Norwegian trolls

Context

Trollhunter (Trolljegeren) is a 2010 Norwegian movie. In it, a small group of students discovers a secret government service that keeps dangerous, monstrous trolls under control deep into the Norwegian wilderness.

Our profile describes the four kinds of trolls seen in the movie.

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Notes

• The film also has several specific references to fairy tales. For example :
  • The Boy Who Had a Eating Match With the Troll  when the camera man asks about an eating contest
  • the Three Billy Goats Gruff  when the Troll Hunter attempts to trap the troll under the bridge
  • the fairy tale Soria Moria Castle  is one of the tales that tell trolls can smell a Christian man’s blood
  • a painting by Theodor Kittelsen  based on the same fairy tale is also used as a backdrop on one of the trips they do in the film.
• The looks of the trolls in the film is also influenced by painters like Theodor Kittelsen and John Bauer.

Background

Powers & Abilities

Trolls are large, strong, and vicious. They hunt almost exclusively by smell, their vision and hearing could be considered normal at best, only the Mountain King lives in complete darkness.

They are quite slow; most rely on stealth and camouflage to get near their prey. When standing still they can be mistaken for trees or rocks. It is said you can’t see trolls in satellite photographs.

It was suspected that all the trolls in the film had rabies.

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What sunlight does to a Troll

The Troll’s main problem is that they can’t convert Vitamin D from sunlight into calcium. So, when they are exposed to bright sunlight, their bodies overreact. Their stomach’s expand. Gases are forced into their intestines and veins. This becomes unbearable. They explode.

Video

Here’s a short HD montage showing the actual troll appearances in the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNR4zQKNORU

History

Sometime before October 2008 three students of Volda College documented a Troll Hunter’s hunting forays into the Norwegian woods. An alleged bear poacher, Hans, claims to be a real-life Troll hunter.

The Norwegian Government covers up and denies the existence of Trolls. The TSS (Troll Security Service) keep Troll’s corralled by power lines that are actually an electric fence for the giant creatures.

When one does escape and causes trouble, the TSS reports that it is not Trolls but bears, tornado’s or whatever is believable…but not Trolls.

There are two main types of trolls – mountain trolls and woodland trolls. The subgroups include Ringlefinch, Tosserlad, Rimetosser, Mountain Kings, and the Harding out west. There are many variations.

The gestation period for Trolls is 10 to 15 years and they produce only one offspring.

Tips for hunting Trolls

Trolls are nocturnal creatures so; a hunter must hunt them at night. During the day a hunter can discover if Trolls are in an area. There are a few techniques for this.

• One, place tires in the area and check them periodically. Trolls can’t resist sniffing them out and chewing on them.
• Second, draw out a diagram of the boulders in an area and check to see if they have been moved about as sometimes Trolls will throw these at each other when fighting one another.
• Third, the livestock will be killed in an area; sometimes the Troll will store its kills under a bridge.
• Fourth, if you have a hint of where one has set a hunting territory you can check for “scent marks” left on trees. Also, rockslides or toppled trees, things like that.
• Lastly, a hunter may set traps with concrete and charcoal, an irresistible combination to a troll.

Mountain King trolls.

Trolls have a good sense of smell. Keep troll skins, tails, and hair around and in your vehicle, bathe well before a hunt, pay attention in scrubbing your armpits and groin to remove body odor, then rub troll stench on your body and clothes. This will cover your own smell and the Troll won’t run away.

Trolls can also smell a True Christian’s belief in Jesus and God. In game terms this means any character with the True Faith advantage. Hans was not sure if this extended to Muslims or other religious beliefs but was sure Trolls could smell a Christian and even used a Christian man’s blood to lure a Troll to him.

The best weapon against a troll is Ultra-violet light. UVB rays. The same as the sun, or a tanning lamp. Sunlight causes a Troll to turn to stone or explode.

A hunter can herd a troll by using a strobing flash-bulb. Once the Troll becomes angry or hurt enough to give chase, the hunter can lead it into a trap, hitting it with a large amount of ultra violet light.

Description

All Trolls resemble giant humanoids with gnarled skin, large noses, and a tail. The size of the different species vary.

Tosserlad’s have three heads. The heads develop as they age. They aren’t born with three. They are usually born with one and the others appear later. They only have eyes in the middle head, the original head.

The other heads aren’t really heads. They are a sort of protuberance. Their function is to scare other trolls or to impress mates.

Jotnar.

The Ringlefinch has only the right arm, it is smaller than the Tosserlad but makes up for the size difference in bulk. Their head also seems to be sunk down into the chest cavity. It cannot look behind it without turning its entire body around.

The Mountain Kings are like the Ringlefinch in size but have two arms and its head is more like a man’s being above the shoulders. Their nose is more elongated than other Troll species. Their bodies are also covered in course hair.

The Jotnar’s body is shaped a lot like the Mountain Kings without the hair but enormous in size standing around two hundred feet tall. Their heads resemble the Ringlefinch.

Personality

Trolls are not bright at all. They will literally eat anything even rocks, car tires, or their own tail. When a Troll runs, the ground will shake, when a Jotnar runs, earthquakes are reported.

When fleeing, or when chasing a meal, trolls literally crash through trees. Trolls breath heavily and can be heard sniffing loudly.

Tosserlad’s live in forests while Ringlefinch’s tend to find bridges to dwell under. The Mountain Kings gather in groups and live together in caves. The Jotnar are solitary, living inside the mountains.

By Ethan Roe.

Source of Character: The 2010 movie Trollhunter.

Helper(s): Wikipedia.

Writeup completed on the 10^th of August, 2012.