The Fearless Vampire Killers: A Note about the IcelandicDraugrand Demonic Contamination inGrettis Saga

Abstract

In 1897 Andrew Lang referred to Glámr, one of Iceland's most celebrated mediaeval ghosts, as a “vampire” in his The Book of Dreams and Ghosts. This article examines the arguments for such a categorisation, which are mainly the similar function of vampires and the Icelandic ghosts. It goes on to examine the case of Glámr; in particular, how his condition as a supernatural Other has been transmitted from a previous unspecified demon and the implications this has for the character of the well-known saga hero Grettir who eventually becomes Glámr's “slayer.” It argues that as Glámr had also been hired as a “vampire slayer” of sorts, Grettir and Glámr are in a sense doubles; and that the Glámr episode of Grettis saga highlights both his resilience in the face of evil but also the danger that goes with monster fighting and the lonely condition of the monster fighter.

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