Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – In Norse mythology, there are many references to a creature known as Draugr. It can be best described as a fearsome, ugly living dead who would rise from the grave and make life miserable for people.
There is archaeological evidence that shows Vikings feared the draugr so much that they took the necessary precautions to prevent the draugr from returning back to the world of the living.
The draugr was by no means a stupid creature. On the contrary, it knew the secrets of the past and future and there were many reasons why Norse people dreaded the arrival of this horrible being.
What Was A Draugr?
The origin of the word ‘draugr’ isn’t entirely clear. Some scholars think it comes from the same root as dream or Traum, in modern German, but others suggest it can be traced to the Indo European dhreugh (harm, deceive). It’s also possible there is a strong connection between the Old Norse ‘draugr’ and the Old English ‘draco’. We can identify the draugr as a corporeal ghost that Norse people believed in.
A dragur was an animated corpse that unlike a ghost had a corporeal body with similar physical abilities as in life. In the Norse Sagas, the draugr (plural draugar) is mentioned on several occasions and descriptions of this fearsome creature vary. Also, we shouldn’t forget that there were different types of draugar.
Source: AncientPages.com – Read rest of the article here