“The villagers of Woodhill are simple people, leading a simple life. They sow their crops, take care of their cattle, and gossip about what happened between the butcher’s daughter and the seamstress’ son at the dance last month. As they prepare for the festival, they retell stories of last year and bet on who is going to win the horseshoe throwing competition. But life is never simple, and as night closes in and a North wind begins to blow, the people of Woodhill retreat back into their homes, locking their doors and holding their breath. Because they know the tales are true.”

Tale of the North Wind was a larp event inspired by Nordic folklore, run in May 2019. Over the course of 24 hours, the participants would portray pre-written characters in the form of 14th-century villagers, living in a close-knit society, where historical gender roles were in place. The event ran in two versions, one adult-run, which explored the darker side of the old Nordic fairy tales and folklore, and one family-run for participants of all ages. The themes of the larp were ‘village life’ and ‘fear of the unknown’, and in balancing the two we sought to create a dark fairytale.

In the world of Tale of the North Wind, the creatures from Nordic folklore were real. They were just as powerful, magical, dangerous and morally grey as in the old stories. And they came. Nordic folklore was used as an umbrella term for the folklore of Sweden, Norway, Denmark. Influenced by Norse mythology the folklore was a result of its interaction with a new faith during the Christianization of the Nordic countries; the myths and stories were altered to fit new beliefs. The folklore creatures became sensitive to crosses and church-bells, and some of the less benevolent ones even became linked to the devil. However, the essence of the original creatures remained, both in their name, looks, culture and behaviour. At this larp, we explored the tales of ordinary humans interacting with these legendary creatures.

Ett bylajv i ett alternativt 1300-tal där väsen från nordisk mytologi existerade på riktigt. Kördes i två uppsättningar, en "vuxen" uppsättning och en där barn fick delta.

https://www.avalonlarp.studio/tale-of-the-north-wind