Huldra
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Huldra.jpg
In Scandinavian folklore, the huldra (the common Norwegian name, derived from a root meaning encovered or secret) or skogsrå or skogsfru (meaning "lady (ruler) of the forest", the common Swedish name) is a seductive forest elf. Seen from the front, she is a stunningly beautiful naked woman with long auburn hair, but seen from the back, she is hollow like an old tree-trunk. In Norway she has a cow's tail, and in Sweden either that or a fox's tail. The huldra lures men to walk into the forest and have sex with her. If satisfied she can give the man a gift in return. However, the liaison can also result in madness. A more positive side is that she could give good hunting, which may have been her original function.
She is not liked by the old Scandinavian god Odin, whose main occupation after the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia was to chase down and kill as many huldras as possible in the Wild Hunt.
There are also other kinds of rå, for example the aquatic sjörå (or havsfru), later identified with a mermaid, and the bergsrå in caves and mines, who made life tough for the poor miners.
The huldra may be connected with the German Holda.sv:Skogsrået