The Sunken Church Bell
The sunken church bell is a recurring folk motif of Sweden and the wider Nordic region: a church bell that lies lost in a lake or river, usually because it sank while being ferried to a church or was dragged down by a troll or the water-folk who hated its ringing. The bell is sometimes said to toll faintly beneath the surface on Christmas night or other holy nights, and treasure-hunters who try to raise it are said to glimpse it and then watch it slip away again, unless a pure-hearted person can win it. The legend is told in many local variants across Sweden, Norway, and Finland, often tied to