Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Alpe, Alpen, Trud, Mar, Mart, Mahr, Schrat, Walrider
Category: Demon
The Myth
The Alp is a supernatural being from German folklore associated with nighttime oppression, nightmares, illness, and the bewilderment or deception of humans. The word Alp is the German form of the same ancient Germanic word that eventually became English elf.
In older German traditions, the Alp was understood as a nature spirit or nature demon. It was regarded as an eerie and sometimes ferocious being, and was particularly associated with the mare, a supernatural creature that tormented people during sleep.
The Alp was believed to approach sleeping people and oppress them during the night. This association is preserved in the German word Alpdruck, literally “elf-oppression,” meaning a nightmare. The Alp could also be associated with illness, including epilepsy.
Medieval German traditions frequently portray elves as beings capable of deceiving or bewildering people. A recurring expression described a person as being deceived by the elves or by the Alp. Elves could also have a seductive aspect, with medieval poetry describing people as being enchanted or bewitched by them.
By the later medieval period, elves had increasingly acquired a threatening and demonic character. A fourteenth-century German prayer known as the Münchener Nachtsegen invokes protection from the Alp, the Trud, and the Mare, asking these beings not to oppress, pinch, ride, or mount the sleeper.
The Alp was therefore closely connected with other Germanic nightmare spirits. Names such as Trud, Mar, Mart, Mahr, Schrat, and Walrider were used for related forms of supernatural beings, while surrounding European traditions preserved similar figures such as the Drude and the Old Hag.
The Alp was also associated with supernatural influence over human beings beyond sleep. In Northern Germany during the early modern period, elves were described as carrying out the evil wishes of witches. Martin Luther himself believed that his mother had been afflicted in this manner.
German traditions also preserved older associations between elves and other supernatural races. Elves could be connected with dwarfs in German heroic literature, particularly figures whose names or characteristics preserved the older idea of elf power.
Thus, the Alp represents an older Germanic conception of the elf as a potentially dangerous supernatural being: a spirit capable of deception, illness, nocturnal oppression, and supernatural influence over humans.
Sources
“Alp (folklore).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_(folklore)