Folk creatures that give chills – Lecture with Tommy Kuusela

Welcome to the Chapel in Gamla Linköping to partake in the darkest stories of Swedish folklore. Sit down in the pews and feel the atmosphere – a completely unique environment that creates the perfect setting for an evening about what lurks in the dark. The evening features Tommy Kuusela, PhD in history of religions, folklorist, and one of the creators behind När man talar om trollen – Sweden’s largest podcast about folklore with over 2.2 million downloads.

The lecture delves into the terrifying beings that adults have told children about to deter them from dangerous places, from brunnsgubben and mörksuggan to ghosts and the brook horse. In the lecture, we explore what has actually frightened us through the ages, where beings like trolls, werewolves, and the nightmare threatened humans in various ways. The presentation also highlights a few local horror examples from Östergötland.

But the stories are not just relics of the past. Fear of the supernatural and the unknown is very much alive today. Tommy Kuusela sheds light on everything from modern ghost stories about the restless dead to horror experiences that challenge our everyday life. We also hear about supernatural games among children and young people, like Svarta Madam, as well as newer phenomena that have shaken both adults and young people. From the werewolf scare of the 1970s in Skåne and Stockholm, the clown alarms in 2016, and social media phenomena like the Momo Challenge.