Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is another entry in my Magical Media Analysis series. I will be focusing on the folkloric origins and usage of the Winter Ogre Witch Gryla and her Yule Lads in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Gryla first appeared in the special eleventh episode of the series titled ‘A Midwinter’s Tale.’ She is one of two Yuletide figures to appear in this special episode of the series. The other is Bartel, who is a fictional Yule demon, based on Krampus. I find it a bit odd that the series chose to use Gryla’s original name, but not call Bartel Krampus. However, the episode is still one of my favorites of the series and a favorite thing to watch multiple times during the Yuletide season! That being said, I do not watch this episode except for during the holidays, as it is so holiday-centric, and I skip it on rewatches during the rest of the year.
Now, in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Gryla is given the backstory of being a Witch who lives in the mountains with her Yule Lads, orphaned children whom she adopted and protects, and who causes mischief in the unprotected houses of witches during the Yule season. The reason she took in the Yule Lads is that way back when she and another witch made a pact to survive a very cold Winter by killing and eating their own sons, and they killed Gryla’s first (her only child) but then the other witch backed out before they killed her child. This has led Gryla to be obsessed with mothering any child and child spirit that she feels has been abandoned. It is also what leads her to kill Bartel in the show because he was harming children and there is nothing Gryla hates more! She also went on to make appearances in the third part of the series when they were gathering all sorts of witches to help combat the Pagans trying to kill them!
In old Scandinavian folklore, Gryla is a Christmas Witch, often stated to be an Ogress, who sends her sons the Yule Lads out to cause chaos at houses that are not protected during the Yule season. She also lives with her third husband who is named Leppalúði. Her depiction in old folklore is totally different physically than in the show, as she is not a beautiful woman, but instead depicted as a traditional Troll or Ogre in appearance! This older folklore also makes it clear that although the Yule Lads cause chaos and mischief wherever they go, they are not the ones to be feared. Gryla is often said to eat children, which is likely what went on to inspire the backstory of cannibalism in the episode ‘A Midwinter’s Tale.’
The story of Gryla and her Yule Lads can easily be related to Krampus, only in a different part of the world, as she clearly shares some characteristics of Krampus. Where he is a Christmas Demon, she is a Christmas Witch, and both punish naughty children. Only where Krampus beats them with birch rods, Gryla literally eats them! So, I do find it fascinating that this sort of female Krampus figure is depicted in the holiday special episode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as literally killing a Krampus-inspired character to protect children. This adds depth to Gryla, as she has eaten children in the past, but now acts as a protector of children instead!
I hope that you have enjoyed this overview of Gryla, the Christmas Witch. I thought that she was an ideal Femme Fatale Friday figure to cover this holiday season, given how truly fatal she is! What is your favorite interpretation of Gryla? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Gryla. I found the image on https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3538462/chilling-adventures-sabrina-brought-christmas-demon-gryla-screen-first-time/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading/Watching
- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2018/12/16/gryla-the-yule-lads/
- https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/12/01/iceland-christmas-witch/
- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)