Tradition / Region: Icelandic folklore
Alternate Names: Shaggy Trout
Category: Fish, Trout
The Myth
The Loðsilungur, or Shaggy Trout, is feared throughout Iceland as one of the most deadly fish to dwell in lakes and rivers. Any person who eats its flesh is said to fall violently ill, and death often follows.
At first glance, the loðsilungur resembles an ordinary trout, but its body is twisted and unpleasant to look upon. Its shape is uneven, with a thick front and a narrow tail. The eyes are small and sunken, set beneath a swollen skull, and its short snout juts forward with a noticeable overbite. Its teeth are said to be black as pitch.
What truly marks the loðsilungur is its hair. Fine, pale, downy strands grow along its body, fins, jaw, and neck. Sometimes it appears as a beard; other times as a mane or scattered patches. This hair is difficult to see while the fish is alive, lying flat against the skin, and only becomes clearly visible after death—especially when the body is wet. Because of this, the loðsilungur is often mistaken for an edible trout, with fatal consequences.
The shaggy trout is usually small, sometimes no larger than an Arctic char, or even no thicker than a man’s finger. Despite its size, it carries powerful poison. Entire households have perished after sharing a single cooked loðsilungur. One well-known tale tells of a farm where all who ate the fish died, leaving only a young girl alive—she alone had not felt hungry that evening.
Other stories tell of hunters found dead beside their meals, plates still resting on their knees. Wherever the loðsilungur appears, tragedy follows.
Animals seem to sense the danger. Dogs and birds of prey refuse to eat it, no matter how hungry they are. The fish itself is stubbornly difficult to kill. Fishermen once left a pile of freshly caught fish overnight, only to find a loðsilungur still alive atop the heap by morning. Horrified, they threw the entire catch away and abandoned the lake.
The loðsilungur remains a warning hidden in clear water: a creature that looks harmless, but carries death beneath its skin.
Gallery
Sources
A Book of Creatures contributors. (n.d.). Lodsilungur. In A Book of Creatures, from https://abookofcreatures.com/2019/07/15/lodsilungur/
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Loðsilungur