The Welcome to Spirits podcast, a boozy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore.

Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world.

I'm Amanda.

And I'm Julia. And it's not really a new story from around the world. I'm Amanda. And I'm

Julia. And it's not really a new story from around the world this week, Amanda, because last

week we discussed the origins of those little guys that are often spotted in our gardens.

Nomes! That's right. And we ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, seeing how Scandinavia gets in the mix?

How does Norway get in on this flavor?

That's a great question, Amanda, because I did give you a lot of information about sort of the Greek origins of the gnome, from the Iliad, to the alchemy of the true Renaissance man, Paracelsus.

But now we're going to talk about the fact that that's not the only inspiration for

gnomes when it comes to those little red-hatted gnomes that we see.

So today I bring you gnomes two, two gnomes too, two furious.

Thank goodness, Julie.

It was like holding in a sneeze, preventing myself from making that reference.

I am so glad that you got there for me and the audience.

Yes. If we do a third gnome episode, it'll be Nome's 3 colon Tokyo Drift. Incredible.

So this episode is going to focus on, like I said, the other inspiration for Nomes, which is the Scandinavian Nise. Now, this is the name that is most typically used in Norway. In Sweden, they are referred to as the Tomte, but regardless of what

you were calling them, Amanda, they are one of our favorite things here on the podcast. They're a

house spirit. Hey, there's nothing like the

spirits that live at home with you, who you have to live side by side with, who can maybe

help you, but definitely can harm you if you piss them off. That is true, and we'll see a little

bit about that in the near future as we discuss these. But particularly, these are solitary, sometimes mischievous house

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