InIcelandicfolklore,Grýla is a monstrous entity who lives in the wilderness ofIceland. The name Grýla is first attested in medieval sources. However, the earliest unambiguous references to Grýla's gender and her association withChristmas date only from the seventeenth century. In seventeenth-century poems about Grýla, she is generally represented as a hideous and greedytroll-likecrone who wanders between human settlements and demandscharity from those she encounters, often asking for naughty children. Modern depictions of Grýla tend to focus more strongly on her role as the mother of theYule Lads (Icelandic:jólasveinar). Today, the most monstrous aspects of her character and appearance (such as her appetite for children) are generally toned down for younger audiences.
The name Grýla appears in a list ofheiti for troll-women in theProse Edda, composed in the 13th century by IcelandicskaldSnorri Sturluson.[1] However, a list ofGrýlu heiti ('heiti for Grýla') in one manuscript of the Prose Edda from the early 14th century, AM 748 I b 4to, gives various terms for foxes, suggesting an association with theArctic fox.
Several parallels to Grýla exist in the North Atlantic region, and these are generally associated with mumming and disguise traditions (seemummer's play). Terry Gunnell hypothesizes that Grýla may once have been associated with similar disguise traditions in Iceland, although such practices have not survived to the present day.[2] In contrast to later depictions of Grýla, no explicit mention is made of Grýla's gender. Not all counterparts to Grýla identified by Gunnell are female figures, and it is possible that Grýla was originally conceived of as a malemonster rather than anogress.[3] In one seventeenth-century poem about Grýla, which depicts her as wandering between farms in summer rather than at Christmas, she is described as ahermaphrodite.[4]
Grýla is closely associated with Christmas folklore in younger traditions.[2] The oldest extant source connecting Grýla with Christmas is a poem that was likely co-composed by the Rev. Guðmundur Erlendsson of Fell in Sléttuhlíð and his brother-in-lawÁsgrímur Magnússon, who was a farmer andrímur-poet. This poem, "Grýlukvæði", can be dated to c. 1638–1644.[5] Several years after this, in c. 1648–1649, the Rev.Hallgrímur Pétursson composed a poem, "Leppalúðakvæði", in which Grýla's lazy and unpleasant husband, Leppalúði, makes his appearance and claims that Grýla was left bedridden after her journey to Sléttuhlíð.[6]
In theNetflix showChilling Adventures of Sabrina, Grýla is a recurring character, appearing at first to collect her children who are invisible but causing havoc. She later joined the main characters' coven of outcast witches.
In 2024, Grýla appears as a key character in the Amazon produced movieRed One (a 2024 Christmasaction adventure comedy film fromWarner Bros. Pictures), portrayed byKiernan Shipka, who coincidentally portrayed the titular Sabrina in the aforementioned TV series. She is referred to as the Christmas witch and has some magical powers. She is both the ogre like creature of mythology and a shape shifter that can take human form.
She also appears in an episode ofHilda (TV series), where theYule Lads end up feeding her veggie soup instead of humans.
Her pet is theYule cat.
