According to a 1908 cyclopedia: "Trolls are Dwarfs of Northern mythology, living in hills or mounds; they are represented as stumpy, misshapen, and humpbacked, inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children or substituting one of their own offspring for that of a human mother. They are called hill-people, and are especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when Thor used to fling his hammer at them."
In Sweden there are many places that are named after trolls, such as the town Trollhättan (Troll's hood) and Trollkyrka.
Trolls are one of the most frequent creatures of Scandinavian fairy tales and more common than elves, dwarves, witches and giants (in the fairy tales, there is no clear-cut line between witches and female trolls, nor between male trolls and giants). They hoard gold. They come in any size and can be as huge as giants or as small as dwarves. They are however always regarded as having poor intellect (especially the males, whereas the females, trollkonor, may be quite cunning), big noses, long arms, and as being hairy and not very beautiful (except for certain females). In Scandinavian fairy tales trolls generally turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. (This weakness is shared by Norse Svartalfar (dark elves) and dwarves.) They live in the forest and in mountains and sometimes abduct children that have to live with them (especially princesses). Occasionally, they even steal a new-born baby leaving their own offspring, a changeling, in return. Young Swedish children frequently believe in trolls, and a way to teach children to brush their teeth is to tell them to get rid of the very small "tooth trolls" that otherwise will make holes in their teeth.
In Shetland and Orkney tales, trolls are called trowe.
In Swedish children's literature, trolls are not naturally evil, but primitive and misunderstood. Their misdeeds are due to a combination of basic and common human traits, such as envy, pride, greed, naïveté, ignorance and stupidity. In some early 20th century fairy tales, by Elsa Beskow, trolls are also depicted as an aboriginal race of hunters and gatherers who are fleeing the encroaching human civilisation. Where man makes a road, the trolls disappear.
The Swedish-speaking Finnish author Tove Jansson has reached a world-wide audience with her Moomintrolls.
In the novels by the distinguished Swedish-speaking Finnish paleontologist Björn Kurtén, e.g. Dance of the Tiger, Neanderthals are named "Trolls" by modern man.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, trolls are very large (around 9 feet tall) humanoids of poor intellect. They turn to stone when exposed to sunlight. In The Lord of the Rings, a new breed appears, called the Olog-hai. Unlike the old trolls, they are capable of movement under sunlight.
In the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, trolls are large creatures who are composed of rock. They have a cultural tendency towards violence, and their intelligence is inversely proportional to the temperature, making them quite unintelligent in warm climates. The older, the bigger they are, from pebbles to mountains. The bar 'The Mended Drum' has trolls for security. They usually eat bad clients.
In the world of Harry Potter, trolls are giant monsters that kill everyone they encounter. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry and Ron Weasley save Hermione Granger from a full-grown mountain troll. In the film (same as in LOTR), the troll was animated with computer-generated imagery. There are a few other subsequent mentions of trolls; for example it was rumored that Harry's Firebolt, which Dolores Umbridge "confiscated" was guarded by trolls. "Security trolls" are also mentioned in several places - apparently they can be hired as guards.
all in all maybe best to ignore them eh?
neil x x x ;)
...... that story scared me when I was a kid 
:lol:
8-) 8-)
:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: 
