The Deacon of Myrká — Iceland's Most Chilling Ghost Story

Myrká, Eyjafjörður, North Iceland

The deacon of Myrká drowned on Christmas Eve riding to collect his beloved. He came back for her anyway — on horseback, in the dark, saying only 'The moon hides, death rides, do you not see the white mark at my nape?' She did not, until the churchyard.

The story of the Deacon of Myrká is recorded as the most widely told ghost story in Iceland's folklore tradition. It survives in dozens of variants but the core is consistent across all of them. A young deacon at the farm of Myrká in Eyjafjörður promised to ride to Bægisá on Christmas Eve to collect his beloved, a woman named Guðrún, for the Christmas celebration. Crossing the Hörgá river on his way, his horse lost its footing in the current. The deacon was thrown and drowned. The body was recovered and buried in the churchyard — but no word reached Guðrún. On Christmas Eve, a horseman came to Bægisá. Guðrún dressed herself and went out. She rode behind him in the dark. As they rode, the man said a verse: 'The moon hides. Death rides. Do you not see the white mark at my nape, Garún, Garún?' She noticed but did not understand. He addressed her by a rhyme-name — not quite her own. At the churchyard gate, he dismounted. He was gone. Before Guðrún could comprehend what had happened, he returned from below — from within a grave that had opened — and his hand seized her. A neighbour passing the yard saw the whole scene and struck the grave shut with a spade. Guðrún survived but never recovered. She lived the rest of her life in the knowledge that the dead had ridden to collect her personally — and had almost succeeded. The Hörgá river crossing where the deacon drowned is still pointed out to visitors. The ford looks unremarkable. It is not recommended in winter.