Grindylow in Folklore | The Faeries and Folklore Podcast

ByRonel Janse van Vuuren
A dark fantasy banner titled "FAERIES AND FOLKLORE by Ronel," set against a misty, gnarled forest under a large, glowing full moon. In the bottom left corner, the word "Grindylow" is written in a clean, white serif font. In the top right corner, there is a circular, dark metallic or wax seal stamp featuring an embossed illustration of a wave. A scaly blue dragon rests on a rocky ridge in the foreground, surrounded by faint, glowing blue magical embers.

Episode 45: Water Fae: Grindylow

The folklore of Grindylow in a nutshell, how I reimagined this fae for my writing, and this faery translated into Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2022 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about Grindylow 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 book Once… Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie available in eBook, audiobook and paperback. Learn more at ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books.

We’re continuing our exploration of Water Fae.

Today’s Faery: Grindylow

Folklore in a nutshell by Ronel

Grindylow or Grundylow is a swamp monster from English folklore. They are described as small humanoid beings with scaly, green skin, sharp claws and teeth, and long, thin arms ending with long, thin fingers. With surprising strength, they pull unwary children into the swamps, ponds and marshes they inhabit, far beneath the water and safety. Apparently, they gobble them up when no-one’s looking. They have been shadowy figures, akin to nursery boogeymen, to frighten children away from dangerous places where they can drown. A similar figure is Jenny Greenteeth from English folklore, Näkki from Finnish mythology and Berberoka from Philippine folklore.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an origin of the fae: grindylow

The grindylow is a flesh-eating faery – they eat fish, but prefer human flesh, especially children. Though there are rumours that they can change their form to more easily lure their prey, it is actually a glamour cast through the water to lure children in closer for them to seize them and pull them below the surface. They live in swamps, ponds and marshes, preferring to take cover beneath algae and other water plants to keep an eye on the land and potential prey. They are very humanoid in their physiology, but with light green or blue skin (depending on the natural colour of water where they live), webbed hands and feet, and some even have a fin on their heads to make swimming easier. Their limbs are also longer and thinner than a human’s, thus the folklore surrounding them. They also have sharp teeth like a fish.

As a little bonus, let’s look at the translation of grindylow into Afrikaans: moeras monster (this is of my own making)

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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A dark fantasy, gothic-style banner featuring a faerie and branding text on a deep purple background. On the left, a side profile of a young female faerie with pointed ears, long wavy hair, a floral crown, and translucent, vein-textured wings looks down thoughtfully. She stands in a shadowy forest next to a glowing candle lantern resting on stacked vintage books. The right side features a decorative circular emblem with a moth and crescent moon, followed by the text: "RONEL THE MYTHMAKER," "Exploring the folklore behind the magic—and creating new myths along the way," and the website "RONELTHEMYTHMAKER.COM". The entire image is framed by an ornate, vintage border.

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