From Iceland — Krummi, The Katla Raven, Speaks Out

Krummi, The Katla Raven, Speaks Out

Published July 22, 2021

Erik Pomrenke
Photo by
Skari/Photoshop

Rebecca Cathrine Kaad Ostenfeld operates a small animal rescue on her farm, Hólar, near Búðardalur. This farm, however, has a secret: among the various horses, dogs, chickens, and even guinea pigs, can be found a star from Baltasar Kormákur’s most recent series, Katla.

Krummi the raven came to the farm six years ago after an injury. He has since recovered and even has his own little house outside the family farm.

His repertoire includes classic hits like “what,” “hi,” “yes,” “no,” and “Baltasar.” Incidentally, these phrases are generally the first taught to foreigners learning the language, as encountering Baltasar Kormákur in downtown Reykjavik has become an increasingly common hurdle to tourists and immigrants alike in recent years.

More bone-chillingly, Krummi can also say “Hello, mother.” In a recent interview with Morgunblaðið, Ostenfeld describes a spooky encounter with Krummi:

“How do you think I felt one dark winter night out in the sheepfold when I suddenly heard him call mother? At first I thought it was my daughter. Then I turned around and it was the raven. It was not a little scary.”

Ostenfeld was initially reluctant to have the family friend star in Katla, but she says to Morgunblaðið that she was always close by, and that the film crew treated him very respectfully.

Krummi has since watched Katla with the family, and even shouts “Krummi!” when he sees himself on screen.

When we reached out to Krummi to talk about the reception of the series and his future plans in the film industry we received no further comment.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.

Support The Reykjavík Grapevine!
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!

Show Me More!