A troll cat is the
familiar
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to r ...
of a witch in
Scandinavian folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
. Troll cats sucked milk from cows and spat it out in the witches' milk pails, and went into homes to lick up cream. Aside from cats, similar creatures include the milk rabbit, milk hare, and ball-shaped troll ball.
Description
Witches reportedly were able to create them from "human hair, nails, wood shavings, and the like",
[Kvideland and Sehmsdorf 176.] and they were said to suck milk from cows and steal cream from households. Troll cats would then spit out the stolen milk into troughs next to the house.
[Lecouteux, ch. 5] The Norwegian names ''trollnøste'' and ''trollnøa'' indicate their shapes: those troll cats looked like balls of yarn.
[Alver 120.] A other kind of troll cat had the appearance of a ordinary cat; but, unlike the ball-shaped troll cat, harming the cat-shaped troll cat would result in the same harm to the witch.
[ In addition, it was thought that shooting a troll cat would cause milk to spray from its wound. The troll cat is easily confused with the witch's '']hug
A hug is a form of endearment, universal in most human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two people are involved, it may be referre ...
'', which could also assume the shape of a cat.[ The troll cat would have to be buried with the witch, or the witch would have to leave her grave to retrieve it.][
]Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collections ...
, a scholar of Norwegian folklore, retells a story in which Gypsies took advantage of farmers' beliefs in troll cats by stealing milk and blaming it on troll cats, a story they would then render believable by digging up a previously buried "bladder filled with red water surrounded by a cat-skin". Norwegian novelist Johan Bojer recalled an incident from 1914, when he was a lieutenant in the Army. The local women decided to raise the rent for the soldiers and he refused them permission to do so. He fell ill, and his three-day illness was explained by one of the women as a result of a troll cat having been sicced on him.
A related creature is the tilberi, a milk thief and witches' aide in Icelandic folklore. The tilberi (also called ''snakkur'', a spindle "made from a dead man's rib, stolen wool, and communion wine") plays the same role as the troll cat. One Icelandic farmer chased one on horseback and at long last it hid under the skirts of a farmer's wife. The skirt was tied up so the thief couldn't escape, and the woman was burned.
Explanation
The existence of troll cats appears to be related to the observation of matter (such as hair) regurgitated by cattle.Fuligo septica
''Fuligo septica'' is a species of slime mold, and a member of the class Myxomycetes. It is commonly known as scrambled egg slime, or flowers of tan because of its peculiar yellowish appearance. It is also known as dog vomit slime mold, and is ...
'' and the foam made by spittle bugs were seen as troll cat droppings. Also offered as an explanation for the belief in troll cats is the Norwegian Forest Cat, a particularly long-haired domestic cat bred in Northern Europe.[Taylor 76.]
See also
* Tilberi, another witch-created milk thief
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{Scandinavian folklore
Scandinavian folklore
Witchcraft in folklore and mythology
Cats in popular culture
Milk in culture
Scandinavian legendary creatures
Cat folklore