Legends 43: Yule Regret It AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast Lore

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (Legends 43: Yule Regret It) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Go to PodExtra AI's podcast page (Lore) to view the AI-processed content of all episodes of this podcast.

Lore episodes list: view full AI transcripts and summaries of this podcast on the blog

Episode: Legends 43: Yule Regret It

Author: Aaron Mahnke
Duration: 00:31:59

Episode Shownotes

The most wonderful time of the year has a few secrets. According to legend, there are a few holiday characters that often get ignored—and that could be dangerous. Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson, and research by Jamie Vargas. ————————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music

Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources All the shows from Grim & Mild: www.grimandmild.com ————————— Sponsors: Quince: Premium European clothing and accessories for 50% to 80% less than similar brands, at Quince.com/LORE for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. SimpliSafe: Secure your home with 24/7 professional monitoring. Sign up today at SimpliSafe.com/Lore to get 20% off any new SimpliSafe system with Fast Protect Monitoring. ©2024 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_00
We've all seen the headlines in the news of how somebody lost their life in an act of cold-blooded murder, and it grabs your attention. But have you ever stopped to think about the life of the person at the center of the news story?

00:00:11 Speaker_00
These victims were way more than a salacious headline.

00:00:14 Speaker_00
I'm Eric Carter-Londeen, and my podcast, The Murder in My Family, dives into some of those stories to help listeners get to know the person who was lost, and how their death affected those closest to them.

00:00:26 Speaker_00
Listen to The Murder in My Family everywhere you listen to podcasts.

00:00:30 Speaker_01
Hi, I'm Chris Gethard, and I'm very excited to tell you about Beautiful Anonymous, a podcast where I talk to random people on the phone. I tweet out a phone number. Thousands of people try to call. I talk to one of them. They stay anonymous.

00:00:40 Speaker_01
I can't hang up. That's all the rules. I never know what's going to happen. We get serious ones. I've talked with meth dealers on their way to prison. I've talked to people who survived mass shootings, crazy funny ones.

00:00:51 Speaker_01
I talked to a guy with a goose laugh, somebody who dresses up as a pirate on the weekends. I never know what's going to happen. It's a great show. Subscribe today. Beautiful Anonymous.

00:01:00 Speaker_02
Welcome to Lore Legends, a subset of lore episodes that explore the strange tales we whisper in the dark, even if they can't always be proven by the history books. So if you're ready, let's begin.

00:01:27 Speaker_02
On Christmas Day of 1929, Charlie killed his entire family. Charlie Lawson had been married to his wife Fanny for 18 years, and the two had made a beautiful family together.

00:01:39 Speaker_02
By 1929, they had seven children, ranging from 16 all the way down to four months old. Together they worked a tobacco farm, and as far as we know, they were happy with their lots in life.

00:01:52 Speaker_02
But something must have snapped inside of Charlie, because on December 25th, he killed them. He started by shooting his 12-year-old daughter, Carrie, and 7-year-old daughter, Maybell, as they were leaving to visit their aunt.

00:02:05 Speaker_02
After that, he went into the house, gunning down his wife and his remaining children. And then, he took his own life. The only survivor was the oldest son, Arthur, who had been out rabbit hunting during the entire ordeal.

00:02:19 Speaker_02
By the time he returned, it had already been turned into one of the most gory crime scenes that North Carolina had ever seen.

00:02:26 Speaker_02
And among the many reports that followed, they say investigators found a Christmas poem tucked next to the victims, covered in their blood. 1,500 people attended the funeral, where baby Mary Lou was buried in her mother's arms.

00:02:42 Speaker_02
Afterwards, newspapers claimed that the surviving son Arthur couldn't eat and couldn't sleep. His entire life had been ruined over the course of a single day by a monster.

00:02:53 Speaker_02
It seems that even the most wonderful time of the year can give way to monsters. After all, it's not a magical date on the calendar that prevents evil from stepping inside.

00:03:04 Speaker_02
Big or small, minor or tragic, every holiday celebration is vulnerable to some sort of monster. For the Lawson family, that monster was Charlie.

00:03:15 Speaker_02
Thankfully though, when it comes to Christmas, human monsters are rare, something we can all be grateful for. But folklore tells us that there are plenty of other monsters to be afraid of, and Christmas is their favorite holiday of all.

00:03:31 Speaker_02
I'm Aaron Manke, and this is Lore Legends. For many of us, the time between Christmas and January is just an exhaustive blur. The excitement of the holiday is over and everything feels cold and gray.

00:03:58 Speaker_02
It's sort of a purgatory, if purgatory can involve Christmas dinner leftovers and a mountain of cardboard boxes to recycle. Still, there's something undeniably dark about that period. Things just feel off.

00:04:12 Speaker_02
Well, it turns out that there may be a creature to blame for that, and it's called the Calicantari.

00:04:18 Speaker_02
This Christmas creature comes from Southeastern Europe and has long been a part of the folklore from Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, and Cyprus.

00:04:28 Speaker_02
In Greek, Calicantari means beautiful centaur, while the Turkish roots for the name can be translated to mean bloodsucker. Two very different words, I know, and neither are very accurate. These creatures live in the bottomless abyss of the underworld.

00:04:44 Speaker_02
They have long tails, and their twisted bodies are covered in black hair. A hybrid of different animal parts, many say that they have boar tusks, horse legs, elongated ears, goat feet, and monkey arms. And of course, their eyes glow a bright blood red.

00:05:01 Speaker_02
But their overall appearance varies depending on who is telling the story. In some tales, they're large, but most versions claim that they're actually quite small.

00:05:09 Speaker_02
Some regions in Greece say that they have long tongues that hang out of their mouths and drag behind them. Others say that they're mostly blind and that they hobble around with a limp.

00:05:19 Speaker_02
In Albania, they're believed to carry chains and torment people with them. And strangely enough, these chain-wielding versions are also believed to have very bad breath.

00:05:29 Speaker_02
In Serbia, they are short, fat creatures that jump on the backs of their victims and ride them like horses. And in Bulgaria, they can shapeshift into just about any barnyard creature, be it goat, sheep, calf, dog, or even another human.

00:05:44 Speaker_02
In the most popular version of the folklore, it's said that for most of the year, the Calacantari are stuck in the underworld, chopping away at the World Tree.

00:05:54 Speaker_02
The World Tree, by the way, was believed to have supported the Earth, and without its branches, the planet would fall into the abyss, plunging humans into a world of darkness and violence.

00:06:04 Speaker_02
And for some reason, these creatures decided that their life mission was to make sure that that happened. Once a year, though, they were able to make it to the surface.

00:06:13 Speaker_02
According to Greek mythology, the barrier between our world and the underworld grows thin during the winter solstice, and so between Christmas and January 6th, the Calicantari tear through the veil to wreak havoc on the world. Their purpose?

00:06:28 Speaker_02
To disrupt the joy of the season. Once they're among us, they only come out at night. But despite that limited time frame, they're still good at making things chaotic.

00:06:38 Speaker_02
They destroy people's homes and furniture, hide personal belongings, frighten away livestock, cause food to spoil, and play practical jokes. And if you're a child of the 80s and you're picturing gremlins in your mind, I am right there with you.

00:06:53 Speaker_02
These creatures, by the way, have even been known to kidnap people. Usually, they kidnap children. Those who were born on Christmas Day are particularly at risk of being spirited away.

00:07:04 Speaker_02
But they've also been known to snatch grown adults off the streets and force them to dance until they pass out, or even mimic the voice of a loved one to lure unsuspecting people out into the cold.

00:07:15 Speaker_02
Lost and confused, their victims often die frozen in the cold winter night before they can find their way back home. Of course, no one really wants these things to hang about, so people have developed methods to keep them away. And they work.

00:07:30 Speaker_02
Well, sort of.

00:07:32 Speaker_02
Some people burn a stinky old shoe in the fireplace to repel the creatures, while others choose to burn a gigantic log throughout the 12 days of Christmas in the hopes that the flames will keep the calacantari from sneaking down the chimney.

00:07:46 Speaker_02
Some people scatter ashes around their house every day, and others hang a black cross, or a pig's jawbone, or a holly branch to ward off the evil creatures.

00:07:56 Speaker_02
Others go in the exact opposite direction, leaving sweet pastries on their rooftops, in the hopes that the calacantari will be satisfied and leave the humans inside alone.

00:08:06 Speaker_02
The most interesting lore about these creatures, though, is that some people can turn into one. According to legend, babies born during the 12 days of Christmas are at risk of transforming into calicanthry once they reach adulthood.

00:08:20 Speaker_02
Another version of the legend says that any baby born on a Saturday, any Saturday across the year, could become one as well.

00:08:28 Speaker_02
The only way to prevent this terrible fate is to swaddle the baby in garlic and straw and to use a flame to singe their toenails. Honestly, it's like a twisted Christmas werewolf story.

00:08:40 Speaker_02
Some people were just destined to transform into evil monsters, and their torment would last long beyond the holiday season. Thankfully, babies who have grown up to sprout boar's tusks and terrorize their neighbors are few and far between.

00:08:54 Speaker_02
Your children probably aren't at risk of becoming calicantery, especially if you're willing to have them smell like garlic for a little bit.

00:09:01 Speaker_02
But if you're feeling particularly down this December and nothing seems to go right, consider lighting a fire and hanging a talisman on your door. The supernatural assault on your Christmas cheer won't last forever. It will disappear in the new year.

00:09:29 Speaker_02
Most of us know about Krampus, otherwise known as Santa's evil shadow, but few Americans have ever heard of Nekt Ruprecht. The Germans are excellent at creating Santa Claus adjacent figures, and Nekt Ruprecht is no different.

00:09:44 Speaker_02
Except unlike the more famous Krampus, this one isn't exactly an explicitly evil version of Father Christmas. Instead, he's a bit more complicated than that.

00:09:53 Speaker_02
You see, he's considered Santa's sidekick, for lack of a better term, a sort of necessary foil to Father Christmas's goodwill. The bad cop to Santa's good cop, if you will. According to the German legend, Nekt Ruprecht accompanies St.

00:10:08 Speaker_02
Nicholas while going door-to-door. Santa gives candy to the good boys and girls, and Nekt Ruprecht handles the naughty ones. At each house, he consults a giant book that gives a full record of every misdeed children committed that year.

00:10:22 Speaker_02
If he finds that a child of the current household is included in that book, he asks them to recite a prayer to atone for their past sins. If the kid can say the prayers, then all is well. They get fruits and sweets as a reward, and St.

00:10:35 Speaker_02
Nicholas and Neck Ruprecht go on their merry way. But the trouble comes when a child can't properly recite their prayers. Whenever that's the case, Nekt Ruprikt takes a bag stuffed with ashes and beats the child with it.

00:10:48 Speaker_02
Then he gives the naughty kid a lump of coal or a stick and gives their parents a switch so that they can beat their disobedient child even more.

00:10:56 Speaker_02
Sometimes the child is so beyond redemption that Nekt Ruprikt doesn't even bother with the beatings at all. He just scoops the child up into his sack and kidnaps them.

00:11:06 Speaker_02
Now, typically, Nec Ruprecht is depicted as either a dark, foreboding figure or as a wild man with a long beard. He's dressed in a drab brown or black robe with a pointed hood, a tradition which still exists in Christmas hat designs today.

00:11:21 Speaker_02
Sometimes he's depicted wearing fur, and usually he has a long, thick stick in one hand, which he uses to corral children into his sack of ashes. Today, his image has softened a bit.

00:11:33 Speaker_02
When he goes door to door, he doesn't often beat the children or kidnap them anymore. He usually just looms behind Santa and warns kids not to misbehave.

00:11:42 Speaker_02
And here in the 21st century, he is celebrated alongside Saint Nicholas on December 6th, which is when the two are believed to go house to house, leaving candy and coal in children's shoes.

00:11:53 Speaker_02
Of course, there are a multitude of descriptions for Nekt Ruprecht based on the region. In Austria, particularly around Salzburg, he is less of a main character and more of a true helper to St.

00:12:03 Speaker_02
Nicholas, and he doesn't take direct action against the naughty kids. In some areas of Germany, he doesn't travel with Father Christmas at all, and visits homes on his own.

00:12:13 Speaker_02
In other regions, they say he actually travels with a whole host of his own helpers, creatures like fairies or men dressed as old women. But his most commonly accepted role is that of St. Nicholas's intimidating partner.

00:12:27 Speaker_02
There are a lot of different opinions on how he became a staple in German Christmas tradition.

00:12:32 Speaker_02
He's believed to have first appeared in medieval times, but some say his roots can be traced back to German paganism, where it's possible that he was some kind of protective household spirit that showed up around the winter solstice.

00:12:45 Speaker_02
While Krampus was originally linked to Satan and witchcraft, Neck Ruprecht's origins were slightly more positive, despite the fact that the name Ruprecht can be translated to mean devil.

00:12:55 Speaker_02
It was believed that while children should be rewarded for their goodness, it was equally as important to punish them for their misbehaviors. Originally, the church believed that this task fell to the saints, who traveled with St.

00:13:08 Speaker_02
Nicholas to discipline the tiny sinners. But eventually local folklore took over, and the Germans replaced the saints with nekt ruprecht. And it made sense.

00:13:17 Speaker_02
If punishing children was done for their own good, then a protective spirit would be the right guy for the job.

00:13:23 Speaker_02
Even though scholars are pretty sure that he first popped up in the medieval era, the first surviving written record of his existence only dates back to the 17th century.

00:13:33 Speaker_02
And he was popularized by the Brothers Grimm, who depicted him as a sort of elf who could be both kind and malevolent.

00:13:40 Speaker_02
And just as there are different versions of Nektaruprik's role at Christmastime, the folklore around his origins is equally as varied. Some stories claim that he was an abandoned child who St. Nicholas found and raised himself.

00:13:53 Speaker_02
Others say that he has always existed as some kind of demon or wild man, and for some reason he has decided to only show himself to the masses in December.

00:14:03 Speaker_02
But my personal favorite story, taking on the mantle of Nec Ruprecht is not a part of his nature at all. Instead, it was used as a punishment. According to the legend, St.

00:14:12 Speaker_02
Nicholas went into an inn only to discover a heinous crime when he walked inside. The innkeeper, you see, had murdered three children and was trying to stuff their bodies into a barrel. Enraged, St.

00:14:24 Speaker_02
Nicholas brought the boys back to life, and then, turning to the innkeeper, he bound the evil man to his side, forcing him to toil away with him for all eternity.

00:14:35 Speaker_02
I think it's safe to say that most children don't want to see a serial killer coming to beat them up. If I were a child in Germany, I would certainly mind my manners in anticipation of Nek Rubrik's visit. And that's the entire point of his character.

00:14:50 Speaker_02
He wasn't truly created to punish children. He was created to scare them into good behavior. He's a yuletide boogeyman, coming to get the kids if they slack off on their chores or talk back to their parents.

00:15:02 Speaker_02
So, if you have a little one, consider telling them the story of Nekt Ruprikt this holiday season. It just may traumatize them into giving you a quiet Christmas. If you're a kid, the most boring gift in the world is clothing.

00:15:34 Speaker_02
Very few eight-year-olds have ever dreamed of running downstairs on Christmas morning just to unwrap a package of socks.

00:15:40 Speaker_02
But in one country, an entire nation's worth of children have been told that they should be just as excited about a new shirt as they are for a new toy. Because the only other option is death.

00:15:51 Speaker_02
Now, that might sound like a dramatic reaction to a child's ungratefulness, but the parents aren't the ones who will be doing the killing. You see, in Iceland, if children are good, then they'll get a new sweater for Christmas.

00:16:02 Speaker_02
But if they're not, then they'll be eaten by a cat. Now, it may sound ridiculous, but this creature is no cuddly kitten.

00:16:10 Speaker_02
Known as the Jólakaturinn, or the Yule Cat, the monstrous cat is big enough to eat a full-grown man, and some stories even claim that it's taller than a multi-story house.

00:16:21 Speaker_02
The beast prowls through the cold Icelandic night, going from home to home to find its Christmas dinner. Tragically, that dinner almost certainly doesn't involve figgy pudding.

00:16:31 Speaker_02
The Yule Cat only eats children, and more specifically, it only eats children who don't receive any new clothes for Christmas. Now, every year, parents all over Iceland promise to get their kids new clothes if they're good. And it seems to work, too.

00:16:46 Speaker_02
Anything from a turtleneck to a pair of novelty fuzzy socks protects the country's youth from the Yule Cat. But if a parent decides that their problem child just isn't worth keeping around anymore, well, no new clothes.

00:17:00 Speaker_02
And no more Christmases for little Johnny. The trouble with this tradition is that, unlike most other malicious Christmas monsters, kids can't do anything to control the final outcome.

00:17:10 Speaker_02
In fact, Iceland may be the only place in the world where you'll find kids begging their parents for socks for Christmas.

00:17:16 Speaker_02
But if their parents forget to put knitwear under the tree, then their child is out of luck, no matter if they were naughty or nice that year. As far as holiday traditions go, this one is a bit dark.

00:17:28 Speaker_02
And if you're wondering how it all came about, well, you're not the only one. Folklorists have debated the origins of this bloodthirsty Christmas critter for a long time.

00:17:37 Speaker_02
The Yule Cat as a monster first popped up in the 19th century, which, as far as folklore goes, is fairly recent. But some believe that the cat's history stretches back further than that.

00:17:48 Speaker_02
Some have suggested that the Yule Cat is actually connected to the much older Celtic Ketxi, which is an Irish fairy that often took the form of a large cat.

00:17:57 Speaker_02
They speculate that the Celts may have come to Iceland long before the Vikings ever did, and they might have brought the Ketxi with them.

00:18:04 Speaker_02
Others have suggested that it was actually connected to the Scandinavian folklore of the Christmas Goat, which was an allegorical stand-in for the devil during holiday festivals.

00:18:14 Speaker_02
Somehow, this bloodthirsty cat evolved from some earlier legend, and in 1932, a poem about the Yule Cat cemented its role as a staple in Icelandic holiday lore.

00:18:26 Speaker_02
The poem made the cat so popular that today, it's even featured on decorations and Christmas cards. The one thing that the poem didn't mention, though, was who the Yule Cat hangs out with. But people have come up with their own ideas for that.

00:18:39 Speaker_02
You see, somehow everyone started associating the Yule Cat with the monster Gríla. Gríla is a witchy, troll-like woman who has also become a part of Icelandic Christmas tradition. In some stories, she has three heads.

00:18:52 Speaker_02
She's best known for kidnapping children and boiling them in her cauldron. And of course, she has a fearsome pet to help her out in her evil schemes. You guessed it, the Yule Cat.

00:19:04 Speaker_02
Now, as far as we know, there's no original historical record that actually connects the two monsters. These Christmas beasts just seem to have bonded over a shared love of eating kids, and it's been a match in heaven, or hell, ever since.

00:19:18 Speaker_02
Based on the local folklore, I would say that Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year for Iceland's children. Their best bet to survive the holiday season is just to pray that no monsters come knocking.

00:19:30 Speaker_02
And of course, that their parents don't forget to buy them. A new sweater. Most of us don't think of monsters as Christmas characters. We look at the holidays with rose-colored glasses and a bit of delight.

00:19:59 Speaker_02
Between the cookies, the presents, the music, and the fun parties, there really isn't any room for shadows, is there? And yet folklore tells us something very different.

00:20:09 Speaker_02
Yes, it gives us a lot of delightful stories to hang our family traditions on, but it also seems to hold a number of creatures that deserve a bit of fear. And the Yule Cat seems to be a prime example of that. I get it though.

00:20:24 Speaker_02
The idea of keeping a monster at bay with nothing but a pair of socks is a silly idea. And maybe that's all the story started out as. Just a funny little moment to keep everyone's spirits bright through the winter solstice.

00:20:37 Speaker_02
But when you dig a little deeper, you'll see that there's more to it than that. When the Yule Cat was first invented, families couldn't just pop down to their local mall for a sweater. If they wanted it, they had to make it.

00:20:49 Speaker_02
And winter was the perfect time to do it. Spinning wool and knitting clothing was actually vital to survival during the winter months. In fact, for most families, that was their main occupation during the coldest times of the year.

00:21:01 Speaker_02
Day after day, they converted sheep's wool into garments that would keep their family warm. Because of that, for a child to get a new pair of socks at Christmas, that gift required long hours of concentration, and the entire family had to chip in.

00:21:17 Speaker_02
And that's where the story of the Yule Cat comes in. If children are told that they will be eaten for not getting clothes at Christmas, then they will do anything to make sure that they get clothes for Christmas.

00:21:28 Speaker_02
They'll help with the chores, spin wool alongside their family, and knit enough yarn to last through the entire winter. The Yule Cat was a reminder to Iceland's children that laziness was bad and work was good.

00:21:43 Speaker_02
But there's a darker side to the Yule Cat, where the realities of real life brought the folklore to life. You see, back then the poorest families weren't able to provide this work and this gift that it created to their kids.

00:21:56 Speaker_02
Instead, the children received nothing. Triggering, under the rules of folklore, the Yule Cat's hungry arrival. And in the bitter cold of the Christmas season, these poor, hungry, and often homeless children would be the first to die.

00:22:11 Speaker_02
Real life was brutal and harsh, especially in a climate like that, and those conditions often led to death. Death that made the stories true.

00:22:38 Speaker_02
If I'm honest, it's never been easy to give you all an episode of dark, tragic legends in the cheerful holiday season. It's a time with fewer shadows, and a lot less to be afraid of.

00:22:49 Speaker_02
But every rule has a few exceptions, so I hope you enjoyed your tour through a few of the darker legends from Christmas past. If you learned something new today, consider it my gift to you.

00:23:01 Speaker_02
But not every Christmas creature is something to be afraid of. In fact, some of them want to help us, not harm us. At least most of the time. So I put together one last story to show you what I mean.

00:23:13 Speaker_02
Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. This episode of Lore was made possible by Quince. Here's the thing. It's kind of cold outside.

00:23:23 Speaker_02
Even those of us who embrace the chilly weather need something to break up those long winter nights. Something that I love to do? Treat myself to something nice. But I don't want to spend a fortune on my winter blues. So that's where Quince comes in.

00:23:35 Speaker_02
With Quince, you can treat yourself to everyday luxury at an affordable price. Something everyone needs in their closet, in my opinion, is Quince's iconic Mongolian cashmere sweaters, which start at $50.

00:23:45 Speaker_02
Or if you want to really up the luxe factor, check out their Italian leather handbags, washable silk skirts, and Italian linen sheet sets. definitely be buying a few more.

00:24:07 Speaker_02
Whatever you're looking for, all Quince items are priced 50-80% less than similar brands. How do they do that? By partnering directly with top factories and cutting out the cost of the middleman, which passes the savings on to you.

00:24:18 Speaker_02
Plus, Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing processes. And they use premium fabrics and finishes for that luxury feel in every piece. Treat yourself this winter without the luxury price tag.

00:24:30 Speaker_02
Go to quince.com slash lore for 365-day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com slash lore to get free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash lore. This episode was also made possible by SimpliSafe.

00:24:46 Speaker_02
If you ever worry about the safety of your home and family, there's no better time to act. Right now, SimpliSafe is extending its massive Black Friday deal for my listeners. Get 50% off a new SimpliSafe security system.

00:24:57 Speaker_02
SimpliSafe is the home security I trust. I've been using it for years and love the peace of mind it brings, knowing my space is protected 24-7. Get 50% off today just by visiting simplisafe.com slash lore.

00:25:10 Speaker_02
This is your last chance to protect your home at SimpliSafe's lowest prices of the year. When I set up the Grim and Mild office, I knew I needed to secure it with the best.

00:25:18 Speaker_02
My research led me to SimpliSafe, and I've trusted them to protect our space for over four years now, and the level of security and customer care has been incredible.

00:25:27 Speaker_02
SimpliSafe is a new way to protect your home that stops intruders before they break in. Old school systems only take action once somebody is already inside your home, but that's too late.

00:25:36 Speaker_02
SimpliSafe's ActiveGuard outdoor protection changes the game by preventing crime before it even happens.

00:25:42 Speaker_02
If someone's lurking around or acting suspiciously, those agents see them in real time, talk to them directly, set off your spotlights, and even call the police before they've had a chance to break in.

00:25:53 Speaker_02
Plus, there are no long-term contracts, no cancellation fees, and it's around a dollar a day for all of this protection. SimpliSafe is extending its massive Black Friday deal for my listeners.

00:26:03 Speaker_02
This week only, you can get 50% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan. This is your last chance to claim their best offer of the year. Head to simplisafe.com slash lore. That's simplisafe.com slash lore.

00:26:17 Speaker_02
There's no safe like SimpliSafe. The winter had been unusually cold. As the farmer went about his tasks for the day, he realized that he had run out of hay to feed his animals.

00:26:39 Speaker_02
The ice along the ground was too thick for him to leave home, but he needed to feed his livestock. He wouldn't last long in the winter without them. Distraught, he found himself saying out loud, what will I do? These animals need hay.

00:26:54 Speaker_02
He thought he might have heard a small voice respond, I will help you. But no one was there. Certain that the stress was making him hear things, the farmer went back to his work and forgot about it.

00:27:05 Speaker_02
For the next few days, he was unable to feed his livestock. But rather than getting thinner and weaker, the animals only seemed to grow stronger.

00:27:13 Speaker_02
The farmer simply shrugged and went about his day, not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, no pun intended. But deep inside, he was still worried.

00:27:22 Speaker_02
They hadn't eaten for so long, and no matter how healthy they looked, they were running out of time. A couple of days later, the farmer got worried enough that he finally decided to brave the ice.

00:27:32 Speaker_02
Balancing on shaky legs, he slipped and slided down the road, heading for the nearest village. He hadn't gone far when he ran into a tiny man. The man asked where he was going, and the farmer told him that he was trying to buy hay for his livestock.

00:27:47 Speaker_02
The man told the farmer not to worry. He promised to help him. And so relieved, the farmer flailed his way back home. The next night, the farmer looked out the window only to see that same small man leading the farmer's cow across the ice.

00:28:02 Speaker_02
The animal was laden down with hay. The stranger had taken it to get the food that it needed. That's when the farmer realized that the man must have been helping the animals get hay all along. But he wasn't a man at all. He was a tomta.

00:28:17 Speaker_02
The Swedish tomte is typically described as a small, elderly man standing roughly three feet tall. He looks a bit like a garden gnome, with a long white beard, a wrinkled face, and a bright red, pointed hat.

00:28:29 Speaker_02
It's believed that the original inspiration for tomten dates back to pagan times.

00:28:34 Speaker_02
However, they only started showing up in the written record in the 14th century, when Saint Birgitta of Varstena warned against what she called the tomte gods, or pagan deities.

00:28:45 Speaker_02
But as long as you're a good person, there's nothing to fear from a tomta. They're simply domestic sprites who help take care of household chores and bring good luck to families who care for them.

00:28:56 Speaker_02
Tomta guard the home, alerting inhabitants to any danger and magically improving the harvest to keep the household fed throughout the winter months. They also take care of the livestock, feeding and cleaning them.

00:29:08 Speaker_02
Unlike most household spirits, Tomten don't work all year round. According to legend, they actually sleep through the spring and summer and then awaken during the winter solstice.

00:29:18 Speaker_02
And because of their hibernation schedule, they are often associated with winter and Christmas. Tompkins care for the home during the darkest and most dangerous months of the year, exactly when most households need a helping hand.

00:29:32 Speaker_02
So as soon as they wake up, they start cleaning the house and the stables, doing laundry, baking, and quietly helping out with other chores. No one ever sees them work.

00:29:41 Speaker_02
They do it swiftly and secretly, often operating at night once everyone else has gone to bed. Some even believe that they can shapeshift into household objects to avoid detection. And the silent helpers don't ask for much in return.

00:29:55 Speaker_02
But they do demand respect. They're proud creatures, and they want the families that they serve to not take them for granted. And they particularly get angry at those who leave a dirty home or mistreat their animals.

00:30:08 Speaker_02
A disrespected Tomta might play nasty pranks or break things. But if they're really offended, then things can escalate, and there are records of Tomtan bringing about a ruined harvest or sickly livestock.

00:30:20 Speaker_02
But the worst punishments come, if you disrespect them, at Christmas. The one gift that Tomten asks for is a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve. It has to be hot, and it has to be topped with a thick slab of butter.

00:30:34 Speaker_02
And if the butter isn't there, then the Tomte gets nasty. In one story, a servant girl decided to play a trick on the tomta and hid his butter at the bottom of the bowl. When he saw that there was no butter, he flew into a rage.

00:30:47 Speaker_02
Storming into the barn, he slaughtered the family's best cow. After he cooled down a bit, he decided to eat the porridge anyway.

00:30:55 Speaker_02
And when he found the butter underneath the porridge, he felt so guilty that he went to the next-door neighbor's farm, stole their best cow, and took it back to his family to apologize. That's the best-case scenario.

00:31:07 Speaker_02
In another story, though, a farm girl decided to eat the Tomta's porridge herself. The Tomta's revenge was swift. He put her under a spell and forced her to dance until she dropped dead.

00:31:19 Speaker_02
The punishment might not actually fit the crime, but the Tomtan are serious about their porridge. As long as you leave it out for them on Christmas Eve, you should be fine. Just don't forget that butter.

00:31:45 Speaker_02
This episode of Lore Legends was produced by me, Aaron Manke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Jamie Vargas. Don't like hearing the ads? I've got a solution for you.

00:31:55 Speaker_02
There is a paid version of Lore on Apple Podcasts and Patreon that is 100% ad-free. Plus, subscribers get weekly mini-episodes called Lore Bites.

00:32:04 Speaker_02
It's a bargain for all of that ad-free storytelling and a great way to support the show and the team behind it. For more information about those ad-free options, go to lorepodcast.com slash support. Lore, of course, is much more than just a podcast.

00:32:17 Speaker_02
There's a book series available in bookstores and online, and two seasons of the television show on Amazon Prime. Information about all of that and more is available over at lorepodcast.com.

00:32:28 Speaker_02
And you can also follow this show on threads, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Just search for Lore Podcast, all one word, and click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.