The events dealt with in Chapter One and that lead us into the story are based on historical accounts. This page gives a little bit of background information into those events as well as information on the myling myth, which this story draws from.
Vettheim
The Myling story is based around the small, remote village of Vettheim in the far north of Norway. While Vettheim is a purely fictional village, I’ve tried to base it closely on what a typical, remote village in the area would be like. From the poverty stricken, farming settlement of the mid 19th century to the comfortable, peaceful village of today.
The Last Great European Famine
Our story began in 1865, this also marked the beginning of a period of extreme hardship for vast areas of Scandinavia. A series of wet, cool summers led to widespread crop failures. These summers were followed by a period of cold, harsh winters which triggered what would become known as Europe’s Last Great Famine. While Norway wasn’t hit as severely as Sweden or Finland due to being able to fall back on its fishing industry, poorer, inland communities which were more reliant on subsistence farming, like that represented by Vettheim were devastated. Mortality rates in such places are often estimated at between 20% and 30% or even higher, through malnutrition, starvation and disease.
Bjorn and Helga would have faced a desperate situation. A dwindling food supply, freezing conditions, inadequate accommodation and the very real possibility of starvation. Things that would have been common for many families in their position. While infanticide was strictly illegal in Norway at the time, desperation born from the inability to feed their children forced many families, like our young couple, to make heartbreaking choices. Being illegal, there was no real option for a proper burial, so children were often taken out into the wilds and simply left to their fate.
The Myling
The Myling is a terrifying figure in Scandinavian folklore and shares close parallels with figures from across Northern European mythology, most notably with the changelings of Britain and Germany.
It stems from the strict Christian superstitions and beliefs of the time. The belief that unbaptised children or those that didn’t receive a proper Christian burial, would never be able to ascend to heaven. Instead, they would be trapped on Earth as tormented spirits.
They are often said to be heard as a child crying. Many stories tell how they would jump onto the backs of travellers and demand burial, believing that would finally allow them peace and an end to their torment. If their chosen victim didn’t comply, the myling would often attack savagely.
While the myth is more commonly attributed to those children abandoned due to social pressures, such as being born out of wedlock or as the result of adultery, there are many accounts that also link them to times of hardship.