In Scandinavian folklore, the creature is said to possess a distinctly human form said to be either hel-blar ("death black") or, conversely, na-folr ("corpse-pale"). In other tellings, the draug is described as being a headless fisherman, dressed in oilskins. This trait is common in the northernmost part of Norway, where life and culture was based on the fish, more than anywhere else.

Draug sightings in modern times are not so common, but are still reported by reasonable and relatively sane individuals from time to time. Due to this trend, the term “draug” has come to be used in a more general sense in recent years to describe any type of revenant in Nordic folklore.

Powers/Weaknesses

All draugr possessed superhuman strength, the ability to increase their size at will with some immunity to usual weapons. The draugar slew their victims through various methods including crushing them with their enlarged forms, devouring their flesh, and drinking their blood. Animals feeding near the grave of a draugr were often driven mad by the creature's influence. In some accounts, witnesses portray them as shapeshifters who take on the appearance of seaweed or moss-covered stones on the shoreline. They were also noted for the ability to rise from the grave as wisps of smoke.

The Draugr is a virtually unstoppable monster, and possesses only a handful of weaknesses. According to one legend, one man drove the revenant away using a mixture of herbs and his own semen. This man was eventually burned at the stake as a witch.

The only other weaknesses the Draugr could possibly have is fire and decapitation. Fire is a vulnerability shared by most of the corporeal undead, a sure sign that nature itself rebels against the very existence of the undead. However, decapitation only works after the creature has been wrestled to the ground and defeated. Therefore, decapitation and burning are the only methods of permanently destroying the Draugr.

While this unliving horror cannot be slain in the traditional sense, there is one way to defeat the Draugr. A hero, one who is pure of heart and is in good standing with God, must face the creature with only his bare hands, for only by wrestling this revenant into submission can one hope to defeat this monster. Then, the creature must be decapitated (preferably with the Draugr’s own sword or axe), and burned to ashes. Some people took the extra precaution of driving a wooden stake through the corpse before decapitating and cremating the Draugr (which is why this revenant is sometimes identified with the Vampire).

However, it has been suggested that the Draugr is susceptible to weapons forged of cold iron. Whether this actually works or not is subject to folklore.

Places

Some draugr were able to leave their dwelling place, the burial mound, and visit the living during the night. Such visits were universally horrible events, and often ended in death for one or more of the living, and warranted the exhumation of the draugrs tomb by a hero.

Beliefs

  • To defeat a draugr, a hero was often necessary, since only such a man had strength and courage enough to stand up to so formidable an opponent. The hero would often have to wrestle with the draugr and so defeat him, since weapons would do no good. A good example of this kind of fight is found in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar. It is said that the draugr, even when defeated, would come back, requiring the hero to dispose of the body in unconventional ways. The most preferred method was to cut off the draugr's head, burn the body, and dump the ashes in the sea, the emphasis being on making absolutely sure the draugr was dead and gone. This may be related to the traditional practice of killing vampires seen in other cultures.
  • A pair of open iron scissors were placed on the chest of the recently deceased while straws or twigs might be hidden among their clothes. The big toes were tied together or needles were driven through the soles of the feet in order to keep the dead from being able to walk. Tradition also held that the coffin be lifted and lowered in three different directions as it was carried from the house to confuse a possible draugr's sense of direction.
  • The most effective means of preventing the return of the dead was the corpse door. A special door was built on, through which the corpse was carried feet-first with people surrounding it so the corpse couldn't see where it was going. The door was then bricked up to prevent a return visit. It is speculated that this belief began in Denmark and spread through out the Norse culture. The belief was founded on the idea that the dead only enter through the way they left.

I didnt write any of this info.
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