A Harmful Figure In Scandinavian Folklore: The Mylingen

Another frightening figure in Scandinavian folklore are the Mylingen (The Myling). In Sweden, infanticide was a fairly common crime amongst poor mothers. The reasoning behind it was either the family was not wealthy enough to afford feeding another child, or the mother had conceived the baby outside a marriage. Adultery was frowned upon and ruined many lives, and drove people to take extreme measures such as murdering their own infant. During this time, the most common places that Mylings were abandoned were in forests or brooks, where nobody would find them. According to Christian beliefs, these infants were denied baptism, which is why they cannot rest in peace and are forced to haunt the living. Mylings usually lurk in the forests, waiting for wanderers to torment. The most common way for Mylings to haunt is through a terrible wailing sound, that drives people crazy. Other beliefs show that Mylings will jump onto peoples’ backs and force them to carry
This majestic, pale white horse dwells in Scandinavian lakes, rivers, and brooks. The beauty of the horse will draw people – mainly children – towards it, and the brook horse would then proceed to persuade the admirer onto its back. If the person is foolish enough to climb aboard the Brook horse, it begins sprinting towards the body of water at an unnatural speed, and the rider is unable to jump off. The Brook horse will then dive into the water, drowning the rider. In other tales of the Brook horse, it will be depicted as a horse that can stand on its hind legs. This creates an even more terrifying image of the beast. The motive behind the legend of the brook horse was most likely to scare children away from the water. Parents would tell their kids this story so they did not have to worry about their kids drowning. This leads to next mythical creature, that was designed to discourage children from wandering outside in the dead of