The Deacon of Myrká
In Iceland's most famous ghost story, a young woman's sweetheart comes on horseback to take her to a Christmas service. He had drowned days before.
What was reported
The deacon of Myrká, in northern Iceland, was in love with a young woman named Guðrún, who lived across the river. Shortly before Christmas, he rode to invite her to the Christmas service, but drowned crossing the ice-filled river on his way home.
News hadn't reached her when he arrived on Christmas Eve to fetch her. As they rode, his hat slipped, and she saw the bare bone of his skull. He said, 'The moon glides, death rides.' At the churchyard he tried to pull her into an open grave, but she grabbed the bell rope and rang it until he let go. He haunted her until a sorcerer laid him to rest.
Explanations offered
The story is a folk tale, recorded in the great 19th-century collection of Icelandic legends by Jón Árnason. Its eerie line about the moon is known by almost every Icelander.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Hörgárdalur, Northeastern Region, Iceland
- Witnesses
- Icelandic folklore
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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