The Devil's grandmother is a figure in Northern European folk mythology, sometimes a character in folk tales and sometimes an element of folk sayings. [1] Unlike the Devil, she is often portrayed as a sympathetic figure intervening on behalf of mortals. [2]
In the German folktale The Devil and his Grandmother as recorded by The Brothers Grimm, she is described only as "very aged woman" who intervenes to help a cursed soldier solve a riddle. In The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs she also helps a cursed boy by plucking three hairs from the head of the sleeping Devil for him.
In his "Northern Mythology: Northern mythology.- Vol. 2. Scandinavian popular traditions and superstitions" (1851), Benjamin Thorpe notes that some tales identify Wild Hunt participant "Old Frick" as "the devil's grandmother" and might be drawn from the same pre-Christian origins as the Norse goddess Frigg. [3]
She appears in the Swedish film Häxan in the sabbath scene, where she concocts spells. Her appearance is similar to the traditional depiction of demons, but is covered in fur.
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