Art © Tero Porthan. Loviatar or Louhi is a great Lapp witch, hostess of Pohjola Northland, and the origin of…
Vellamo Water Goddess
Art © Tero Porthan. Vellamo is the water goddess in Finnish mythology. She is summoned for protection with her mermaids.…
Bear Gets Claws from Mielikki
Art © Tero Porthan. In Finnish origin myths, the bear was born in the sky, near the Sun and the…
Goblin’s Elk, Hiiden hirvi
Art © Tero Porthan. The saga of Hiiden hirvi, Goblin’s Elk, is about a wild elk created by goblins (hiisi)…
Syöjätär
Syöjätär, the Devouress, is a creature living in the water. She is said to have a mouth in the middle…
Finnish Mountain Spirit (vuorenhaltija)
Guardians of mountains are among the strongest spirits in Finnish mythology. They live inside mountains, under rocks, in caves. Mountains…
Kalma, Spirit of Tuonela Graveyards
Art © Tero Porthan. Kalma (corpse, death) is the ruler of the graveyard, also called Kalma’s manor or mansion. The…
Ukko ylijumala, God of Thunder
Ukko is the God of Thunder and the most powerful god. He controls thunders and the weather. He has struck…
Maiden of the Pond
Maiden of the Ponds and Springs (Lähteen neito) provides pure water for healing, strengthening, and also to excite love. The…
Forest Spirit (metsänhaltija)
Art © Tero Porthan. There is a myriad of forest spirits in Finnish mythology. The main spirit is Tapio, King…
Tuonela, Land of the Dead
Tuonela Deathland is a far-away realm of the dead on an island surrounded by the Tuonela river. The living are…
Earth Guardian
Earth guardians are spirits of land and soil as well as fields and meadows. They are summoned in various difficult…
Goblin’s Ox (Hiiden härkä)
Goblin’s ox (Hiiden härkä) appears in healing spells of ancient Finnish shamans. The Goblin’s ox brings pains to the top…
Kokko, Lapp Eagle
Art © Tero Porthan. Kokko, eagle, is a giant bird from Lapland. It has an iron jaw, an iron beak,…
Shaman Väinämöinen with Army of Dead
Väinämöinen is a shaman-god who has created the world. He is summoned in spells as a god. Old Väinämöinen, arise!…
Poisoned Arrow of Lapp Witch
Arrows poisoned with snake venom were shot by witches, causing severe pain. Still to this day, a sudden stinging pain…
Death Bride from Tuonela
In old poems a man travels to Tuonela, land of the dead, to ask Tuoni (Death) for the hand of…
Disease Creatures: Seizure (Kohtaus)
Seizure, Nightmare, Tooth Worm are disease creatures.
The Swan of Tuonela, Tuonelan joutsen
Art © Tero Porthan. Tuonelan joutsen, The Swan of the Tuonela Deathland, is an iconic figure in Finnish folklore. In…
Goblin (Hiisi)
Goblins (hiisi, plural: hiidet) were originally forest gods, but later came to signify evil beings. They live in the woods,…
Iron-haired Dog
A black dog from the underworlds has iron hair, iron teeth, an iron heart, copper intestins. It breaths fire and…
Goblin’s Horse, Hiiden hevonen
Goblins (hiisi) have built a giant horse inside a mountain out of iron, rock and steel. The horse is so…
Iron Bear
Quite lately, only yesterday, I was at bruin’s home, at the house of an iron bear; I bitted by my…
Surma – Killer
Surma (Killer or Death) is a personification of death that is called in magic poems to come and kill a…
Kalma’s Chambers of the Dead
Kalma’s chambers are underground graves where Kalma (corpse or death) welcomes the diseases and other evildoers to feast on bones…
Lempo
Lempo is an evil flying creature associated with goblins (hiisi). It is seldom mentioned alone, always together with goblins. Together…
Tuoni, Ruler of Tuonela
Tuoni, Death, is the ruler of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead. Tuonela is situated on a far-away island and…
Daughter of Death, Tuonen tytti
The Daughter of Tuoni (Death) acts as a gatekeeper between the world of the living and the world of the…
Pain Girl (Kiputyttö)
Pain Girl (Kiputyttö or Kivutar) collects pains on Pain Mountain, and pours them deep inside the pain rock. A kettle…
Son of Death (Tuonen poika)
Son of Death puts iron nets into the river of death.
