Tilberi

monster · Iceland · Nordic

Tilberi (also Snakkur) is a worm-like magical creature created by women in Icelandic witchcraft traditions to steal milk from neighbors' cows. The tilberi was made from a stolen dead man's rib and grey wool, hidden between the woman's breasts and fed with stolen communion wine for three Sundays. Once created, it was sent to suckle from the woman's inner thigh, creating a wart-like mark where it fed. The tilberi would then be sent to neighbors' farms where it stretched its worm-like body to reach both teats of a cow simultaneously, drinking all the milk. It returned to its creator's dairy windo

Open in the interactive archive →