Something that exists in Nordic mythology is the creature called “Nattmaran.” This creature was believed to have come in the form of a woman and would sneak into the bedroom at night through a keyhole. It would then sit on the man or woman’s chest and this would make them feel like they were being shocked. This is how the Swedish word “Mardröm,” which means nightmare, got into being .
Another story that is common in Nordic mythology is the one about Trolls. It is said that they lived in the forests and in Sweden, the trolls would be giants. They would have a lot of gold, would be social (and be very social), and would only fear steel, church bells and sunlight because the sun would turn them into stone.
They could also have different cravings and would therefore take newborn babies and switch them with their own. But not only children were taken. It was believed that they sometimes lured people into the mountains and forest and when they return their mind would be damaged. That was called “Bergtagning” and is how they sometimes explained people with mental disorders.
When I was younger my mother always told be that certain thing meant bad luck. So here’s what some people say about different things in Sweden.
You will get bad luck if:
You break a mirror
Put keys, shoes or money on the table
A black cat crosses the road
You go under a ladder
You open an umbrella indoors
Killing a spider will make rain, you can’t give away a wallet without putting money in it and last but not least, if you have the hiccups someone is talking about you.
I don’t know why all these things are said but I once read that you should not put keys on the table because that is what prostitutes did when they wanted to show a man that they wanted him to come to their room. Which of course was not a proper thing to do.