Gryla & the Midwinter Monsters of Iceland

The Morbid Curiosity Podcast

Hallie Lloyd

Cryptid, Serialkiller, Science, Disease, Medicine, Scary, Skeleton, Historyofmedicine, Social Sciences, Ghost, History, Medical, Anthropology, Monsters, Archeology, Murder, Creepy, Skeptic, Paranormal, Prison

4.8 • 634 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For this winter holiday special, Hallie dives into the folklore of Iceland to talk about the terrifying creatures of midwinter. Who are they, what are their origins , and what has become of them in the modern era?

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode contains discussions of kidnapping and child death.
0:05.5	If that isn't something you want to hear about, this may be a good episode to skip.
0:10.8	I'd like to apologize in advance for my pronunciation of Icelandic words and names.
0:15.7	I'm not a native speaker, and although I used a guide, I'm sure I won't get it quite right. As a non-Icelander,
0:23.0	I tried my best to use resources by Icelandic authors. This involved reading translations,
0:28.5	which may not have captured the exact stories and feelings associated. My apologies for that
0:34.6	as well.
0:53.3	Humans are fascinated by gore and violence, but even more so the mysterious and unsolved. Interest in these disturbing and unpleasant subjects is called morbid curiosity,
0:58.9	and it has gripped millions of people throughout the ages.
1:02.6	I am one of those people.
1:05.0	My name is Halley, and this is the Morbid Curiosity podcast.
1:53.2	Hmm. This is the Morbid Curiosity Podcast. This is the Morbid Curiosity Podcast. In December of 2020, I wrote an essay for the Plague Pit Tier patrons on some of the characters from the Yuletide traditions of Iceland.
1:58.4	This bit of folklore was very different from what I grew up with, and it stayed with me.
2:02.2	The creatures and characters that caught my attention were Greala and her family, mischievous and sometimes downright terrifying beings. Grela is a monstrous
2:09.4	troll or ogre, who has many sons known as the Yule lads and a giant, ferocious cat. All were
2:16.5	believed to terrorize the children of Iceland in the days leading up to Yule,
2:20.3	what we would call midwinter or Christmas.
2:23.3	Most of these tales seem to originate in the 13th century,
2:27.3	but only became associated with Yuletide in the 19th century.
2:32.3	Before we get to the folk tales, a little context is needed, as Iceland
2:37.0	is quite a unique place in both geology and history.
2:42.0	Iceland is a sub-arctic island that is kept relatively warm due to the North Atlantic current.
	...

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