The Immigrant Ghost

by Kristín M. Jóhannsdóttir

Margaret and Richard Beck Lectures
University of Victoria
February 27, 2003

1. INTRODUCTION

Icelandic-Canadians do not agree on whether Icelandic ghosts ever made it to Canada or not. One of the first settlers, Baldvin from Kirkjubær, claimed not. [1] Having no ship fare, ghosts tried to walk over the ocean. But by the time they made it to the mid-Atlantic they were exhausted, and sank. Valdheiður Sigurðsson tells a similar story about Rauðpilsa, a ghost who had followed Sigurður from Rauðamelur before he immigrated to Canada. Rauðpilsa missed the boat in Iceland, gave up and followed Sigurðurʼs brother from then on.

On the other hand, Sigurður Sigvaldason from Víðirbyggð claimed that many ghosts came with the first settlers. They had mostly settled in Geysirbyggð and Riverton, and even west to Víðirbyggð. But when the first generation of Icelanders died, these ghosts got bored and most of them moved back to Iceland, with no new ghosts coming into existence.

Although Sigurður is wrong to say that no new ghosts came into existence in Canadaʼs New Iceland, as numerous stories make clear, it also seems clear that the settlement of Icelandic ghosts in Canada failed to prosper. But why the settlement of the living was such a success, and that of the dead was not, is not completely evident. In this talk I will air a few proposals.

2. ICELANDIC CANADIAN GHOSTS

2.1 The Icelandic Family Ghost

One of the most interesting subgroups of Icelandic ghosts is no doubt that of the family ghost, ghosts that in most cases are resurrected by necromancers and sent to harass neighbors and enemies. These ghosts stay with their assigned families for generations and move with them from farm to farm, even from country to country. Several ghosts of this sort have been reported amongst the Icelanders in Canada and it seems clear that at least two Skottas, two Móris, and Þorgeirsboli himself decided to emigrate.

Of the two Skottas, Leirárskotta was the more famous in Canada and the one that still has a name in Icelandic Canadian folktales. She was originally called Hvítárvallaskotta and was sent to Sigurður Jónsson and his wife Ólöf Jónsdóttir at Hvítarvellir in Borgarfjörður. She did quite a bit of mischief; killing horses and cows wherever Sigurður went, and later burning down the family farm. She is also known to have killed a farmhand and to have attacked a certain Reverend Þórður.

She emigrated to Canada with Sigurðurʼs great-grandson, Eggert Jónsson, and his wife Sigríður Jónsdóttir in 1887. Their daughter was Guðrún Eggertsdóttir. It seems that in Canada Skotta mostly lived with Guðrún and her husband Jón Borgfjörð at Hvanneyri, but also with Jónʼs brother Guðmundur Borgfjörð at Melstað.

By the time she reached Canada, Skotta had mellowed and her mischief was less serious than in her heyday. She hadnʼt completely lost her strength, though, as she is supposed to have killed a cow at a neighbourʼs farm because the people werenʼt completely helpful to the Borgfjörð people. Though evil, this shows a certain loyalty to her family. She would travel around with them, usually a little ahead of them, and sometimes appeared in peopleʼs houses and even their bedrooms. Wherever the Borgfjörð people went, animals would become crazy.

Skotta also demanded to be fed. One time Þórunn, Guðmundurʼs wife, had baked four pies, then put them on a shelf in the larder. That evening she forgot to give Skotta her portion and the morning after, all the pies had been thrown out into the field. After that Þórunn never forgot to give poor Skotta something to eat.

In many ways Skotta seems to have enjoyed herself very much in the New World, and sometimes participated in the games of children at play.

Nelson Gerrard also talks about a Skotta in his book The Icelandic River Saga and claims that she accompanied at least four individuals who lived in the area: Steinunn of Akri, Jóhannes at Árbakki, Sigurður at Kelduland, and Fúsi of Fagranes. These people were not relatives of the Borgfjörð people and therefore it seems unlikely that it was Leirárskotta who lived with them, although some stories of the Skotta of Akri have been attributed to Leirárskotta. It is more likely that the Skotta that Gerrard talks about is a completely different one, and when we look into the genealogy of the foursome we see that Steinunn and Jóhannes were the children of Jóhann Jóhannesson at Vindheimar in Skagafjörður. His wife, and Steinunnʼs mother, was Þóra Eiríksdóttir from Ábær. She, in turn, was from a family accompanied by no other than Ábæjarskotta.

Many stories tell of Ábæjarskotta while she was in Iceland, and she seems to have been less mean-spirited than Leirárskotta. In one story she defended her territory by attacking a ghost that followed a traveler who stayed overnight in Ábær and in another one she teased a neighbourhood farmer by constantly putting out his light when he was working late in the barn. In general she played pranks and committed mischief but did nothing very harmful. She even adopted a puppy that came to an early death by drowning while trying to follow his master. Skotta may have felt sorry for the puppy as she too showed a certain loyalty to her people.

Ábæjarskotta emigrated to Canada with Þóraʼs daughter Steinunn, and her half-brother Jóhann. Nelson Gerrard tells of an account where both Jóhannes and Fúsi were nearly killed by oxen that had been spooked by Skotta, and another occasion on which a farmer returning home along the River Road found it nearly impossible to get his horse to pass by Árbakki, where Skotta was supposed to live with her family. But even though most of the stories of Ábæjarskotta in Canada are about her frightening the neighbourhood animals, she is also supposed to have toppled a tub of scalding hot water off a stove and only luck saved the nearby children from being under the boiling water. But like Leirárskotta she had her happy moments: one account tells of a child who saw Skotta dance at a birthday party at Akur, near Arborg.

The two Skottas werenʼt the only family ghosts to come to Canada. Rauðafells-Móri is supposed to have come with Sigurður from Rauðafell, and Írafells-Móri is likewise said to have accompanied Guðmundur Marteinsson of Garður and his family and caused various sorts of mischief in the stables before the arrival of the Sandy Bar people.

The fifth well-known ghost to immigrate to Canada was none other than Þorgeirsboli himself. He probably immigrated to Canada with Guðrún Eiríksdóttir of Skógar in 1876, as she was the great-granddaughter of Þorgeir Stefánsson at Végeirsstaðir who conjured Þorgeilsboli and whose family boli followed. Various stories exist of Þorgeirsboli, although more are supposed to have heard his screams than to actually have seen him. The siblings Ómar and Erla Sæmundsson did, however, both see him, and both times he was dragging other ghosts on his flayed hide—something that he used to do when he was home in Iceland.

As for other emigrant ghosts, Pétur Árnason of Árskógur is supposed to have had a grey cat as a fylgja, and Páll Vídalín, also of Árskógur, was accompanied on his journeys by a woman with a knitted hat whom he denied being able to see. More may have come to Canada as well, but these have not been recorded.

2.2 Other Icelandic-Canadian Ghosts

While a number of traditional Icelandic ghosts came to New Iceland, many more accounts exist of other sorts of ghosts living with the immigrant Icelanders. Other stories describe ghosts lacking the physical qualities (such as needing to eat) and intrusive behaviour (all the mischief) of traditional Icelandic ghosts: these other ghosts are apparitions, spirits that can be seen but donʼt seem to interfere too much with the living. In many instances, the ghost of a dying person is seen far away at the exact time of death. Other stories tell of ghosts that have simply lingered on in this world, possibly to stay close to a person, place, or a thing. For example: a child sees a ghost in a window of an abandoned house; a young woman often sees a child sit on its motherʼs bed, even though the child died fifty years earlier in Iceland; a ghost-child stays close to its grown-up childhood friend and constantly pets her cheek.

In only a few of these stories does the ghost speak to the living. In most cases it is seen but not heard.

The idea of the ghost as a white, transparent floating spirit is found in several of the Icelandic-Canadian accounts. Guðný Ólafsson Tómasson was once on her way to Gardar when she saw a woman, dressed in white sheets come towards her. She didnʼt seem to walk so much as glide along the ground. When the woman had passed her Guðný heard a weird sound, turned around and saw nothing. Ólöf Halldórsson had a similar experience, perhaps with the same ghost. She was walking in the woods when she saw a woman come towards her. She too was dressed all in white, with a hat, scarf and white dress. She didnʼt walk on the path but somehow slid through the bushes and her skirt seemed like fog. Just like Guðný, Ólöf heard a loud scream just when the ghost had passed her, and when she looked back there was nothing to be seen. Both these apparitions were said to be a young woman that had died and was frequently seen in the area. She was given the name Duða, which is not an unknown ghost name in Iceland. Interestingly enough, Ólöf was told that this Duða accompanied a certain man in the area, but Duða corresponds in no way to the common Icelandic family ghost: she is much more a ghost in the English style.

Not all the pale apparitions were of people, it should be said. Bergljót Sigurðsson saw a white calf in the middle of a night in an area where no calves were supposed to be.

Even the stories of non-ghosts often reflect the English idea that a ghost is some sort of misty white spirit moving in another realm. Sigurður Vopnfjörð once saw something white approach him in the dark; there was no sound and it seemed to slide forwards. When the mysterious ghost had come close enough Sigurður recognized its real identity as a white horse. And several stories also tell of how pranksters used white sheet to look like ghosts and scare others. That is, however, not a new prank and by no means unique to English culture. A story exists of a Dakota Indian who covered himself with white mud to pose as the spirit of a dead person.

3. WHY DID THE GHOST SETTLEMENT FAIL?

The situation of the Icelandic ghost settlement in Canada seems to be this: only a few Icelandic ghosts immigrated to Canada, and half a century later, only a handful of ghosts of the old kind were left. New ghosts seem to have appeared but they didnʼt strictly follow the Icelandic traditions, making it unclear whether they were really Icelandic and not just Canadian ghosts seen by Icelandic-Canadians. We can thus ask us two questions: Why didnʼt more ghosts immigrate to Canada, as so many Icelanders did? and What happened to those ghosts that did immigrate?

3.1 Why so few emigrated

The first question is easy to answer. Icelandic ghosts are at least of three different kinds:

It is easy to account for the first group. They are attached to certain places and have therefore no interest in moving to another country. Their reason for staying on earth is, after all, exactly that of staying at this particular place.

The second type of ghost, the ones that come back for a certain purpose, have a fairly short existence on earth and usually do their thing and then leave for the other side of the grave.

The third group, the family ghosts, is the most likely to emigrate as they follow their families faithfully wherever they go. It is, on the other hand, likely that not all family ghosts emigrated with their families, as they tended to follow many members of the same family and therefore they would most of the time have to choose between going or not, in case of emigration. And their reasons for leaving would be less obvious than those of the living. The living Icelanders left because of harsh conditions, because of cold and hunger, and because the lack of opportunities in the old countries. None of those reasons seem to apply to ghosts as they would usually not be particularly affected by cold, and although they demanded to be fed, it has never been clear that they actually needed the food. Ghosts also donʼt tend to be particularly ambitious, so it is unlikely that they dreamt of farming their own land. They seem to have been completely content with being the official escort of others. And if the ghosts didnʼt have reasons of their own to emigrate, they probably only did so if they chose to stay with that part of the family that did.

3.2 Why their settlement didnʼt prosper

So weʼve settled why so few ghosts emigrated in the first place, but we have yet to find out why the settlement of the ghosts that did immigrate never prospered.

3.2.1 Native Ghosts

One possible reason why the Icelandic ghosts didnʼt seem to settle very well in the new country is the pre-existence of native ghosts. Although there are accounts of ghosts forming friendships or even a working union, they tend to be loners and are even known to fight each other if they feel their territory is being jeopardized.

When the first Icelandic settlers arrived in the Interlake they were the first people of European decent to settle the area. The land had been reserved for them and no one was allowed to settle there except Icelanders. They, therefore, didnʼt have to fight with anyone for the land and even the Icelanders that settled north of the Icelandic River, land that originally had not been a part of the Icelandic reserve and that at the time was settled by Saulteaux Indians, had the authorities supporting them and settled the land without too much trouble. This had not been the case when Icelanders first arrived in the New World nine hundred years earlier. Þorleifur Karlsefni and his men had to fight the natives in Vínland, and came to the conclusion that even though the land was good the constant danger of war would not make it worthwhile. The only decision would be to let the natives keep their land and go back home to Greenland.

It is clear that when the first Icelandic ghosts arrived in Canada, native ghosts already settled the land. Various sources show that the First Nations of Canada already had their own ghosts.

The natives that lived in the Interlake area when the first Icelanders arrived were mostly Saulteaux Indians, sometimes called Northern Ojibwa and it would therefore be natural to suspect that the native ghosts that occupied the area where also of that tribe. Saulteaux ghosts are called djibai and they have the tendency to wander near their own graves or in the bush. They are interested in human affairs and benevolently disposed towards the living, especially their kinsmen.

Occasionally Icelanders saw the ghosts of the Natives. Vilberg Eyjólfsson tried to shoot the ghost of a huge Native while staying in a haunted hut, but the smirking ghost just came closer with every shot; a man fetching water from the shore saw a wet Indian that had drowned nearby; and the native ghosts are also a part of the story of the haunting of Nes, at Icelandic River, as the farm is built on an Indian graveyard that has for decades been destroyed by the river. A little Native girl was frequently seen sitting on a graveyard and the poet Guttormur Guttormsson once saw a little Native boy sit by the window at the second floor bedroom.

When the Icelandic ghosts came to the new land, they may well have encountered the native ghosts and that meeting might not have been as friendly as the one enjoyed by the living. Whether the native ghosts chased the Icelandic newcomers away, or whether the Icelandic ghosts decided to keep the peace and go on their own, is not easy to know. But it does, nevertheless, seem, that the settlement of the Icelandic ghosts never got the same legal privileges as those of their living counterparts.

3.2.2 Assimilation

Wsevelovd Isajiw (1975:132) has researched Canadian ethnic groups, and has seen patterns that run through them.

The transplantation pattern is seen when immigrants attempt to re-establish the old country in the new country, and is especially prevalent in the first generation. The rebellion pattern and the rediscovery pattern are both forms of assimilation. In the rebellion pattern people consciously reject their past or over-identify with the dominant society. In the rediscovery pattern people are rediscovering their ancestral past as something with a new meaning, but this rediscovery does not amount to a genuine return to the lifestyle of their ancestors, nor to adopting the contemporary ways of their ancestral homeland.

Leirárskotta and Ábæjarskotta are most definitely at the transplantation stage. They have done their best to recreate Icelandic ghost society in the new country and continue their ways in the normal Icelandic manner. They demand to be fed and continue to travel with their families, scaring and even killing the animals of the farms they pass on their way. They also dress in the Icelandic style, wearing rusty brown clothes of homespun cloth with skullcaps and tassels.

Duða, on the other hand, seems to have gone the way of assimilation. She is a second-generation ghost: she did not emigrate to the country as a ghost but died in Canada. She seems to have rejected the ways of her forefathers, in part, by dressing all in white, the fashion of the Anglophones. She also seems to have learned new ways of moving around, sliding like fog in the bushes, instead of taking the road, like traditional Icelandic ghosts would have done. The same can be said of the white calf that was seen in the night by Bergljót Sigurðsson. Likely a second-generation ghost, possibly the son of Þorgeirsboli, he is all white like an Anglophone ghost, not greyish brown like Þorgeirsboli and other Icelandic bull-ghosts. These ghosts seem to have become Canadian and they have retained little of their Icelandic identity.

3.2.3 Extinction

The third possibility for the failure of the Icelandic ghost settlement in Canada is simple extinction. Ghosts are usually not considered able to reproduce—with the possible exception of Þorgeirsboli—and their lifetimes as ghosts are not indefinite. Some say 120 years, others say nine generations. A ghost that doesnʼt reproduce and doesnʼt exist indefinitely is eventually going to disappear. The ghost population is therefore dependent on two things: dying people and necromancy. And even in Iceland necromancy seems to be a lost art. I am told by Bjarni Harðason that of the one hundred ghosts of Árnessýsla, only four remain. Most of the ghosts that emigrated to Canada were no longer in the bloom of their youths and they may simply have disappeared as a result of old age. If none of the immigrants had stored the knowledge of necromancy it would have been impossible to raise up new ghosts and the second-generation ghosts did not have anyone to teach them the old ways. The ghost population of Canada today is therefore made up of ghosts of the new kind, who have little or nothing in common with the glorious ghosts of Icelandʼs past.

1. Quoted by Andrés Guðbjartsson.

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