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Classic Ghost Stories

Episode 63 Elias And The Draug by Jonas Lie

Classic Ghost Stories

Tony Walker

Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction

4.9 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2020

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Elias And The DraugI got this tale from https://amzn.to/31BmIUU (Roald Dahls' Book of Ghost Stories)which is a very well-curated collection. Often, ghost stories collections are just a rehash of the same old tired stories, but Roald Dahl put some goodies in this one. Of course, Dahl was of Norwegian descent, so it is perhaps natural he should include a Norwegian writer.This story Elias And The Draug was published in 1870. Of course, the 19th Century was a time of a revival in traditional folk stories, often Germanic such as Hans Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, and often very grim. This story is a horror story, absolutely, and a ghost story in that it features a supernatural creature, a resident of faerie, the draug. And in its style, it is definitely akin to fairytales which are one of the sources of the ghost story form.Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Norway in 1833, and he died in 1905. he is considered to be one of the four greats of Norwegian literature. His father was appointed sheriff of Tromsø which is a very northern part of Norway with chunks of the region within the Arctic circle. This area has a rich Sámi heritage, and we note the reference to the Lapp girl in the story whom the surviving child Brendt marries and settles down, never going to sea again.Lie wanted to go in the navy, but his eyesight was so weak he never succeeded in going to sea professionally. Instead, he became a lawyer, which was probably more lucrative. He went to University in Christiania and got to know the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and Bjornsterne Bjornson, another famous Norwegian author less known outside Norway than Ibsen.He published his first novel in 1870, Den Fremsynte, which like much of his work focuses on Norwegian life, the traditions and folklore and the constant encounter with the sea. My Money Making SchemesBelow I list various things you can do to show your appreciation for my work producing the podcast. These range from buying my books, to starting your own podcast to shopping at Amazon.Tony's Ghost Story BooksMy latest book, London Horror Stories is available on https://amzn.to/2YSSHPb (Amazon UK) and https://amzn.to/2NgZHQu (Amazon US). Ghost and horror stories with a sense of place. It's available free for Patrons.It's doing moderately well and the audiobook will be coming in stream soon through Author's Republic, which you'll be able to get on Audible.If you've read it and like it, could you please leave a review on Amazon?All purchases, recommendations and support of London Horror Stories is massively helpful to me.Support Tony on Ko-fi!The show is only possible through the support of appreciative listeners. If you'd like to show your appreciation for the podcast, why not nip over to Tony's Ko-Fi page and buy him a coffee? There are also some free tracks there for download, and others to buy.Go https://ko-fi.com/tonywalker (here) to visit Tony's Ko-Fi page.Pledge via PatreonThe regular support of patrons via Patreon ensures that podcast hosting gets paid every month. If you feel you'd like to be a committed supporter, please sign up at the https://www.patreon.com/barcud (Patreon page).Music by The Heartwood InstituteYou can listen to the album from which this is taken https://theheartwoodinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/witch-phase-four (here). Please support hauntological music!Start Your Own Podcast!I am very happy with the wonderful responsive support and constant innovation of my podcast host, Captivate FM. If you want to start a podcast, you will be supported by them all the way.If you use https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=tonywalker (this affiliate link) to join Captivate,Support the showVisit us here: www.ghostpod.orgBuy me a coffee if you're glad I do this: https://ko-fi.com/tonywalkerIf you really want to help me, become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/barcudMusic by The Heartwood Institute: https://bit.ly/somecomeback Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Everybody dies, Dan, then.

0:09.0

Everybody come back.

0:12.0

Isn't that so?

0:14.0

You tried to get into the locked drawer today, didn't you?

0:17.0

How do the dead come back, mother?

0:20.0

What's the secret?

0:21.7

Elias and the Drau by Jonas Lay.

0:27.0

On Kvalholmen down in Helgieland,

0:30.3

there once lived a poor fisherman by name Elias and his wife Karen,

0:35.7

who before her marriage at work in the parsonage at Alstahau.

0:39.3

They lived in a little hut which they had built and Elias hired out by the day in the low-foot and fisheries.

0:45.3

Kval Holman was a lonely island, and there were signs at times that it was haunted.

0:51.3

Sometimes when her husband is away from home, the good wife heard all sorts

0:56.2

of unearthly noises and cries, which surely boded no good. Each year there came a child. When

1:03.8

they had been married seven years, there were six children in the home, but they were both

1:08.2

steady and hard-working people, and by the time the last arrived,

1:12.2

Elias had managed to put aside something, and felt that he could afford a sixen, and thereafter

1:17.8

do his low-foot and fishing as master in his own boat. One day, as he was walking with a

1:24.2

halibut harpoon in one hand thinking about this. He suddenly came upon

1:28.5

a huge seal, sunning itself in the lee of a rock near the shore, and apparently quite as

1:35.0

much taken by surprise as he was. Elias, meanwhile, was not slow. From the rocky ledge on which

1:41.3

he was standing, he plunged the long heavy harpoon into its

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