Mara

spirit · Sweden · Nordic

Mara (Swedish: mara; Old Norse: mara) is a malicious female night-spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore who 'rides' sleepers' chests, causing suffocating nightmares (Swedish: mardröm) and sleep paralysis. Attested in Ynglinga saga (13th c.) where King Vanlandi is killed by a mara sent by Finnish sorceress Huld.

Open in the interactive archive →