Hulder

Hulder
Huldra's Nymphs (1909) by Bernard Evans Ward
Creature information
GroupingLegendary creature
Sub groupingHumanoid
Similar entitiesHuldufólk "hidden folk", skogsrå
baobhan sith, glaistig
siren, succubus
Origin
CountryNorway
RegionScandinavia
HabitatForests

A hulder (or huldra) is a seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore. Her name derives from a root meaning "covered" or "secret". In Norwegian folklore, she is known as huldra ("the [archetypal] hulder", though folklore presupposes that there is an entire Hulder race and not just a single individual). She is known as the skogsrå "forest spirit" or Tallemaja "pine tree Mary" in Swedish folklore, and ulda in Sámi folklore. Her name suggests that she is originally the same being as the völva divine figure Huld and the German Holda.[better source needed]

The word hulder is only used of a female; a "male hulder" is called a huldrekall and also appears in Norwegian folklore. This being is closely related to other underground dwellers, usually called tusser (sg., tusse).

Though described as beautiful, the huldra is noted for having a distinctive inhuman feature—an animal's hairy legs and tail, (usually a cow's or a fox's), and/or a back resembling a hollowed-out tree—carefully disguised under long clothing.

Folklore

The hulder is one of several rå (keeper, warden), including the aquatic sjörå or havsfru, later identified with a mermaid, and the bergsrå in caves and mines who made life tough for the poor miners.

More information can be found in the collected Norwegian folktales of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.

Relations with humans

A hulder is talking with a charcoal burner. She looks like a young farmer woman, but her tail is peeking out under her skirt. From Svenska folksägner (1882).

The hulders were held to be kind to charcoal burners, watching their charcoal kilns while they rested. Knowing that she would wake them if there were any problems, they were able to sleep, and in exchange they left provisions for her in a special place. A tale from Närke illustrates further how kind a hulder could be, especially if treated with respect (Hellström 1985:15).

Toponyms

A multitude of places in Scandinavia are named after the Hulders, often places by legend associated with the presence of the "hidden folk". Here are some examples showing the wide distribution of Hulder-related toponyms between the northern and southern reaches of Scandinavia, and the terms usage in different language groups' toponyms.

Danish

Norwegian

Sámi

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hellström, AnneMarie. Jag vill så gärna berätta (in Norwegian). ISBN 9179080022.
  2. ↑ Granberg, Gunnar (1935). Skogsrået i yngre nordisk folktradition. Skrifter / utg. av Kungl. Gustav Adolfs akademien för folklivsforskning, 99-0440828-9; 3 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Lundequistska bokh. SELIBR 321677.
  3. ↑ Hultkrantz, Åke, ed. (1961). The supernatural owners of nature: Nordic symposion on the religious conceptions of ruling spirits (genii loci, genii speciei) and allied concepts. Stockholm studies in comparative religion, 0562-1070; 1. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell. SELIBR 541848.
  4. ↑ Häll, Mikael (2013). Skogsrået, näcken och djävulen: erotiska naturväsen och demonisk sexualitet i 1600- och 1700-talens Sverige (in Swedish). Stockholm: Malört. ISBN 978-91-978751-2-7. SELIBR 13887591.
  5. ↑ "Nordisk familjebok". runeberg.org (in Swedish). 1 January 1909.
  6. ↑ "Year Walk Bedtime Stories for Awful Children". Simogo. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2022.[dead link]
  7. ↑ "Thale (2012) IMDB Page".
  8. ↑ "Hulder Official bandpage". HULDER. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Huldra Horror Shorts Festival". Huldra. Retrieved 6 September 2026.