Vikings.
Vikings, vikings, vikings.
Interesting fact - they never actually had pointed helmets.
Yeah.
Theres no evidence of that.
So, what are they really known for?
Well, the Vikings are often rememberd as sailors, invaders, warriors and traders - stories of
them struck fear into the hearts of those who opposed them - some say they were a scary
bunch - now lets imagine what kind of stories it would take to scare them.
Some Vikings werent scared of war, of raging seas, of not knowing if theyll ever make it
home again - some werent even scared of death itself - but these stories, these storiews
did the trick.
Here are 10 of the very best.
Lets see how you handle them.
My name is Danny Burke and this is the Top 10 Scary Viking Stories.
Right before we get into that I wanna talk about Vikings: War of Clans.
This game was inspired by the top PC strategy and RPG games of the 90s - it reminds me a
lot of old Age of Empires - its all about building up resources, influence and experience
to crush your opponents.
You can also forge alliances with any of the 20 million online players - these clans can
be the difference between glory and ruin.
Play the game your own way and be prepared for it to constantly evolve as you fight over
resources and compete in live events.
Support Most Amazing Top 10 by downloading Vikings for FREE only from the links in the
description box and get the special bonus of 200 gold coins and a protective shield!
Starting off at number 10 we have The Draugr[a].
To the Vikings - these creatures were the walking dead.
They are mentioned throughout Viking and Icelandic.
Its easy to compare them to our concept of Zombies - but they were more terrifying than
that - although dead, The Draugr retained some level of intelligence - they werent just
undead - they were sentient.
The Vikings believed they were created by a curse or sometimes just the will of the
dead who simply refused to die.
They called the tombs and graves of the dead home - especially ones with treasure in side.
Vikings who dared to plunder this treasure would be weary of the Draugr who jealously
guarded it.
If a Viking decided to fight one of them, theyd have to deal with their superhuman strength,
their ability to increase size at will and the overpowering stench of decay.
Some of you may have fought your fair share of these in Skyrim - but would you like to
face on in real life?
Ill leave that with you …
Moving on to number 9 we have Odins Eye[b].
If youre a big fan of Norse Mythology or the Marvel Universe, you may be aware of Odin,
the Allfather, the supreme deity - youll also be aware that he famously has one eye - the
socket where there used to be an eye is covered up with an eye patch.
Odin is known to represent both war and poetry, he's a leader but also a hermit, a tricket
and protector.
Most of the stories surrounding him are to do with wisdom - even the one about how he
lost his eye.
According to legend, Odin visited the mystical Well of Urd at the base of the world tree
that held the cosmos together.
The well was guarded by Mimir who became all knowing by drinking the water in the well.
Odin asked for a drink of the water, Mimir replied that in order to do that he must sacrifice
one of his eyes.
Odin obliged.
He gouged out one of his eyes and dropped it into the well.
Then and only then was he allowed to drink from the waters of cosmic knowledge.
A gruesome way to gain wisdom.
Next up at number 8 we have Spae-Craft[c].
This was the Vikings version of Black Magic.
It was practiced by witches known as Seither, also known as Spae-wives.
They were formidable black magicians who were said to live with trolls and all sorts of
dark creatures that lived in the shadows.
Their magic could take many forms and would sometimes be too subtle for the Vikings to
even notice until it was too late.
Te spells could cause crop failure, disease in livestock, wasting illnesses and plague
that reduced the Vikings to walking skeletons.
The most powerful of the Seither could cut down some of the great Viking heroes with
spells as powerful as they were evil.
They could change their skin, conjure up trolls, call forth the undead and ensnare the minds
of the Vikings to do their biddings.
They lived in constant fear of when a Spae-Craft spell came to town …
Next up at number 7 we have The Burning[d].
This is the story of Ingjald, a legendary Swedish king.
He was a hardy and fearsome leader - but he wasnt always that way.
As child he was mde to eat the heart of a wolf in an attempt to harden him and prepare
him to be king.
It certainly did that - but it changed him forever.
Ingjald became terribly cruel from that day on.
He knew his evil deeds would be the end of him and decided to stay one step ahead of
his rivals.
He built a great feasting hall and invited 7 other kings to dine with him.
During the meal, he went outside, locked the doors and burned the hall the ground.
He waited with his men outside to cut down any survivors.
He tried to cover it up, but the legends never forget - he became known as BadRuler from
then on.
Eventually he was overthrown and decided to not surrender, instead burning the building
he was in to the ground - a fitting in for this cruel king …
Moving on to number 6 we have The Kraken[e].
This is a beast so terrible that it has survived into the modern era through stories passed
down for generations.
The Vikings believed the Kraken to be a giant squid or octopus like creature.
Its size was unimaginable but some estimated it to be more than a mile long.
Some Viking sailors mistook it for an island in the sea - until they got close and it reared
its fearsome face.
It rose up when the waters were disturbed by boats and would release its tentacles to
flail above the water - smashing boats into splinters or pulling down sailors to their
watery graves ….
Next up at number 5 we have the Love Triangle of Death[f].
This story comes from a 13th century Saga, said to be real events from the Viking era
a few hundred years before.
Gudrun was a woman who was married twice but divorced and windowed - all at an early age.
She fell in love with the charming Kjartan.
Before they began courting though, Kjartans father believed Gudrun was very unlucky didnt
want his son marrying her.
In an effort to stop their relationship in its tracks, he send Kjartan on a trading expedition
to Norway.
There he was held hostage by the king.
During his absence, Kjartans cousin Bolli persuaded the reluctant Gudrun to marry him
instead.
When Kjartan returned, Gudrun realised she had made a terrible mistake.
A bloodbath ensued.
In the end, Bolli killed Kjartan - his own cousin and also foster brother.
Kjartan died in his arms.
Bolli was then killed in revenge.
The tale that began with love ended in nothing but death and pools of blood …
Next up at number 4 we have Fenrir[g].
The Vikings believed this was one of Lokis children - he is also a gigantic wolf - and
very angry.
Even the name struck fear into the hearts of those who heard of him.
In the old days, the prophecies foretold that Fenrir would only ever continue to grow in
size and ferocity and so, the Gods decided they had to bind him forever.
They tried chains, but Fenrir broke them with ease.
The Gods commissioned the dwarves to make Gleipnir, a tether as thin as a ribbon but
stronger than a chain.
They restrained him with that - when he realised hed been tricked, he bit the hand off the
God Tyr.
The Vikings believed that Fenrir wont stay bound forever and that he will one day kill
Odin himself at the end of the world.
Moving on to number 3 we have Murder Creation[h].
We talked about Odin earlier on - if you were wondering what else a God who gouged his own
eye out - look no further.
The Vikings believed that the universe came forth from an empty void that separated worlds
made purely of fire and ice.
This was the home of Ymir - this all powerful being was the mother and father of the Jotuns
- chaotic beings who later became the enemies of the Norse Gods.
Eventually came 3 sibligns Vili, Ve and Odin - the 3 conspired to create the world we live
in and fill it with life.
They needed something to create the world out of though - and they chose Ymirs body.
Odin and his brothers murded Ymir and made the world out of his body and the sky out
of the skull.
His blood became the sea.
His bones and teeth became rocks and mountains.
His brains became the clouds.
The brothers then set about creating life, humans and the intelligence we have.
For the Vikings, the world looked looks like a very different place when you think it was
created through murder …
Moving on to number 2 we have The End[i].
The End - perhaps I should have put this one at the very end.
Anyway, this is the story of Ragnarok - Im sure some of you have heard that before - it
is the event set in stone where the world as we know it will come to a fiery end - the
Vikings believed that even the Gods would be unable to escape the flames.
The Vikings described this time as -an axe age, a sword age, a wind age, a wolf age,
before the world falls- … they said that after 3 years of global suffering and plague
there would be a war in heaven above.
The Viking Gods would do battle with Jotuns, giant wolves, the world serpent and the infamous
Loki.
They would all fall - and the the fire giant Surt would burn the whole world to ashes.
Perhaps most disturbingly is the fact that even though the Vikings have gone - this prophecy
still remains.
Some still believe that these horrors await us …
And finally at number 1 we have The Sacrifice[j].
This is the story of Domaldi - a legendary Swedish King.
His tale is not a happy one.
He became king when his two older half brothers murdered their father Visbur and his stepmother
cursed Domaldi with a life of bad luck.
So - not a great start to his life as a king.
It would be easy to dismiss the curse as the words of a grieving person who wanted to lash
out in the only way they knew how.
After a while though - it seemed like the curse had some power to it.
Domaldis reign was plagued by - well plague.
After the first year of his people starving, the chieftains tried to appease the Gods by
sacrificing an ox.
The harvest was still bad - the people were still starving - the following year, they
began sacrificing people.
That didnt work.
Eventually, they realised the curse was linked to Domaldi and so they killed their own king
on an altar.
The moment the blood touched the stone - the curse was lifted - the next harvest was abundant
- and people spoke in whispers of the sacrifices that had to be made …
And that is that - I could sit here and talk about Vikings all day but its time for a little
break - unless Ive already made a part 2 in which case watch that next!
Thanks again to Vikings: War of Clans for supporting us, links in the description box,
thanks to you as always for watching, my name is Danny Burke and Ill see you all in the
next video!