Creature of the Week - Huldra

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The Huldra is a creature from Scandinavian folklore. She is a wood nymph who guards the forests and the flocks.

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She looks like a beautiful young woman with long hair, from the front. But behind, the huldra is hollow, like a trunk of a tree. She also has a cow or fox tail.

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There have been marriages between huldras and human men. One tale tells of a man who failed to keep their engagement secret after he promised to do so. The huldra beat him with her cow’s tail until he lost his hearing and wits. In another, the huldra’s husband is treating her poorly so she straightens a burning hot horseshoe with her bare hands to remind him of her magical powers.

In “Beauty is Only Fin Deep”, my short story in Mertales, I introduce a creature that is part huldra.