Faerie Lore

Icelandic Wonders Museum, Iceland

The Brennivin Ghost of Iceland

While visiting the Icelandic wonders museum, we learned about the infamous Brennivín Ghost, haunting the region where the original Icelandic Schnapps is named. Haunting the halls at Kolviðarhóll, who is the apparition of the Danish “Assistant” who worked in the Sunchenberg Store in Reykjavik. His job was to keep count of liquor in the store, and as a avid lover of the spirits, would travel by horse back to Kolvidarhóll and Marardalur to drink. He passed away in his bed while in Reykjavik. He apparently haunts the stores, halls, and the meadows on Kolviðarhóll.
The first recording of his apparition was two men the following winter from Suarnes travelling over the heath and stopping to sleep at the refuge hut in Kolviaarholl. As they entered the hut, heard chanting in the loft, and were greeted with a vision of a man sitting alone, striking, and elegant with a large top hat and wig, drinking a big container of brennivin. Other reports were as similar. The Icelandic Wonders Museum claims the ghost watches over them.

“The Brennivin Ghost: One of many acquaintances Kolviaarholl was the Brennivin Ghost. He was believed to be the ghost of the Danish ‘Assistant’ Sunchenberg store in Reykjavik. He had the responsibility of counting the beverages in the store, but he was very keen on the beverages. It was his custom, summer after summer on holy days, to ride his horse up to Kolviaarholl and into Marardalur to consume a substantial amount of the libation. He thought that those trips were his greatest pleasure in life … Now, this man passed away in his sickbed in Reykjavik, but the following winter two men from Suaurnes went over the heath and were planning to sleep at the refuge hut at Kolviaarholl. When they opened the hut, they were shocked when they heard a chant up in the loft. The two men weren’t expecting anyone to be there, because they didn’t see anything outside that indicated that someone was there. When the two men went inside the house and up to the loft, the most surreal vision awaited them when they opened the hatch. On the floor, just by the window, there was a man sitting alone who seemed to be very mellow. He was striking to see and very elegant, with a large top hat and a wig, and was wearing clothes with silver buttons on both lapels. Between his feet on the floor, he had a biggish container full of brennivin, from which a sweet smell emanated. In one hand the man had a tin mug that he used to take brennivin from the container, and then he drank from the mug and tipped the rest of the brennivin back into the container. He looked roguishly at what he was doing. The two men greeted the strange man and made his see how surprised they were about his behavior and how well stocked he seemed to be with beverages. He didn’t respond to their greetings, but instead he extended one of his feet, on which there was a Danish shoe, and said a little verse with his dark voice. Then he stood up and swung out his hand with the bennivin mug. With that he disappeared in an instant with a bright glow, and the loft became dark. The two men felt uncomfortable and a little shaken, and ran down the stairs and out into the bright spring night, after whch they started to feel better. Needless to say, the two men continued over the heath until they reached Reykir in Olfus early next morning.” ~ museum sign in Icelandic Wonders Museum.

Icelandic Wonders Museum, Iceland

Cabin in the Woods ~ (Rated R: 2012)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/ * Director: Drew Goddard. * Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard. * Starring: Kristen Connolly as Dana; Chris Hemsworth as Curt; Anna Hutchison as Jules; Fran Kranz as Marty; Jesse Williams as Holden; Richard Jenkins as Sitterson; Bradley Whitford as Hadley; Brian White as Truman and many others.

Within the last several years Hollywood and the film industry has been evolving and expanding the classical monster tale, as we watched through the ages meandering from Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Werewolf, and Count Dracula towards a whole different species of Werewolves, vampires, and zombies. Then came the serial killers obsessed with pain, torture, maiming, and realistic grotesque murder sprees self styled after Ted Bundy, Fred West, or Jeffrey Dalmer only to exaggerate to supernatural tales of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now a new sense of horror, going back to supernatural beliefs on Witches, Druids, Spirits, and creatures from the races of Darker Faeries come crawling out from their sidhe with vicious mermaids and mer-men, leprechauns, gremlins, goblins, orcs, giants, and titans. The Old God/desses are being brought back to life. What one would imagine would be a typical hack n’ slash film by the title of “Cabin in the Woods” turned to a conspiracy theorie, Dark ancient Deities tale of human sacrifice at a high corporate level ploy to satiate the “ancient ones”. None other than a tale weaved by Buffy’s Joss Whedon to give that twisted plot some fantastical depth. These five friends go on vacation to a remote cabin in the woods, only to find them trapped and manipulated in a pseudo-realm where they are lined up to voluntarily sacrifice themselves to the dark spirits.

The five college-aged kids head off to a friend’s cabin in the woods and lose all communication with the outside world. During “party time” and unwinding, the cellar door mysteriously flips open, only to involved a truth or “dare” to investigate the darkness. Within is a treasure trove of artifacts, each with a secret and a beast to unleash. Meanwhile they are monitored by a high tech secret lab where the white coats bet on which creature they will face – Pinhead, the Mer-man, flesh eating zombies, a ghoul, or a prehistoric monster of dinosaur proportions. Dana reads from the diary of an imbred hillybilly family thereby awakening the now family of deadly murderous zombies. But this is not the only laboratory experiment of what supernatural creatures will be unleashed, as the lab coats are monitoring similar setups from around the world, hopeful of a successful stint with the cabin. As each of the college kids get knocked off, the ploy backfires as the “virgin” saved for the last, teamed up with the brainy pot-head discover the conspiracy and find their way down into depths uncovering an ancient temple lair holding back the ancient Titans from destroying the Earth – satiated by an annual sacrifice that was planned. None of the scenarios work out for the guardians and literally “all hell breaks loose” as magical and supernatural beings, creatures, and monsters look at the lab coats and armed forces as a smorgasboard brunch. The Director of the agency, played by Sigourney Weaver, tells them the truth that the ritual involving sacrifice of the Whore (Jules), the Athlete (Curt), the Scholar (Holden), the Fool (Marty), and the Virgin (Dana) was to appease the “Ancient Ones” who lived beneath the facility. They had to die in archetypical order until the virgin remained. Werewolves, mer-creatures, unicorns, ghouls, zombies, and a giant serpent take their wraith. The Ancient ones rise to destroy the facility and the cabin. While an element of “kitch” and whacky elements loomed over the film, the special effects and deep mythical supernatural plot humored and entertained me. [Rating:4] Rating of four stars out of five. ~ Reviewed by Leaf McGowan.

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