Huldrefjord
Sea Witch
NorskMargygr
- Names
- sea witch, sea giantess, sea ogress, martyr, margyger
- Habitat
- in the northern seas, typically around eddies and whirlpools; sometimes upstream large rivers
- Danger level
- High
Listen · 2:10
AI voice
Our audio guide is being renewed. While we update the exhibition, the new recordings are read by an AI voice in English and Norwegian. They will later be recorded by real voices in more languages. Thank you for your patience!
For all the beauty to be found in it, the sea hides some true monsters. One of them is the sea witch, whom you should hope never to meet.
Appearance
The sea witch is a relative of the mermaid, with a combination of human and fish characteristics. Her upper body is that of a woman, though often discolored or disfigured, while her lower body is a giant fishtail or sometimes a bundle of tentacles. Her face is ugly and flat, with piercing eyes that glow red in the dark. She has horse ears, fangs for teeth and long claws at the end of her fingers.
Behavior
With her massive tail, the sea witch easily stirs up the waters around her, creating maelstroms, eddies, and whirlpools that can bring down even the steadiest of ships. Anyone who survives the shipwreck is drowned by the sea witch herself.
Fairy tale
The Sea Witch in the Lofoten Maelstrom
In a local legend from Lofoten, the origin of the Lofoten Maelstrom whirlpool is traced back to two trolls: the Værøy Man and his wife, the sea witch Mosken Hag. Together they owned a great cauldron, which they stirred with their enormous ladles.
One moonlit night, while they were stirring the cauldron, the Seven Sisters, seven beautiful troll princesses, passed by. The Værøy Man was bewitched by their beauty and ran off to flirt and make merry with them, much to Mosken Hag’s fury.
When he finally returned home, she was standing over the cauldron, stirring so violently that the foam flew from it. Fearing she might take the cauldron from him, the Værøy Man seized his own ladle and began stirring in the opposite direction. All night long, they struggled against one another, each stirring with all their strength, until Mosken Hag’s anger finally subsided and she forgave him.
But whenever the moon is full, she remembers her husband's escapades and once again begins stirring the cauldron in a rage… and the waters of the Lofoten maelstrom churn as fiercely as ever.