Episode 57: Workers of Death: Grim

The folklore of grim in a nutshell, how I reimagined them for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2023 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about grim in folklore here.

Get the transcript here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Origin of the Fae book series. You’ve met them on the podcast, now see them in action. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/originofthefaeseries for more.

You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion. Go to buymeacoffee.com/ronel to support me.

We’re continuing our exploration of the workers of death.

Today’s Faery: Grim

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

The Church Grim or Kirk Grim comes from a folk memory of sacrifice when black dogs were buried alive in a churchyard to sanctify the ground and to watch over the rest of the dead.

As the guardian of old churchyards, the Church Grim appears in the form of a black dog and protects the dead from nefarious supernatural creatures. This dog is often seen on stormy nights and is a portent of death.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: Grim

The Grim is a black dog that looks a lot like a wolf. It has brown markings on its legs, a lot like that of a Cù Sìth. They can become shadows to stay invisible to mortal eyes.

They live in the Otherworld, guarding the Mistress of the Veil between worlds. Their job is making sure that all festivities that have to do with the mortal world and theirs go smoothly (Samhain, Solstice, etc.). Sometimes they have to hunt Faery-Hybrids, magical lakes and other things that threaten their Mistress or the festivities they safeguard. They also occasionally hunt down escaped spirits of the dead.

You know you are close to the Veil if you spot a Grim.

Like all black dogs, they are fierce protectors and loyal.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

You can now own the backlist seasons as audiobooks. All proceeds go to hosting the podcast. Exclusively available from Ronel’s store.