The "huldra" is from Norwegian folkore; she's a spirit/Fae of the forest; a very flirty and seductive creature who can hypnotize and enchant people with her song. She looks exactly like a very beautiful human woman, except for the fact that she has a tail. (In some stories huldras have a hollow back instead, but the huldras from my childhood stories only had the tail, so that's what I stick with.)
As a rule, a huldra does NOT like it if you see her tail, because that'll clue you in that she's not human... so a good rule of thumb when you meet a huldra is: DON'T MENTION THE TAIL, even if you see it, and even if it's extremely obvious that she has one. She'll get angry at your insolence and take revenge.
Too bad that the two girls who were out camping saw the huldra dance in the dark forest and were stupid enough to point out her tail... so now they're both deeply hypnotized and following her into the woods. I'll leave it to your imaginations what exactly she does with them....
Since this is a forest, wouldn't "Oh Dear Faunus" be more appropriate here? ^_^
TheFinalAnubis said: So you can see it but not call it out? Seems as if the huldra has some self-confidence issues when it comes to looks
In a way. As a rule, the huldra doesn't like it if you see her tail... especially if she's trying to appear human or be seductive at the time. So if you see it, pretend you haven't. Either she doesn't know you've seen her tail, and no harm done, or she gets that you've seen it but are choosing to ignore it, which will generally give her the impression that you're being polite and make her a lot more inclined to be friendly.
(Her Swedish cousin, the skogsrå, or "Tallemaja," has either a fox tail or a hollowed-out back so that she looks like a hollow tree trunk from behind, so a lot of modern artists have mixed the two together and given the huldra both the tail and the hollow back, but that's not really accurate to the myths. The tail and the hollow back sort of play the same role though... seeing her from behind clues you in that she's not human.)
godzillahomer said: from what I read, it sounds like noticing the tail leaves them powerless
Well, not POWERLESS as such, not in the stories I grew up with at least... it's more like noticing the tail shows you her true nature, which makes it easier for you to resist their lure and hypnotic song.
The tail of the huldra is kind of a curious thing... while she has magical powers, can hypnotize and call down curses and vanish without a trace, even change her appearance to some degree, she apparently can't do anything to hide her tail other than wear long skirts and/or make sure you never see her from behind (which can get REALLY awkward REALLY fast). If she uses her tail to box you around the ears, you either become her mindless slave or you lose your wits and go insane... stories vary a little. Finally, if the huldra marries a human man, in a human church, she loses the tail and becomes human. Some stories also say she becomes dreadfully ugly, but in others she keeps her beauty... depends a little on how romantic the story is. However, she also keeps her supernatural strength.
One story had a blacksmith marry a huldra, who became human and lost her tail. The blacksmith turned out to have a violent temper, though, and he was quick to start hitting people, including his former-huldra wife. So she visited him in the smithy, where she took a horseshoe and with her bare hands straightened it out before tying it into a knot. And then she said: "The next time you want to hit me, remember that I could easily do this to you... but I won't, because I love you." He calmed down a lot after that.
they might have good harp skills according to the second source I looked at
The harp... well, yes, in some stories, like you could hear a huldra playing a harp by a waterfall or in the forest. But when it comes to musical instruments, it's not the harp that's mostly associated with the huldra... it's the fiddle. If she's not singing, she's more likely to be playing the fiddle... it's said you can sometimes hear the music in the mountains, which a lot of Norwegian composers heard, remembered and wrote down. These pieces of fiddle music are called "huldreslått." You can hear one of them here, if you like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovIdg17DPiM
Her male equivalent, the hulderkall...and of course the waterfall-dwelling fossegrim... are even better at playing the fiddle. The old stories say that if you got one of the three to teach you how to play, you'd become a master fiddler. But if you didn't pay them for it (traditionally the payment was a leg of lamb) you'd forget everything you'd learned.
now to bring up another mythological creature
the Iara, a Brazilian Mermaid with a hypnotic voice
Man I absolutely love the hypnosis and the focus on the tail! I know it’s most likely not in the lore, but I’d love to imagine that in cases like this one, the punishment for pointing out her tail was that she also transformed the two into Huldras as well as hypnotizing them into thinking that they are Huldras too!
tailtaylor said: Man I absolutely love the hypnosis and the focus on the tail! I know it’s most likely not in the lore, but I’d love to imagine that in cases like this one, the punishment for pointing out her tail was that she also transformed the two into Huldras as well as hypnotizing them into thinking that they are Huldras too!
Considering how brutal myths and legends are, it's probably something more akin to being either abandoned int he woods to die, or straight up killed
>> #292111
Score: 0 (vote Up)
As a rule, a huldra does NOT like it if you see her tail, because that'll clue you in that she's not human... so a good rule of thumb when you meet a huldra is: DON'T MENTION THE TAIL, even if you see it, and even if it's extremely obvious that she has one. She'll get angry at your insolence and take revenge.
Too bad that the two girls who were out camping saw the huldra dance in the dark forest and were stupid enough to point out her tail... so now they're both deeply hypnotized and following her into the woods. I'll leave it to your imaginations what exactly she does with them....
>> #292112
Score: 0 (vote Up)
YES PLEASE
>> #292119
Score: 0 (vote Up)
>> #292121
Score: 0 (vote Up)
>> #292122
Score: 0 (vote Up)
So you can see it but not call it out? Seems as if the huldra has some self-confidence issues when it comes to looks
its insecure.
like me
>> #292124
Score: 0 (vote Up)
they might have good harp skills according to the second source I looked at
spangenhelm.com/huldra-folklore-lady-forest/
www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Huldra
now to bring up another mythological creature
the Iara, a Brazilian Mermaid with a hypnotic voice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iara_(mythology)
>> #292169
Score: 0 (vote Up)
folklore and hypnosis?
YES PLEASE
Happy to oblige. ^_^
Oh Dear Neptune...
Since this is a forest, wouldn't "Oh Dear Faunus" be more appropriate here? ^_^
So you can see it but not call it out? Seems as if the huldra has some self-confidence issues when it comes to looks
In a way. As a rule, the huldra doesn't like it if you see her tail... especially if she's trying to appear human or be seductive at the time. So if you see it, pretend you haven't. Either she doesn't know you've seen her tail, and no harm done, or she gets that you've seen it but are choosing to ignore it, which will generally give her the impression that you're being polite and make her a lot more inclined to be friendly.
(Her Swedish cousin, the skogsrå, or "Tallemaja," has either a fox tail or a hollowed-out back so that she looks like a hollow tree trunk from behind, so a lot of modern artists have mixed the two together and given the huldra both the tail and the hollow back, but that's not really accurate to the myths. The tail and the hollow back sort of play the same role though... seeing her from behind clues you in that she's not human.)
from what I read, it sounds like noticing the tail leaves them powerless
Well, not POWERLESS as such, not in the stories I grew up with at least... it's more like noticing the tail shows you her true nature, which makes it easier for you to resist their lure and hypnotic song.
The tail of the huldra is kind of a curious thing... while she has magical powers, can hypnotize and call down curses and vanish without a trace, even change her appearance to some degree, she apparently can't do anything to hide her tail other than wear long skirts and/or make sure you never see her from behind (which can get REALLY awkward REALLY fast). If she uses her tail to box you around the ears, you either become her mindless slave or you lose your wits and go insane... stories vary a little. Finally, if the huldra marries a human man, in a human church, she loses the tail and becomes human. Some stories also say she becomes dreadfully ugly, but in others she keeps her beauty... depends a little on how romantic the story is. However, she also keeps her supernatural strength.
One story had a blacksmith marry a huldra, who became human and lost her tail. The blacksmith turned out to have a violent temper, though, and he was quick to start hitting people, including his former-huldra wife. So she visited him in the smithy, where she took a horseshoe and with her bare hands straightened it out before tying it into a knot. And then she said: "The next time you want to hit me, remember that I could easily do this to you... but I won't, because I love you." He calmed down a lot after that.
spangenhelm.com/huldra-folklore-lady-forest/
www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Huldra[/quote]
The harp... well, yes, in some stories, like you could hear a huldra playing a harp by a waterfall or in the forest. But when it comes to musical instruments, it's not the harp that's mostly associated with the huldra... it's the fiddle. If she's not singing, she's more likely to be playing the fiddle... it's said you can sometimes hear the music in the mountains, which a lot of Norwegian composers heard, remembered and wrote down. These pieces of fiddle music are called "huldreslått." You can hear one of them here, if you like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovIdg17DPiM
Her male equivalent, the hulderkall...and of course the waterfall-dwelling fossegrim... are even better at playing the fiddle. The old stories say that if you got one of the three to teach you how to play, you'd become a master fiddler. But if you didn't pay them for it (traditionally the payment was a leg of lamb) you'd forget everything you'd learned.
the Iara, a Brazilian Mermaid with a hypnotic voice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iara_(mythology)
Women with hypnotic voices and songs are pretty common in many mythologies!
>> #292180
Score: 0 (vote Up)
Women with hypnotic voices and songs are pretty common in many mythologies!
and so many have myths about marriage included with them too
>> #292191
Score: 0 (vote Up)
>> #292207
Score: 0 (vote Up)
Man I absolutely love the hypnosis and the focus on the tail! I know it’s most likely not in the lore, but I’d love to imagine that in cases like this one, the punishment for pointing out her tail was that she also transformed the two into Huldras as well as hypnotizing them into thinking that they are Huldras too!
Considering how brutal myths and legends are, it's probably something more akin to being either abandoned int he woods to die, or straight up killed