turn upside down though (i.e. being
the image of a frown, not a smile) or
it won’t be of any use at all.
Should you be in close proximity
to a corpse, you could always stick
some needles in the soles of its feet,
making it unbearable for the poor
wretch´s ghost to walk. Another,
probably simpler method would be
to give the corpse a fierce slap on the
cheek. The ghost should then go off
to haunt someone else.
If all else fails you can at least be
comforted in the knowledge that
ghosts usually don’t live much longer
than 300 years.
Exiting planned day tours and
custom made tours by your own wishes
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