Regarded as haunting the darkish seas of the north, the Sea Draug is a ghost of the drowned fishermen’s and different unlucky souls who perished on the waters.
Alongside Norway’s rugged shoreline, the place the ocean has all the time given each life and dying, sailors have lengthy spoken in hushed tones a few terrifying apparition often known as the ocean draug. As a spot the place the ocean claimed a whole lot of lives yearly, no marvel {that a} specific sea ghost began haunting the shores.
Learn Extra: Try all ghost tales from Norway
Initially, the phrase draugh merely meant ghosts, and there are tales about them throughout Scandinavia since earlier than the Viking space. This ghost shouldn’t be the identical creature because the draugr of the Viking sagas, the corporal ghost although they share a reputation. The ocean draug belongs to coastal Norwegian folklore and is formed by centuries of concern, loss, and respect for the unforgiving ocean, particularly alongside the coast of western Norway stretching as much as the north, the draug is nearly all the time a ghost from the ocean.
A Spirit Born of the Sea
In later folklore it turned frequent to restrict the determine to a ghost of a useless fisherman who had drifted at sea and who was not buried in Christian soil. Later the phrase has primarily come to imply a spirit at sea in Norway. This improvement is partly as a result of many and common folkloric tales of Jonas Lie within the 1870s , 80s and 90s, based mostly on superstitions from Northern Norway. In different Nordic international locations although, the phrase draug, usually means the traditional and corporal ghost from the graves.
It’s usually stated to seem like a fisherman nonetheless dressed for work, carrying oilskins or previous sea garments soaked via and clinging to a bloated physique. Its pores and skin is pale and water-swollen, and its eyes could glow faintly, lit by an eerie shimmer like moonlight on kelp.
Seaweed is steadily described as tangled in its hair or beard, drifting and transferring as if nonetheless underwater. In some tales, the draug’s presence is introduced not by sight however by sound. The creak of oars, the slap of waves towards wooden, or a wierd voice calling out throughout the water can sign that it’s close to. When it cried out at evening, it appeared like a cry for assist from folks in peril.
Generally he would wander round within the boathouses, and typically he could be a stone with seaweed on it, so fishermen had been reluctant to take a “seaweed stone” as ballast as he may come onboard with them then..
He settled close to contemporary water, in mill homes, landed and moored boats or boathouses. Indicators of his presence had been rust and turned oars. If he went out into the boat, it turned noticeably heavier. The ghost couldn’t tolerate gentle or hearth and could possibly be scared away with hearth or embers. Grassy land was protected as a result of the ghost couldn’t stroll there.
Generally he would get into the fishermen’s huts and lie down beneath the beds. He would solely disappear when the room was lit or heated. He would additionally evaporate if somebody shouted “Kirkheim” or threw cemetery soil or excrement after him. Such soil may symbolize that the drowned particular person was lastly in a position to relaxation in consecrated floor. One other previous piece of recommendation was to smear feces on the touchdown rope to stop the ghost from taking the boat. The idea in the usage of excrement towards supernatural forces is present in reference to different legendary figures, together with ghouls or elves. Rituals, similar to spitting on land earlier than getting out of the boat or tying three knots on the rope, had been additionally used as safety.
Boats that Shouldn’t Float
Some of the chilling pictures in sea draug folklore is that of the half-sunken boat. The draug is alleged to row vessels that sit unnaturally low within the water, as if already claimed by the ocean. These boats glide silently via fog or darkness, showing instantly alongside fishing boats or ships.
In storms he headed for land like the opposite fishermen. He may race or steer instantly in direction of boats, and anybody who encountered him at sea was in for a foul time. If a ship was ignored by the draug, it foreshadowed inevitable shipwreck and dying for the crew.
Seeing such a ship was thought of a lethal omen. To fulfill the gaze of the ocean draug or hear its name may imply catastrophe. Some tales say it cries warnings of coming storms, as if attempting to save lots of others from sharing its destiny. Different tales are darker, claiming the draug lures sailors nearer, solely to tug them down into the depths.
If the draug shouts “Welcome” or calls out the title of a selected particular person, you shouldn’t reply. You must arise, flip your again to the sound, and shout the identical phrase. When you discover bones, garments, planks or comparable from a sunken boat close to the place you hear the draug, you could be certain that to get it upstream and bury it. Whether it is buried the place the seawater doesn’t attain it, it’s going to lose its impact. In case you are in possession of fireside once you encounter the draug, you must throw a firebrand at it and shout: “Now you’re burning!” Then it’s going to exit to sea, and solely the Morilden or mareel will seem after it.
Tales of the ocean draug are deeply tied to Northern Norway, the place lengthy winters, darkish waters, and violent climate have formed life alongside the coast. These legends helped clarify sudden disappearances and shipwrecks, they usually gave type to grief in communities the place loss was a continuing companion.
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References:
draug – Retailer norske leksikon
Draugen – havets hevner og dødens varsler – Helgeland Museum
