When I was at the open-air museum Skansen, I sat and listened to an old woman telling fairy tales about mythical creatures. The story I heard was about trolls. This got me thinking about other mythological creatures and monsters that inhabit Sweden. And a new series was born!
Today – The Mara.
In Swedish folklore, a mara is a supernatural creature that tortures people in their sleep by straddling them, pressurizing their chests and evoking a sense of suffocation and anxiety. It can take many forms. However it is most often in the shape of a witch-like woman, who slips in through the keyhole or any crack in the door. However, a mara can also be a cat, a monkey, or even a ball of twine.
If a Mara visits you in the night, and ‘rides’ your chest, you become paralyzed and immovable.
It is believed that the Mara can only climb into the bed by first stepping in the sleeping person’s shoes on the floor. One way to avoid this is therefore to remove your shoes to another part of the room, or put them under the bed with the toes pointing outwards.
If you ever witness somebody possessed by a Mara, go immediately to the forest and find a hollowed-out trunk. Put that in the bed next to the person and the Mara will transfer itself from them and to the piece of wood. Then you can take out the wood, and force the creature back to the forest.
An interesting point about the Mara, is that the Swedish word ‘mardröm’ and the English ‘nightmare’ originate from it.
Watching the Swedes 