An artist's rendition of the draug

The draug is a sinister, malevolent being of Nordic origin, often linked to legends of the Icelandic draugr, that is often identified with the spirits of mariners drowned at sea. In Scandinavian folklore, the creature is said to possess a distinctly human form, with the exception that its head is composed entirely of seaweed. In other tellings, the draug is described as being a headless fisherman, dressed in oilskins. Image File history File links Draug_EmelinAgnetheMyhre. ... Image File history File links Draug_EmelinAgnetheMyhre. ... The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ... A draugr is a corporeal undead, from the Norse Mythology. ... A sailor is a member of the crew of a ship or boat. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Seaweed covered rocks in the UK Phycologists consider seaweed to refer any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic (large-bodied), and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size (Smith, 1944). ... Oilskin jacket (left) and high trousers (right). ...

The creature is said to either swim alongside boats or sail around them in a partially submerged vessel, always by their lonesome. In some accounts, witnesses portray them as shapeshifters who take on the appearance of seaweed or moss-covered stones on the shoreline. As legend has it, any mariner who treads upon such a stone faces certain death, unless he should happen to spit on it first. Shapeshifting, transformation , transmogrification or morphing is a change in the form or shape of a person, especially: a change from human form to animal form and vice versa a change in appearance from one person to another Shapeshifting is not considered scientifically or medically possible, but it is a common... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Moss gametophyte generation plants with a single sporophyte. ...

Draugs are sometimes referred to as ghosts, but are more commonly described as “living dead persons;“ a water-bound zombie of sorts. Having been denied proper burial, they haunt the shores of Norway, and their mere appearance or deafening shriek is rumored to be an omen of impending disaster, tragedy or death. They are usually seen only by their future victims, and often appear moments before that person’s death, but rarely kill or cause death themselves. Occasionally, however, stories tell of sailors persauded into taking stones - draugs in disguise - onto their ships. Once aboard, the draugs shift back into sub-human form, and the resulting weight causes the boat to capsize, killing everyone aboard. A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal). ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea from an edition with drawings by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about Omens as divinatory portents. ... In general usage, a tragedy is a drama, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ... Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism, or the state of the organism after that event. ... Deception is providing intentionally misleading information to others. ... Capsizing refers to when a boat is inverted such that the bottom of the boat is on top. ...

A draug aboard a ship, in sub-human form, wearing oilskins

But, though the draug usually presages death, there is an amusing account in Nord-Norge of a Nordlending who managed to outwit him: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (455x676, 52 KB) Summary Scanned and edited by Craig M. Groshek Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (455x676, 52 KB) Summary Scanned and edited by Craig M. Groshek Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus...

It was Christmas Eve, and Ola went down to his boathouse to get the keg of brandy he had bought for the holidays. When he got in, he noticed a draug sitting on the keg, staring out to sea. Ola, with great presence of mind and great bravery (it might not be amiss to state that he already had done some drinking), tiptoed up behind the draug and struck him sharply in the small of the back, so that he went flying out through the window, with sparks hissing around him as he hit the water. Ola knew he had no time to lose, so he set off at a great rate, running through the churchyard which lay between his home and the boathouse. As he ran, he cried, "Up, all you Christian souls, and help me!" Then he heard the sound of fighting between the ghosts and the draug, who were battling each other with coffin boards and bunches of seaweed. The next morning, when people came to church, the whole yard was strewn with coffin covers, boat boards, and seaweed. After the fight, which the ghosts won, the draug never came back to that district. The Christmas Eve (1904-05), watercolor painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Christmas Eve, December 24, the day before Christmas Day, is treated to a greater or a lesser extent in most Christian societies as part of the Christmas festivities. ... A keg is a metal container used to hold beer and other alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, carbonated or not carbonated, generally under pressure. ... Brandy pot stills at the Van Ryn Brandy Cellar near Stellenbosch, South Africa Brandy (short for brandywine, from Dutch brandewijn—fire wine) is a general term for distilled wine, usually 40–60% ethyl alcohol by volume. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath. ... An open casket A coffin (which some call a casket) is a box used for the display and burial or cremation of a cadaver. ...

Draug sightings in modern times are not so common, but are still reported by reasonable and relatively sane individuals from time to time. Due to this trend, the term “draug” has come to be used in a more general sense in recent years to describe any type of revenant in Nordic folklore. A revenant in the Middle Ages was an animate corpse which rose from the grave to haunt the living. ...

Stories (PDF format)

• Tug of War, by Jonas Lie
• The Fisherman and the Draug, by Jonas Lie

See also

• Draugr, a close, land-based relative of the draug
• Sea monster

A draugr is a corporeal undead, from the Norse Mythology. ... Picture taken from a Hetzel copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Sea monsters are often miscategorized as mythical, but are actually legendary gigantic sea-dwelling creatures (but see also lake monsters). ...

Sources

The Draug. 'Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. URL accessed on September 28, 2005. September 28 is the 271st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (272nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Norwegian Folk Narrative in America. Norwegian-American Studies. URL accessed on September 28, 2005. September 28 is the 271st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (272nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Weird Tales from Northern Seas. The Literaure Network. URL accessed on September 29, 2005. September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...