MODERN FOLKLORE REFERENCES Thor's Hammer
compiled by Scott Trimble



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  • Mermaids
    • "Peter Pan" (1953) and "Hook" (1991) — The Disney animated movie and the Steven Spielberg live-action sequel have mermaids as background characters in some scenes. In one part of "Hook" they rescue the adult Peter Pan (Robin Williams) who has fallen into the water.
    • "Splash" (1984) — This Ron Howard movie starred Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Again the theme of a mermaid water-rescue appears here when Hannah's mermaid-character, Madison, rescues Tom Hanks who has fallen into the water. She later sprouts legs, meets him, but worries what will happen when he finds out that she is not fully-human.
    • "The Little Mermaid" (1989) — Both the motifs of a water-rescue and sprouting legs appear again here. Ariel the Mermaid rescues the human of her dreams by bringing him to the beach. Later, she makes a deal with the evil sea-witch to have human legs long enough to find him again and have him fall in love with her.
  • Werewolves
    • "The Howling" (1981) — Dee Wallace-Stone starred in this Joe Dante movie which spawned a long series of Howling sequels and werewolf copy-cats.
    • "Teen Wolf" (1985) — Michael J. Fox plays a teenager who discovers that he's actually from a long line of werewolves. At first revolted, he then uses it to his advantage, such as at the basketball game.
    • "Wolf" (1984) — Jack Nicholson is a publishing executive who is bit by a werewolf and starts to become one himself.
    • "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (TV 1997-99) — Seth Green plays Oz, a regular guy who becomes a werewolf once a month. His girlfriend Willow (played by Alyson Hannigan) and the rest of the cast have to try to keep him locked up when this happens.
  • The Devil
    • "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) — Strange deaths make Rosemary worry about her unborn child because of plans her possibly satanic neighbors might have for it.
    • "The Exorcist" (1973) — Max von Sydow and Linda Blair movie based on the book by William Peter Blatty. A young daughter of a famous actress is possessed by the devil, necessitating an exorcism by Catholic priests. The book often emphasized the possibility of a medical explanation instead of spiritual, and even the ending was vague as to whether the girl was really possessed or not. Many spoofs of this classic have come and gone over the years.
    • "Needful Things" (1993) — This mediocre movie is based on the great novel by Stephen King. This time Max von Sydow places the devil himself, instead of a priest. The devil comes to the little Maine town of Castle Rock where he sets up a shop to fulfill everybody's deepest desires, if they do certain pranks on other residents. This escalates to the total destruction of the town.
    • "Children of the Corn" (1984) — One of the worst Stephen King movies that Linda Hamilton probably hopes people would forget she starred in. In the corn fields of Nebraska a bunch of kids worship some kind of satanic force.
    • "The Stand" (1994) — After a virus kills most of the world poupation, the devil appears as a guy named Randall FLAGG who the evil survivors in a battle against the good ones.
    • "Days of Our Lives (TV 1965-99) — Marlena (played by Deidre Hall) was possessed by the devil, requiring an exorcism by John Black (portrayed by Drake Hogestyn).
  • Witches
    • "The Witches of Eastwick" (1987) — Not yet realizing the power they have, three lonley women (Susan Sarandon, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer) conjure up a mystery man (Jack Nicholson) and their powers get stronger.
    • Practical Magic (1998) — Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock play witches who are cursed so that any man that they truly love will die in a tragic accident.
  • Ghosts, Spirits, Invisible Folk
    • "Pete's Dragon" (1977) — Combination of motifs: dragon and invisible folk.
    • "Poltergeist" (1982) — This Steven Spielberg / Tobe Hooper movie has a family that is unknowingly living in a house that was built on top of a cemetery (just the tombstones were removed). The household spirits appear to be friendly until the family starts digging in the yard to install a swimming pool. The spirits become nasty and kidnap the daughter into their realm, a great modern example of bergtagning.
    • "Gremlins" (1984) and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990) — The gremlins appear to be a hyper-incarnation of the household spirits. They cause havoc on your neighbors' household, though they can also do the same to your own. The ending shot, narrated by Hoyt Axton, makes the tie to unknown spirits or invisible folk when he says something about how next time your washing machine goes on the fritz, the electricity goes out, etc., there just might be a gremlin in the house.
    • Ghostbusters (1984), Beetlejuice (1988), Scrooged (1988), Ghost (1990), Ghost Dad (1990), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), Casper (1995)....
  • Skogsra, Shape-Shifting, Changelings
    • "The Omen" (1976) — A husband switches his wife's stillborn child for another, the son of Satan, Damien. This is discovered years later when strange deaths start to happen. Damien's origins relate to the changeling motif as well as the devil.
    • "The Shining" — In this Stanley Kubrick film (based on Stephen King), Jack Nicholson passionately kisses an unknown beautiful woman who approaches him, before noticing in the mirror behind her that the woman's back is all scarred and dead. This is reminiscent of the hollowed-out back of the beautiful skogsra.
    • "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1997) — The character Odo (Rene Auberjonois) is a lone shape-shifter among all the "solids" on a space-station located next to a wormhole. This wormhole is the science-fiction equivalent of the holes or mountain-gates into the worlds of the invisible folk.


Scandinavian Mythology & Folklore
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Scott T.S. Trimble   © 1996-1998

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