Monster Of The Month: Dagtröll – Day Troll

Day trolls are trolls who walk abroad during bright days. They are fierce, but steadfast and loyal to their friends. Some are kinds of protective beings, often seeking to mate with humans but avoiding coming into conflict with them. They grant their descendants, the half-breeds, the hope of immortality. Day trolls have the gift of second sight and give good counsel to men. Some are malignant and cannibalistic. They have a human form but are usually more unsightly and much larger and more vicious in nature. They subsist by hunting and raising livestock and live in caves and behind waterfalls. This is why the cavities beneath waterfalls are known as a giant’s kettle. Some tales of day trolls tell of friendship and loyalty, others of selfishness and violence, and others of fiendishness and atrocities.

Sigfús Sigfússon, Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og sagnir IV, p. 232-233.

Our Monster of the Month comes from the project Duldýrasafnið (“Hidden Beings Museum”) by Arngrimur Sigurðsson. He takes firsthand accounts of creature sightings, like the one above, from Icelandic historical texts, and creates a painting of each one. The book is out now in Icelandic and English. Read our interview with the artist here.

See more monsters here.