The Skogsrå ( sv, skogsrået ; ), Skogsfrun ('the Mistress of the Forest'), Skogssnuvan, Skogsnymfen ('the Forest Nymph'), Råndan ('the Rå') or Huldran, is a mythical female creature (or ''rå'') of the forest in Swedish

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. It appears in the form of a small, beautiful woman with a seemingly friendly temperament. She appears like a woman from the front but seen from behind she often has a tail and a hollow back or skin like tree bark. Those who are enticed into following her into the forest are never seen again. It was said that any human man who has intercourse with the Skogsrå becomes an introvert, as his soul has remained with her. If the seduced man is a hunter, he may be rewarded with good luck in the hunt, but should he be unfaithful to the Skogsrå, he will be punished with numerous accidents. He may put an end to a stormy night caused by her vengeance by firing a shot against her. Late folklore in Nyland, Finland describes

silver bullet In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...

s as effective means of killing a skogsrå.

Popular culture

* The character Esmeralda (played by

Happy Jankell Happy Betty Nicóle Hildegard Jankell (born 16 December 1993) is a Swedish actress. Personal life Jankell is the second daughter of Thorsten Flinck and Annika Jankell. She is the younger sister of Felice Jankell, and is of French-Moroccan des ...

) in SVT's thriller television series ''

Jordskott ''Jordskott'' (, "soil shoot") is a Swedish TV thriller, crime drama series. Police detective Eva Thörnblad ( Moa Gammel) investigates the disappearance of her daughter and other mysteries in her hometown of Silverhöjd. The title refers to ''jo ...

'' is called "what traditionally would be described as a skogsrå". She is shown having a hollowed back and the ability to drive people to suicide. * In 1877,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

poet

Viktor Rydberg Abraham Viktor Rydberg (; 18 December 182821 September 1895) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895. "Primarily a classical idealist", Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 was ...

published a poem titled ''Skogsrået''. ** Between 1894 and 1895,

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

composer

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

composed a

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

based on Rydberg's poem, bearing the same title. ** French

Nordic folk Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions of Nordic countries, especially Scandinavian. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The many regions of the Nordic countries share certain traditions, many of w ...

group Skáld's adapted Rydberg's poem for their 2022 single ''Då Månen Sken''.

References

Scandinavian legendary creatures Swedish folklore {{Legendary-creature-stub Female legendary creatures Forest spirits