"Nykk," "nökken" (nixies) are known throughout the country. These were in former times seen near deep and gloomy mountain tarns and by the brooks. These nixies are able to transform themselves into any kind of animal or reptile, sometimes even assuming strange and grotesque shapes, with heads both front and back; they are the spirits of fresh water.
A peculiar legend originates from Underdal in Aurland, in the inner Sogne Fjord. In the olden time there was quite a plague of snakes in that place. A Finn from Nordland happened to be travelling in the neighbourhood. The Finns have always been held in great dread by the Norwegian peasants on account of their pagan practices, witchcraft and sorcery. This pagan Finn offered to rid the place of the reptiles if only there was not among them what he called a "hvidorm" or "visorm" (a wizard serpent), which he described as being in shape like a long hempen rope; it was quite white, and had a red head. The peasants informed him that the "visorm" was never seen there.
The Finn then built up a large "baal" (funeral pyre), and fixed up a high post near by, up which he climbed; it was just so high that none of the snakes could reach him. There he sat and beat loudly on his conjuring drum with a drumstick of reindeer horn, and began to conjure.
Then out sprang the snake, which was charmed by the noise of the "rune" drum, and forthwith sprang all the other snakes: from fell and brake, from crag and wood, all came racing up to the fire. But now, alas! came also the "visorm" so dreaded by the Finn, who shrieked that it was now all over with him, for in company with "visormen" came always "hvidormen," the dragon snake.
Thunder was heard in the crags close by, and a huge piece of rock was hurled into the fjord. As the dragon snake came forth, down sprang the Finn from his high seat; but he was promptly seized by "hvidormen," and both disappeared into the funeral pyre together and were burnt up. It was in this way that Underdal was rid at once of both snakes and Finn, and this happened long ago.
"Trolds" (sprites) and "horven" or "kraken" (sea-monsters) were thought to inhabit the sea and lonely parts of the coast and uninhabited islands in the old days, but it is uncertain whether people nowadays quite believe in this nonsense, although they might say "You must have been a-fishing with 'kraken' to-day" if a fisherman happened to come in with an unusual harvest of fish.
"Kraken" is also thought to be the legendary sea serpent which is said to have been seen in still summer weather on the deep sea, far out from land, by fishermen, but always at a distance, never near enough for them to be able to take its dimensions. This sea-monster is supposed to be about one hundred fathoms long, and to wriggle over the surface of the water, at times heaving itself even to the height of the masts of a ship.
An old saga speaks of a kind of merman, "hav-strambr," a sea-monster, whose head resembles a man's helmeted head, the lower part of the body being in shape like to an icicle, and no one has ever seen where it ends. When this monster appears it is said to be a sign of storm and shipwreck.
Quaint customs
A custom which had its origin in pagan times is the lighting of the Saint John's fires, "Sankt Hans," or "Balder's Baal," on midsummer's eve, a festival of the sun, held on the longest day. It is intimately connected with sun-worship, Balder being the sun-god, and fire a symbolic image of the sun.