Hulder

{{short description|Seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore}} {{Hatnote|See also ''Huldufólk'' for the Icelandic and Faroese version.}} {{For|the Danish folk metal band|Huldre (band)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox mythical creature |name = Hulder |AKA = |image = Huldra's Nymphs.jpg |image_size = |caption = ''Huldra's Nymphs'' (1909) by Bernard Evans Ward |Folklore = |Grouping = Legendary creature |Sub_Grouping = Humanoid |Country = Norway |Region = Scandinavia |Habitat = Forests |Similar_entities = Huldufólk "hidden folk", skogsrå <br/>baobhan sith, glaistig <br/>siren, succubus }} {{More citations needed|date=November 2022}}

A '''hulder''' (or '''huldra''') is a seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore. Her name derives from a root meaning "covered" or "secret".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hellström |first=AnneMarie |title=Jag vill så gärna berätta |isbn=9179080022 |language=no}}</ref> In Norwegian folklore, she is known as '''huldra''' ("the [archetypal] hulder", though folklore presupposes that there is an entire Hulder race and not just a single individual). She is known as the '''skogsrå''' "forest spirit" or '''Tallemaja''' "pine tree Mary" in Swedish folklore,<ref>{{cite book|last=Granberg|first=Gunnar|title=Skogsrået i yngre nordisk folktradition|series=Skrifter / utg. av Kungl. Gustav Adolfs akademien för folklivsforskning, 99-0440828-9; 3|date=1935|publisher=Lundequistska bokh.|location=Uppsala|language=Swedish|id={{LIBRIS|321677}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Hultkrantz|editor-first=Åke|title=The supernatural owners of nature: Nordic symposion on the religious conceptions of ruling spirits (genii loci, genii speciei) and allied concepts|series=Stockholm studies in comparative religion, 0562-1070; 1|date=1961|publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell|location=Stockholm|id={{LIBRIS|541848}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Häll|first=Mikael|title=Skogsrået, näcken och djävulen: erotiska naturväsen och demonisk sexualitet i 1600- och 1700-talens Sverige|date=2013|publisher=Malört|location=Stockholm|language=Swedish|isbn=978-91-978751-2-7|id={{LIBRIS|13887591}}}}</ref> and '''{{lang|smi|italic=no|ulda}}''' in Sámi folklore. Her name suggests that she is originally the same being as the völva divine figure Huld and the German Holda.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1909-01-01 |title=Nordisk familjebok |url=https://runeberg.org/nfbk/0659.html |website=runeberg.org |language=sv}}</ref>{{Better source|date=October 2025}}

The word hulder is only used of a female; a "male hulder" is called a ''huldrekall'' and also appears in Norwegian folklore. This being is closely related to other underground dwellers, usually called ''tusser'' (sg., ''tusse'').

Though described as beautiful, the huldra is noted for having a distinctive inhuman feature — an animal's hairy legs and tail, (usually a cow's or a fox's), and/or a back resembling a hollowed-out tree — carefully disguised under a long clothing.

==Folklore== {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2022}} The hulder is one of several ''rå'' (keeper, warden), including the aquatic ''sjörå'' or ''havsfru'', later identified with a mermaid, and the ''bergsrå'' in caves and mines who made life tough for the poor miners.

More information can be found in the collected Norwegian folktales of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.

===Relations with humans=== thumb|A hulder is talking with a charcoal burner. She looks like a young farmer woman, but her tail is peeking out under her skirt. From ''Svenska folksägner'' (1882). The hulders were held to be kind to charcoal burners, watching their charcoal kilns while they rested. Knowing that she would wake them if there were any problems, they were able to sleep, and in exchange they left provisions for her in a special place. A tale from Närke illustrates further how kind a hulder could be, especially if treated with respect (Hellström 1985:15).

==Toponyms== {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2022}} A multitude of places in Scandinavia are named after the Hulders, often places by legend associated with the presence of the "hidden folk". Here are some examples showing the wide distribution of Hulder-related toponyms between the northern and southern reaches of Scandinavia, and the terms usage in different language groups' toponyms.

===Danish=== * ''Huldremose'' (Hulder Bog) is a bog on Djursland, Denmark famous for the discovery of the Huldremose Woman, a bog body from 55BC.

===Norwegian=== * ''Hulderheim'' is southeast on the island of Karlsøya in Troms county, Norway. The name means "Home of the Hulder". * ''Hulderhusan'' is an area on the southwest part of Norway's largest island, Hinnøya, whose name means "Houses of the Hulders".

===Sámi=== * ''Ulddaidvárri'' is a place in Kvænangen Municipality in Troms county (Norway). The name means "Mountain of the Hulders" in North Sámi. * ''Ulddašvággi'' is a valley southwest of Alta in Finnmark county (Norway). The name means "Hulder Valley" in North Sámi. The peak guarding the pass over from the valley to the mountains above has a similar name, Ruollačohkka, meaning "Troll Mountain"—and the large mountain presiding over the valley on its northern side is called Háldi, which is a term similar to the above-mentioned Norwegian rå, that is a spirit or local deity which rules a specific area.

==In popular culture== {{Promotional section|date=December 2025}} In the mobile game ''Year Walk,'' one of the Watchers is a Huldra.

They are mentioned in Seanan MacGuire's October Daye series in the book "A red-rose chain".

Neil Gaiman's novella ''The Monarch of the Glen'', published in the collection ''Fragile Things'', includes references to Hulder legends.

In the subsequent ''Year Walk: Bedtime Stories for Awful Children,'' the first chapter is devoted to the Huldra.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-02 |title=Year Walk Bedtime Stories for Awful Children |url=https://simogo.com/work/year-walk-bedtime-stories-for-awful-children/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Simogo |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025}}</ref>

In chapter 40 (chapter XL: "A day in Hälsingland", section: "The Animals' New Year's Eve") of the novel ''Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey through Sweden'', a narrated legend mentions the Huldra.

In the video game "Bramble: The Mountain King," developed by Dimfrost Studios in 2023, the boss Skogsrå is a Huldra.

In A Curse Carved in Bone, Danielle L. Jensen’s novel, the characters encounter a Huldra.

Huldror play a key role in Arlo Z. Grave's dieselpunk fantasy series ''The Duskingr Saga''. The cultural rift between the huldror and selkie is a central issue in the series. In book 1, ''[https://www.quillsandcosmos.com/s-projects-side-by-side The Ice Moves for No One]'', the huldra woman Vespald plays a major role and will be a primary character in the series moving forward. She is also portrayed as autistic and speaks partially in a signed language. There are several other named huldror characters including a priest named Lylok.

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Scandinavian legendary creatures Category:Germanic paganism Category:Norwegian folklore Category:Scandinavian folklore Category:Swedish folklore Category:Mythic humanoids Category:Nature spirits Category:Female legendary creatures