The Wonderful Mythical Creatures Of Finland

[Lord Lucan]

I've had the pleasure of visiting this most beautiful of countries and whilst my time there was brief, I fell in love with Helsinki, the food, the atmosphere, the reserved, yet polite people. It's a land of both light and darkness which like other Nordic and Scandinavian countries, ensures a rich folklore and a dazzling tapestry of mythical(?) creatures of all sorts.
While looking at some Finnish tourism sites today, I came across this rather splendidly informative & illustrated page on just what may be lurking in the forests and waters of this mysterious nation.

FINNISH MYTHICAL CREATURES STILL LURK

Have you ever wondered what mythical creatures might exist in Finland’s vast forests and lakes?

Here’s our field guide to the fascinating mythical creatures that might still be lurking out there in Finland’s vast forests, or in the dark depths of a remote lake.

Every country’s mythology has its own cast of strange creatures, monsters and legendary human figures. Finland is no exception, and mythical creatures remained very much part of Finnish folklore until the country’s rapid urbanisation during the 20th century.

Many fabulous Finnish figures appear in the runic poems of the Kalevala – the national folk epic compiled in the 19th century by Elias Lönnrot. Finnish kids today are still familiar with the sanitised versions of such characters featured in modern children’s books and TV programmes. In the old days, many of these potentially dangerous creatures were very useful to parents of over-active children! More recently, author Johanna Sinisalo won the coveted Finlandia Prize in 2000 with a book about a troll, published in the US as Troll: A Love Story and in the UK as Not before Sundown.

And now let’s meet the mythical, often untranslatable creatures that have yet to be disproven. They are notoriously camera shy, and our photographers are also afraid to take the job (although they refuse to admit it), so we bring you illustrations instead. Maybe our guide will inspire you to go on a creature-spotting expedition – tread carefully.

Source: https://finland.fi/life-society/finnish-mythical-creatures-still-lurk/

Another good page with some extra creatures:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/f...atures-lurking-in-finlands-lakes-and-forests/