The Myling – Ghosts of Unbaptised Children in Sweden
In the darkest corners of Swedish folklore lies a tale as tragic as it is chilling. The Myling, or mylingar in plural, are the restless spirits of unbaptised children—ghosts condemned to haunt the earth, forever longing for recognition, peace, and a proper burial. For centuries, these spectral figures have appeared in songs, ghost stories, and whispered warnings across rural Sweden, especially in regions steeped in old superstition. The legend of the Myling taps into ancient fears about life, death, and the unspoken taboos of society, making it one of Sweden’s most unsettling and enduring paranormal myths.
Origins Rooted in Sorrow and Silence
The myth of the Myling is believed to have its roots in the medieval and early modern periods of Scandinavian history, when child mortality was high, and unmarried pregnancies were stigmatised. In many traditional Christian communities, it was believed that children who died without baptism were doomed to wander in limbo, unable to enter heaven. This belief weighed especially heavily on mothers who had given birth in secret—often due to shame or fear of social ostracism—and who, in the darkest cases, committed infanticide to conceal the evidence.
In folklore, the Myling is typically the spirit of a child who was murdered or abandoned by its mother, often left to die in the woods, swamps or under the floorboards of cottages. Because they died without a name or proper burial, these children were denied peace. As a result, they rose from the earth in ghostly form, haunting the living until someone acknowledged their existence and brought them to rest.
Unlike many ghost stories that centre on random hauntings, the Myling legend is deeply personal. It is a tale about secrecy and shame, and the heavy spiritual cost of denying a life its dignity. In many versions, the Myling returns to confront its mother, demanding to be named or carried to consecrated ground. The stories often end tragically—either with the Myling killing its mother in vengeance or with both ghost and mother finding peace through confession and proper rites.
Ghostly Encounters and Regional Variations
Accounts of Myling encounters vary across Sweden but are most commonly associated with rural, wooded areas where old beliefs remained strong into the 19th century. Typically, the Myling is described as a small child’s ghost, pale and spectral, sometimes grotesquely aged beyond its years. In some versions, the Myling clings to travellers along isolated roads, begging to be carried to a graveyard. As the journey progresses, the Myling is said to grow heavier with every step—an unbearable weight that symbolises the burden of sin and guilt.
Some tales warn of travellers who encounter a crying child by the roadside at dusk. Upon offering help, they realise the child is no longer visible, only to hear its mournful cries from the depths of the forest. Others describe hearing faint lullabies sung from beneath floorboards or encountering small handprints on windows during the night. The Myling’s voice is said to be high-pitched, pleading, and unforgettable—once heard, it haunts the soul.
In the province of Värmland, legends tell of a haunted bog where Mylingar are said to gather, whispering to each other under the moonlight. In Dalarna, old farmers swore their barns were haunted by the ghost of a child buried under the threshold—forever wailing, unable to cross into sacred ground. These regional variations demonstrate how the Myling legend served as both a supernatural narrative and a social warning: sins of secrecy would not go unpunished, and every life, no matter how hidden, demanded recognition.
Folklore, Religion and the Fear of the Unseen
The story of the Myling is deeply intertwined with Sweden’s Christian traditions, especially those regarding baptism, salvation and the soul’s journey after death. The fear that a soul could be eternally damned simply for lack of a baptism reflects a historical theology in which religious rites were not just symbolic but absolutely essential for spiritual redemption.
This religious framework added layers of dread to the experience of unwed motherhood or secret births. Communities often marginalised women who gave birth outside of wedlock, and many found themselves in impossible situations. The Myling legend may have grown out of this shared trauma, expressing both the desperation of the mother and the injustice of denying the child spiritual legitimacy.
It is no coincidence that the Myling legend became especially prevalent during periods of economic hardship. In times when poverty, famine, and social pressures overwhelmed individuals, desperate acts sometimes led to hidden tragedies. The Myling offered a supernatural lens through which these real historical conditions could be processed and moralised. It was a ghost born not only from death but from the invisible weight of silence, poverty, and guilt.
In this sense, the Myling is not merely a ghost story but a symbol of suppressed truths. It haunted not just individuals but entire communities, reminding them of the price of neglecting the vulnerable and the unacknowledged.
Modern Echoes and Cultural Resonance
Although few in Sweden today literally believe in the Myling as a real entity, the legend continues to resonate in popular culture, literature, and film. Swedish horror fiction has embraced the story, often using it as a metaphor for unresolved trauma, abandonment, or the lingering effects of guilt passed down through generations. Modern reinterpretations tend to humanise the Myling, framing it less as a vengeful spirit and more as a tragic victim longing for peace.
Filmmakers and artists have also drawn on the eerie aesthetic of the Myling—small ghostly figures, echoing cries, spectral appearances in wooded landscapes—as part of Sweden’s gothic visual vocabulary. Even tourist literature occasionally references the Myling when discussing haunted castles or regions with dark folklore, adding a supernatural edge to Sweden’s pastoral beauty.
For many Swedes, the Myling remains a cultural touchstone. It speaks to a collective memory shaped by hardship, religious moralism and deep-rooted traditions. As Sweden has grown more secular and socially progressive, the Myling’s power has shifted from religious warning to folkloric artefact—yet its emotional and symbolic impact endures.
The Myling in Today’s Sweden
Though belief in ghosts has diminished with the rise of rationalist and secular worldviews, Sweden still holds a quiet reverence for its folklore. The country has an active community of paranormal researchers, folklorists and local historians who preserve stories like that of the Myling, not just as curiosities but as windows into the soul of the nation.
There are guided ghost walks in towns like Stockholm, Visby, and Uppsala that mention the Myling alongside other spirits of Swedish legend. These tours offer visitors a glimpse into a world where myth once blended seamlessly with daily life, where spirits and saints shaped the boundaries of behaviour, and where the cries of a ghost child could keep a whole village awake at night.
Even now, some rural families pass down tales of local Mylingar, especially in communities close to forests, lakes or ancient burial sites. Whether told around the fireplace or in hushed tones during midsummer gatherings, the story of the Myling still finds a way to be heard—much like the ghost itself, always calling for recognition.
How to Visit Places Tied to the Myling Legend
Travellers drawn to Sweden’s darker folklore will find numerous sites linked to the Myling legend. While there is no single location associated with all Myling stories, many of the oldest ghost tales come from the central and southern provinces, including Värmland, Dalarna and Småland. These regions are rich in traditional folklore and dotted with historical villages, deep forests, and secluded lakes that perfectly set the mood for ghostly exploration.
In Värmland, visitors can explore old churchyards and forest paths near abandoned farms where local legend holds that Mylingar once cried out to travellers. The region around Tiveden National Park, with its dense woodlands and ancient stone paths, also evokes the settings of many classic Myling tales.
Those interested in a deeper dive into Swedish ghost lore can visit the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, which houses exhibits on folklore, superstition and death customs. The museum’s collection includes references to spirit beliefs like the Myling and offers a cultural context that helps bring these stories to life—or rather, to the afterlife.
To experience Sweden through the lens of its spectral traditions is to glimpse the fears and hopes of generations past. And in the lonely rustle of birch trees or the echo of footsteps on a mossy trail, you might just feel the presence of a Myling, still waiting to be carried home.