Troll Folklore

Trolls have special pads on the bottom of their feet, a bit like a gecko! These pads are covered in millions of tiny hairs, each one so small you can't see it. When a troll presses its foot against a wall or ceiling, these hairs create a super-strong grip. That's how Grim can run up walls and across ceilings without falling off. Scientists think geckos inspired the idea of troll feet in Norwegian folklore!

In Norwegian folklore, mountain trolls (bergtroll) are said to turn to stone if sunlight touches them. That's why Norway has so many oddly-shaped rocks and boulders — people say they're trolls caught out at sunrise! Cabin trolls like Grim are different though. They're much smaller and can handle daylight, although they prefer the shade. You might notice Grim tends to stay indoors during bright sunny days.

Great question! Trolls and Nisse are both creatures from Norwegian folklore, but they're quite different. A Nisse (sometimes called a Tomte in Sweden) is a small, gnome-like spirit that lives in barns, attics, or rooftops. They wear pointy red hats and love porridge! A troll can be tiny or enormous, lives in mountains, caves, or cabins, and is much more mischievous. In Hytte Troll, Grim is a cabin troll (hyttetroll) and the Nisse is... well, tied up in the woodshed!

Troll children attend Trollergarten! It's like kindergarten but for trolls. They learn important skills like anger management (very important when you can grow to the size of a house when angry!), sticky-feet climbing, how to read Trollbladet (the troll newspaper), and traditional troll customs. The best Trollergarten is said to be near Trollhaugen, the big cave near Bergen where Grim was born.

A hytte (pronounced HIT-teh) is a Norwegian cabin, and almost every family in Norway has one! Hytter (that's the plural) are usually found in the mountains or by a lake, and they're the place where Norwegians go to relax, ski, fish, and enjoy nature. Some are very simple with no electricity, while others are modern and cozy like Stewart's cabin in Telemark. The tradition of cabin life is a huge part of Norwegian culture.

Yes! Trolls are naturally very clever and pick up languages easily. In Norway, trolls speak Norwegian of course, but they can also understand and speak to humans in other languages. Grim speaks perfect English because he's been listening to English radio and TV signals travelling along the overhead electricity cables (the same cables he ran along to reach Stewart's cabin!). In Chapter 6, the York trolls have even picked up a Yorkshire accent!

Well actually everyone should love porridge because it's very good for you. It's got lots of fibre, which might make you fart, but it also releases its energy slowly rather than in a big rush like sugar. Trolls also like porridge (or grøt in Norwegian) because you can mix in lots of yummy stuff like lingonberries, raisins and even broccoli and make a lot of noise while you are eating it!

Yes it is. So please don't try this yourself. Trolls can do this because they have sticky feet that let them run up tall pylons and then along the cables without falling off. Humans do not have sticky feet so they would simply fall off, perhaps into a pile of manure or a swamp...and that's not fun.

Shapeshifting is when something changes shape. Trolls change shape when they are angry. They can't help it. What happens is they become massive, much larger than humans, and this can be very frightening for humans. So try not to make a troll angry. But the rest of the time they are only about 6-8 inches high, which means you can keep them in a small backpack if you want to take them with you on a trip.

Trolls have an advantage over humans in that they have extra intelligence built-in. For example, trolls always know where they are because they have Google maps built-in. They can always recognise music because they have Shazam and Spotify built-in. They understand many languages because they have Google Translate built-in. At some point, Elon Musk will embed chips in everyone's brains to give humans similar capabilities. But for now trolls have the advantage.

Yes. They especially love the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug just like the humans who participated in the Final Boogie Woogie World Championships dancing championships at Fauske in Norway in 2025. It's on Youtube.