Home History It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Haunted Saga Homesteads, Climate Fluctuations, and the Vulnerable Self
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Haunted Saga Homesteads, Climate Fluctuations, and the Vulnerable Self

  • Mariusz Mayburd
View more publications by Medieval Institute Publications
Search
Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400
This chapter is in the book Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400

Abstract

This article interprets the natural physical topography of medieval Iceland as a zone of paranormal radiation exercising alterity upon those “exposed” to it. This dynamic is extended to “acts of nature” and severe weather phenomena as depicted in Íslendingasögur, and links between meteorological turbulence and revenant hauntings are explored. The central focus is on the psychological and physiological effects of these ecological entanglements upon the sagas’ living characters trapped in these adverse conditions. Of especial interest to the present study is the concept of the open body, borrowed from neuroscience, as well as the phenomenon of the dissolving self-an estrangement from oneself that occurs when all the perceived boundaries between self and environment begin to collapse. These concepts’ proposed applicability and relevance to the medieval Icelandic context enrich our understanding of how medieval Icelandic minds and bodies were perceived and how they functioned (or malfunctioned) under stress limit conditions.

Abstract

This article interprets the natural physical topography of medieval Iceland as a zone of paranormal radiation exercising alterity upon those “exposed” to it. This dynamic is extended to “acts of nature” and severe weather phenomena as depicted in Íslendingasögur, and links between meteorological turbulence and revenant hauntings are explored. The central focus is on the psychological and physiological effects of these ecological entanglements upon the sagas’ living characters trapped in these adverse conditions. Of especial interest to the present study is the concept of the open body, borrowed from neuroscience, as well as the phenomenon of the dissolving self-an estrangement from oneself that occurs when all the perceived boundaries between self and environment begin to collapse. These concepts’ proposed applicability and relevance to the medieval Icelandic context enrich our understanding of how medieval Icelandic minds and bodies were perceived and how they functioned (or malfunctioned) under stress limit conditions.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction: The Paranormal Encounter 1
  4. Part I: Experiencing the Paranormal
  5. “I See Dead People”: The Externalization of Paranormal Experience in Medieval Iceland 9
  6. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Haunted Saga Homesteads, Climate Fluctuations, and the Vulnerable Self 21
  7. Happy Endings: The (Para)Normality of Miracles 39
  8. Þórgunna’s Dinner and Other Medieval Liminal Meals: Food as Mediator between this World and the Hereafter 49
  9. A Troll Did It?: Trauma as a Paranormal State in the Íslendingasögur 71
  10. Traversing the Uncanny Valley: Glámr in Narratological Space 89
  11. On the Threshold: The Liminality of Doorways 109
  12. The Burial of Body Parts in Old Icelandic Grágás 131
  13. Paranormal Prose: “Para-Narrative” and Ice in the Icelandic Sagas 151
  14. Part II: Figures of the Paranormal
  15. Encounters with Hliðskjálf in Old Norse Mythology 175
  16. “Ok flýgr þat jafnan”: Icelandic Figurations of Böðvarr bjarki’s Monster 193
  17. Demons, Muslims, Wrestling Champions: The Semantic History of Blámenn from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century 203
  18. The New Faith vs. The Undead: Christmas Showdowns 227
  19. Following up on Female fylgjur: A Re-Examination of the Concept of Female fylgjur in Old Icelandic Literature 245
  20. Dólgr í byggðinni: Meeting the Social Monster in the Sagas of Icelanders 263
  21. Part III: Literature and the Paranormal
  22. Even a Henchman Can Dream: Dreaming at the Margins in Brennu-Njáls saga 279
  23. A Normal Relationship?: Jarl Hákon and Þorgerðr Hǫlgabrúðr in Icelandic Literary Context 295
  24. Priest Ketill’s Journey to Rome 311
  25. “Darraðarljóð” and Its Context within Njáls saga: Sorcery, Vision, Leizla? 327
  26. Paranormal Tendencies in the Sagas: A Discussion about Genre 347
  27. Reading the Landscape in Grettis saga: Þórhallur, the meinvættur, and Glámur 367
  28. Trolling Guðmundr: Paranormal Defamation in Ljósvetninga saga 395
  29. “Meir af viel en karlmennsku”: Monstrous Masculinity in Viktors saga ok Blávus 421
  30. Index 433
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501513862-003

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction: The Paranormal Encounter 1
  4. Part I: Experiencing the Paranormal
  5. “I See Dead People”: The Externalization of Paranormal Experience in Medieval Iceland 9
  6. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Haunted Saga Homesteads, Climate Fluctuations, and the Vulnerable Self 21
  7. Happy Endings: The (Para)Normality of Miracles 39
  8. Þórgunna’s Dinner and Other Medieval Liminal Meals: Food as Mediator between this World and the Hereafter 49
  9. A Troll Did It?: Trauma as a Paranormal State in the Íslendingasögur 71
  10. Traversing the Uncanny Valley: Glámr in Narratological Space 89
  11. On the Threshold: The Liminality of Doorways 109
  12. The Burial of Body Parts in Old Icelandic Grágás 131
  13. Paranormal Prose: “Para-Narrative” and Ice in the Icelandic Sagas 151
  14. Part II: Figures of the Paranormal
  15. Encounters with Hliðskjálf in Old Norse Mythology 175
  16. “Ok flýgr þat jafnan”: Icelandic Figurations of Böðvarr bjarki’s Monster 193
  17. Demons, Muslims, Wrestling Champions: The Semantic History of Blámenn from the Twelfth to the Twentieth Century 203
  18. The New Faith vs. The Undead: Christmas Showdowns 227
  19. Following up on Female fylgjur: A Re-Examination of the Concept of Female fylgjur in Old Icelandic Literature 245
  20. Dólgr í byggðinni: Meeting the Social Monster in the Sagas of Icelanders 263
  21. Part III: Literature and the Paranormal
  22. Even a Henchman Can Dream: Dreaming at the Margins in Brennu-Njáls saga 279
  23. A Normal Relationship?: Jarl Hákon and Þorgerðr Hǫlgabrúðr in Icelandic Literary Context 295
  24. Priest Ketill’s Journey to Rome 311
  25. “Darraðarljóð” and Its Context within Njáls saga: Sorcery, Vision, Leizla? 327
  26. Paranormal Tendencies in the Sagas: A Discussion about Genre 347
  27. Reading the Landscape in Grettis saga: Þórhallur, the meinvættur, and Glámur 367
  28. Trolling Guðmundr: Paranormal Defamation in Ljósvetninga saga 395
  29. “Meir af viel en karlmennsku”: Monstrous Masculinity in Viktors saga ok Blávus 421
  30. Index 433
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 25.11.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501513862-003/html
Scroll to top button