Great Norwegian Mountain Troll allegedly photographed in December 1942 by the crew of an RAF recon flight 300 miles North of Berge.
At first she did not think of stones. Grief made her insubstantial to herself; she felt as if she were flitting lightly from room to room like a moth. The apartment seemed constantly twilit, although it must, she knew, have gone through the usual sequences of sun and shadow over the days and weeks since her mother had died. Her mother—a strong, bright woman—had liked to live among shades of mole and dove. Her mother’s hair had shone silver and ivory. Her eyes had faded from cornflower to forget-me-not. Ines had found her dead one morning, her bloodless fingers resting on an open book, her parchment eyelids down, as though she dozed, a wry grimace on her fine lips, as though she had tasted something not quite nice. She quickly lost this lifelikeness, and became waxy and peaked. Ines, who had been the younger woman, became the old woman in an instant.
this story has been stuck in my head for a while so i was glad to see it was online
My book of cartoons ‘You’re All Just Jealous of my Jetpack’ is available now:
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1770461043
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1770461043
Other stockists and info at www.tomgauld.com
(you can also buy prints there).
Scandinavian Folklore – Trolls
No creature frequents the stories and beliefs that make up the Scandinavian folklore as often as the trolls. Trolls often lived inside of mountains, and were then called mountain trolls or mountain people. They could also be found in big blocks of stone or simply underground. Few creatures of folklore have been quite as transformed by modern storytellers and toymakers as the trolls. We’re used to seeing them as clumsy and grotesque, furry human-like creatures. And of course they always have a tail. If only it would have been that simple!
But amongst the people of old trolls had a reputation as being very complex and cunning creatures. What they actually looked like is debatable, and often varies from place to place. There are also stories about them being able to change their appearance at will. Sometimes they could look just like humans, but much more beautiful of course!
Trolls especially liked to take the shape of animals. If you happened upon a strange cat or dog walking about alone you should be extra careful, because those were the trolls favourite animals to transform into.
The trolls home-life was actually quite similar that of people, they lived in large families and kept animals. You could sometimes hear them shouting or smell their cooking deep in the mountains or forest. And they also liked to make trouble for the humans nearby. They often sneaked into village and farms to attempt to steal food or beer. A clever farmer would protect himself by always carrying steel (like a troll cross).
But trolls stealing food was not the biggest problem. From time to time, a villager might disappear in the forest and then people would suspect them of having been mountain-taken, kidnapped by trolls.