There was a man named Thorhall, who lived at Thorhall-stead inForsaela-dala, which lies in the north of Iceland. He was a fairlywealthy man, especially in cattle, so that no one round about had somuch live-stock as he had. He was not a chief, however, but an honestand worthy yeoman."Now this man's place was greatly haunted, so that he could scarcelyget a shepherd to stay with him, and although he asked the opinion ofmany as to what he ought to do, he could find none to give him adviceof any worth."One summer at the Althing, or yearly assembly of the people, Thorhallwent to the booth of Skafti, the law man, who was the wisest of menand gave good counsel when his opinion was asked. He receivedThorhall in a friendly way, because he knew he was a man of means, andasked him what news he had."'I would have some good advice from you,' said Thorhall.'"I am little able to give that,' said Skafti; 'but what is thematter?'"'This is the way of it,' said Thorhall, 'I have had very bad luckwith my shepherds of late. Some of them get injured, and others willnot serve out their time; and now no one that knows how the casestands will take the place at all.'"'Then there must be some evil spirit there,' said Skafti, 'when menare less willing to herd your sheep, than those of others. Now sinceyou have asked my advice, I will get a shepherd for you. Glam is hisname, he belongs to Sweden, and came out here last summer. He is bigand strong, but not very well liked by most people.'"Thorhall said that he did not mind that, if he looked well after thesheep. Skafti answered that there was no hope of other men doing it,if Glam could not, seeing he was so strong and stout-hearted. Theirtalk ended there, and Thorhall left the booth."This took place just at the breaking up of the assembly. Thorhallmissed two of his horses, and went to look for them in person, fromwhich it may be seen that he was no proud man. He went up to themountain ridge, and south along the fell that is called Armann's fell.There he saw a man coming down from the wood, leading a horse ladenwith bundles of brushwood. They soon met each other and Thorhallasked his name. He said he was called Glam. He was tall of body, andof strange appearance; his eyes were blue and staring, and his hairwolf-grey in colour. Thorhall was a little startled when he saw him,and was certain that this was the man he had been told about."'What work are you best fitted for?' he asked. Glam said that he wasgood at keeping sheep in winter."'Will you look after _my_ sheep?' said Thorhall. 'Skafti has put youinto my hands.'"'On this condition only will I take service with you,' said Glam,'that I have my own free will, for I am ill-tempered if anything doesnot please me.'"'That will not harm me,' said Thorhall, 'and I should like you tocome to me.'"'I will do so,' said Glam; 'but is there any trouble at your place?'"'It is believed to be haunted,' said Thorhall."'I am not afraid of such bug-bears,' said Glam, 'and think that itwill be all the livelier for that.'"'You will need all your boldness,' said Thorhall, 'It is best not tobe too frightened for one's self there.'"After this they made a bargain between them, and Glam was to comewhen the winter nights began. Then they parted, and Thorhall foundhis horses where he had just newly looked for them, and rode home,after thanking Skafti for his kindness."The summer passed, and Thorhall heard nothing of the shepherd, nordid any one know the least about him, but at the time appointed hecame to Thorhall-stead. The yeoman received him well, but the othersdid not like him, and the good-wife least of all. He began his workamong the sheep which gave him little trouble, for he had a loud,hoarse voice, and the flock all ran together whenever he shouted.There was a church at Thorhall-stead, but Glam would never go to itnor join in the service. He was unbelieving, surly, and difficult todeal with, and ever one felt a dislike towards him."So time went on till it came to Christmas eve. On that morning Glamrose early and called for his food. The good-wife answered: 'It isnot the custom of Christian people to eat on this day, for to-morrowis the first day of Christmas, and we ought to fast to-day'. Glamreplied: 'You have many foolish fashions that I see no good in. Icannot see that men are any better off now than they were when theynever troubled themselves about such things. I think it was a farbetter life when men were heathens; and now I want my food, and nononsense.' The good-wife answered: 'I am sure you will come tosorrow to-day if you act thus perversely'."Glam bade her bring his food at once, or it would be the worse forher. She was afraid to refuse, and after he had eaten he went out ina great rage."The weather was very bad. It was dark and gloomy all round;snowflakes fluttered about; loud noises were heard in the air, and itgrew worse and worse as the day wore on. They heard the shepherd'svoice during the forenoon, but less of him as the day passed. Thenthe snow began to drift, and by evening there was a violent storm.People came to the service in church, and the day wore on to evening,but still Glam did not come home. There was some talk among them ofgoing to look for him, but no search was made on account of the stormand the darkness."All Christmas eve Glam did not return, and in the morning men went tolook for him. They found the sheep scattered in the fens, beaten downby the storm, or up on the hills. Thereafter they came to a place inthe valley where the snow was all trampled, as if there had been aterrible struggle there, for stones and frozen earth were torn up allround about. They looked carefully round the place, and found Glamlying a short distance off, quite dead. He was black in colour, andswollen up as big as an ox. They were horrified at the sight, andshuddered in their hearts. However, they tried to carry him to thechurch, but could get him no further than to the edge of a cleft, alittle lower down; so they left him there and went home and told theirmaster what had happened."Thorhall asked them what had been the cause of Glam's death. Theysaid that they had traced footprints as large as though the bottom ofa cask had been set down in the snow leading from where the trampledplace was up to the cliffs at the head of the valley, and all alongthe track there were huge blood-stains. From this they guessed thatthe evil spirit which lived there must have killed Glam, but hadreceived so much hurt that it had died, for nothing was ever seen ofit after."The second day of Christmas they tried again to bring Glam to thechurch. They yoked horses to him, but after they had come down theslope and reached level ground they could drag him no further, and hehad to be left there."On the third day a priest went with them, but Glam was not be found,although they searched for him all day. The priest refused to go asecond time, and the shepherd was found at once when the priest wasnot present. So they gave over their attempts to take him to thechurch, and buried him on the spot."Soon after this they became aware that Glam was not lying quiet, andgreat damage was done by him, for many that saw him fell into a swoon,or lost their reason. Immediately after Yule men believed that theysaw him about the farm itself, and grew terribly frightened, so thatmany of them ran away. After this Glam began to ride on the house-topby night, {259} and nearly shook it to pieces, and then he walkedabout almost night and day. Men hardly dared to go up into thevalley, even although they had urgent business there, and every one inthe district thought great harm of the matter."In spring, Thorhall got new men, and started the farm again, whileGlam's walkings began to grow less frequent as the days grew longer.So time went on, until it was mid-summer. That summer a ship fromNorway came into Huna-water (a firth to the north of Thorhall-stead),and had on board a man called Thorgaut. He was foreign by birth, bigof body, and as strong as any two men. He was unhired and unmarried,and was looking for some employment, as he was penniless. Thorhallrode to the ship, and found Thorgaut there. He asked him whether hewould enter his service. Thorgaut answered that he might well do so,and that he did not care much what work he did."'You must know, however,' said Thorhall, 'that it is not good for anyfaint-hearted man to live at my place, on account of the hauntingsthat have been of late, and I do not wish to deceive you in any way.'"'I do not think myself utterly lost although I see some wretchedghosts,' said Thorgaut. 'It will be no light matter for others if _I_am scared, and I will not throw up the place on that account.'"Their bargain was quickly made, and Thorgaut was to have charge ofthe sheep during the winter. The summer went past, and Thorgaut beganhis duties with the winter nights, and was well liked by every one.Glam began to come again, and rode on the house-top, which Thorgautthought great sport, and said that the thrall would have to come toclose quarters before he would be afraid of him. Thorhall bade himnot say too much about it. 'It will be better for you,' said he, 'ifyou have no trial of each other.'"'Your courage has indeed been shaken out of you,' said Thorgaut, 'butI am not going to fall dead for such talk.'"The winter went on till Christmas came again, and on Christmas evethe shepherd went out to his sheep. 'I trust,' said the good-wife,'that things will not go after the old fashion.'"'Have no fear of that, good-wife,' said Thorgaut; 'there will besomething worth talking about if I don't come back.'"The weather was very cold, and a heavy drift blowing. Thorgaut wasin the habit of coming home when it was half-dark, but on thisoccasion he did not return at his usual time. People came to church,and they now began to think that things were not unlikely to fall outas they had done before. Thorhall wished to make search for theshepherd, but the church-goers refused, saying that they would notrisk themselves in the hands of evil demons by night, and so no searchwas made."After their morning meal on Christmas day they went out to look forthe shepherd. They first made their way to Glam's cairn, guessingthat he was the cause of the man's disappearance. On coming near tothis they saw great tidings, for there they found the shepherd withhis neck broken and every bone in his body smashed in pieces. Theycarried him to the church, and he did no harm to any man thereafter.But Glam began to gather strength anew, and now went so far in hismischief that every one fled from Thorhall-stead, except the yeomanand his wife."The same cattleman, however, had been there for a long time, andThorhall would not let him leave, because he was so faithful and socareful. He was very old, and did not want to go away either, for hesaw that everything his master had would go to wreck and ruin, ifthere was no one to look after it."One morning after the middle of winter the good-wife went out to thebyre to milk the cows. It was broad daylight by this time, for no oneventured to be outside earlier than that, except the cattleman, whoalways went out when it began to grow clear. She heard a great noiseand fearful bellowing in the byre, and ran into the house again,crying out and saying that some awful thing was going on there.Thorhall went out to the cattle and found them goring each other withtheir horns. To get out of their way, he went through into the barn,and in doing this he saw the cattleman lying on his back with his headin one stall and his feet in another. He went up to him and felt himand soon found that he was dead, with his back broken over the uprightstone between two of the stalls."The yeoman thought it high time to leave the place now, and fled fromhis farm with all that he could remove. All the live-stock that heleft behind was killed by Glam, who then went through the whole glenand laid waste all the farms up from Tongue."Thorhall spent the rest of the winter with various friends. No onecould go up into the glen with horse or dog, for these were killed atonce; but when spring came again and the days began to lengthen,Glam's walkings grew less frequent, and Thorhall determined to returnto his homestead. He had difficulty in getting servants, but managedto set up his home again at Thorhall-stead. Things went just asbefore. When autumn came, the hauntings began again, and now it wasthe yeoman's daughter who was most assailed, till in the end she diedof fright. Many plans were tried, but all to no effect, and it seemedas if all Water-dale would be laid waste unless some remedy could befound."All this befell in the days of Grettir, the son of Asmund, who wasthe strongest man of his day in Iceland. He had been abroad at thistime, outlawed for three years, and was only eighteen years of agewhen he returned. He had been at home all through the autumn, butwhen the winter nights were well advanced, he rode north to Water-dale, and came to Tongue, where lived his uncle Jokull. His unclereceived him heartily, and he stayed there for three nights. At thistime there was so much talk about Glam's walkings, that nothing was solargely spoken of as these. Grettir inquired closely about all thathad happened, and Jokull said that the stories told no more than hadindeed taken place; 'but are you intending to go there, kinsman?' saidhe. Grettir answered that he was. Jokull bade him not do so, 'for itis a dangerous undertaking, and a great risk for your friends to loseyou, for in our opinion there is not another like you among the youngmen, and "ill will come of ill" where Glam is. Far better it is todeal with mortal men than with such evil spirits.'"Grettir, however, said that he had a mind to fare to Thorhall-stead,and see how things had been going on there. Jokull replied: 'I seenow that it is of no use to hold you back, but the saying is true that"good luck and good heart are not the same'". Grettir answered:'"Woe stands at one man's door when it has entered another's house".Think how it may go with yourself before the end.'"'It may be,' said Jokull, 'that both of us see some way into thefuture, and yet neither of us can do anything to prevent it.'"After this they parted, and neither liked the other's forebodings."Grettir rode to Thorhall-stead, and the yeoman received him heartily.He asked Grettir where he was going, who said that he wished to staythere all night if he would allow him. Thorhall said that he would bevery glad if he would stay, 'but few men count it a gain to be guestshere for long. You must have heard how matters stand, and I shall bevery unwilling for you to come to any harm on my account. And evenalthough you yourself escape safe and sound, I know for certain thatyou will lose your horse, for no man that comes here can keep thatuninjured.'"Grettir answered that there were horses enough to be got, whatevermight happen to this one. Thorhall was delighted that he was willingto stay, and gave him the heartiest reception. The horse was stronglysecured in an out-house; then they went to sleep, and that nightpassed without Glam appearing."'Your coming here,' said Thorhall, 'has made a happy change, for Glamis in the habit of riding the house every night, or breaking up thedoors, as you may see for yourself.'"'Then one of two things will happen,' said Grettir; 'either he willnot restrain himself for long, or the hauntings will cease for morethan one night. I shall stay for another night, and see how thingsgo.'"After this they went to look at Grettir's horse, and found that hehad not been meddled with, so the yeoman thought that everything wasgoing on well, Grettir stayed another night, and still the thrall didnot come about them. Thorhall thought that things were lookingbrighter, but when he went to look to Grettir's horse he found theout-house broken up, the horse dragged outside, and every bone in itbroken. He told Grettir what had happened, and advised him to securehis own safety, 'for your death is certain if you wait for Glam'."Grettir answered: 'The least I can get for my horse is to see thethrall'. Thorhall replied that it would do him no good to see him,'for he is unlike anything in human shape; but I am fain of every hourthat you are willing to stay here'."The day wore on, and when it was bed-time Grettir would not take offhis clothes, but lay down on the floor over against Thorhall's bed-closet. He put a thick cloak above himself, buttoning one end beneathhis feet, and doubling the other under his head, while he looked outat the hole for the neck. There was a strong plank in front of thefloored space, and against this he pressed his feet. The door-fittings were all broken off from the outer door, but there was ahurdle set up instead, and roughly secured. The wainscot that hadonce stretched across the hall was all broken down, both above andbelow the cross-beam. The beds were all pulled out of their places,and everything was in confusion."A light was left burning in the hall, and when the third part of thenight was past Grettir heard loud noises outside. Then something wentup on top of the house, and rode above the hall, beating the roof withits heels till every beam cracked. This went on for a long time; thenit came down off the house and went to the door. When this was openedGrettir saw the thrall thrust in his head; ghastly big he seemed, andwonderfully huge of feature. Glam came in slowly, and raised himselfup when he was inside the doorway, till he loomed up against the roof.Then he turned his face down the hall, laid his arms on the cross-beam, and glared all over the place. Thorhall gave no sign during allthis, for he thought it bad enough to hear what was going on outside."Grettir lay still and never moved. Glam saw that there was a bundlelying on the floor, and moved further up the hall and grasped thecloak firmly. Grettir placed his feet against the plank, and yieldednot the least. Glam tugged a second time, much harder than before,but still the cloak did not move. A third time he pulled with bothhis hands, so hard that he raised Grettir up from the floor, and nowthey wrenched the cloak asunder between them. Glam stood staring atthe piece which he held in his hands, and wondering greatly who couldhave pulled so hard against him. At that moment Grettir sprang inunder the monster's hands, and threw his arms around his waist,intending to make him fall backwards. Glam, however, bore down uponhim so strongly that Grettir was forced to give way before him. Hethen tried to stay himself against the seat-boards, but these gave waywith him, and everything that came in their path was broken."Glam wanted to get him outside, and although Grettir set his feetagainst everything that he could, yet Glam succeeded in dragging himout into the porch. There they had a fierce struggle, for the thrallmeant to have him out of doors, while Grettir saw that bad as it wasto deal with Glam inside the house it would be worse outside, andtherefore strove with all his might against being carried out. Whenthey came into the porch Glam put forth all his strength, and pulledGrettir close to him. When Grettir saw that he could not stay himselfhe suddenly changed his plan, and threw himself as hard as he couldagainst the monster's breast, setting both his feet against an earth-fast stone that lay in the doorway. Glam was not prepared for this,being then in the act of pulling Grettir towards him, so he fellbackwards and went crashing out through the door, his shoulderscatching the lintel as he fell. The roof of the porch was wrenched intwo, both rafters and frozen thatch, and backwards out of the housewent Glam, with Grettir above him."Outside there was bright moonshine and broken clouds, which sometimesdrifted over the moon and sometimes left it clear. At the moment whenGlam fell the cloud passed off the moon, and he cast up his eyessharply towards it; and Grettir himself said that this was the onlysight he ever saw that terrified him. Then Grettir grew so helpless,both by reason of his weariness and at seeing Glam roll his eyes sohorribly, that he was unable to draw his dagger, and lay well-nighbetween life and death."But in this was Glam's might more fiendish than that of most otherghosts, that he spoke in this fashion: 'Great eagerness have youshown to meet me, Grettir, and little wonder will it be though you getno great good fortune from me; but this I may tell you, that you havenow received only half of the strength and vigour that was destinedfor you if you had not met with me. I cannot now take from you thestrength you have already gained, but this I can see to, that you willnever be stronger than you are now, and yet you are strong enough, asmany a man shall feel. Hitherto you have been famous for your deeds,but henceforth you shall be a manslayer and an outlaw, and most ofyour deeds will turn to your own hurt and misfortune. Outlawed youshall be, and ever have a solitary life for your lot; and this, too, Ilay upon you, ever to see these eyes of mine before your own, and thenyou will think it hard to be alone, and that will bring you to yourdeath.'"When Glam had said this the faintness passed off Grettir, and he thendrew his dagger, cut off Glam's head, and laid it beside his thigh.Thorhall then came out, having put on his clothes while Glam wastalking, but never venturing to come near until he had fallen. Hepraised God, and thanked Grettir for overcoming the unclean spirit.Then they set to work, and burned Glam to ashes, which they placed ina sack, and buried where cattle were least likely to pasture or men totread. When this was done they went home again, and it was now neardaybreak."Thorhall sent to the next farm for the men there, and told them whathad taken place. All thought highly of the exploit that heard of it,and it was the common talk that in all Iceland there was no man likeGrettir Asnundarson for strength and courage and all kinds of bodilyfeats. Thorhall gave him a good horse when he went away, as well as afine suit of clothes, for the ones he had been wearing were all tornto pieces. The two then parted with the utmost friendship."Thence Grettir rode to the Ridge in Water-dale, where his kinsmanThorvald received him heartily, and asked closely concerning hisencounter with Glam. Grettir told him how he had fared, and said thathis strength was never put to harder proof, so long did the strugglebetween them last. Thorvald bade him be quiet and gentle in hisconduct, and things would go well with him, otherwise his troubleswould be many. Grettir answered that his temper was not improved; hewas more easily roused than ever, and less able to bear opposition.In this, too, he felt a great change, that he had become so muchafraid of the dark that he dared not go anywhere alone after nightbegan to fall, for then he saw phantoms and monsters of every kind.So it has become a saying ever since then, when folk see things verydifferent from what they are, that Glam lends them his eyes, or givesthem glam-sight."This fear of solitude brought Grettir, at last, to his end."Ghosts being seldom dangerous to human life, we follow up thehomicidal Glam with a Scottish traditional story of malevolent andmurderous sprites.
