My guest for this episode is folklorist and author Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir, who joined me to discuss her new book Ghosts, Trolls and The Hidden People; An Anthology of Icelandic Folk Legends.

Dagrún Ósk’s research on the folklore and legends of Iceland has included the topics of cannibalism, Ouija board traditions, supernatural beings and, for her PhD thesis, women, femininity and gendered power relations.

Her new book is a window into the mythic and supernatural history of the Icelandic people. The six chapters of the anthology are each based on a different setting: farm, wilderness, darkness, church, ocean and shore. It features translated tales from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as introductions from Dagrún Ósk herself, which place these often-supernatural happenings in the context of Icelandic society.

The legends include stories of hidden people, trolls, ghosts, sea monsters and even polar bears, exploring themes of love, revenge and conflict. The book highlights the tension between Christianity and paganism, past and present, nature and humanity, and divides within society.

More details about Ghosts, Trolls and The Hidden People; An Anthology of Icelandic Folk Legends can be found at https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/ghosts-trolls-and-the-hidden-people.

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The podcast theme music is by The Night Monitor, from his album, ‘Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind’. You can find out more about The Night Monitor's music at https://thenightmonitor.bandcamp.com/.