When I was at the open-air museum Skansen, I heard a story about trolls. This got me thinking about other mythological creatures and monsters that inhabit Sweden. And a new series was born!
Today – Näcken.
Summer is a time associated with bathing. But if you are bathing in-land, in a lake or stream or beck, keep an eye open for Näcken!
Näcken is a mythological creature in the shape of a naked man. He sits by waterways, or on lily pads, and plays beautiful music, often on a fiddle, but sometimes on a flute. With this music, he lures innocents into the water where they drown.
In certain legends, it is believed that Näcken can change his shape into, for example, a dragon, a worm or a beautiful white horse called Bäckahästen. As Bäckahästen, Näcken entices children to ride on his back and he carries them out the water to drown them. It doesn’t matter how many children there are, Bäckahästen’s back simply grows longer to accommodate them.
The name Näcken doesn’t come from the word ‘näck’ meaning naked in Swedish, as one might think. It comes from the Nordic word ‘nykr’ which meant ‘sea monster’ or ‘hippopotamus’.
So if you see a naked man playing a fiddle by the edge of a waterway – flee!
Watching the Swedes 