The Draugr: Vikings' Undead Guardians

Did you know the Vikings had their own version of a zombie? Meet the Draugr

— an undead corpse that chooses to rise from the grave. These things weren’t mindless at all.

They were intelligent, rotting monsters with a physical body, a foul stench…and

strength so insane they could grow to the size of an ox. Draugar could shapeshift

into animals, enter your dreams, control the weather, and they usually rose for one reason:

to guard their treasure. That’s why they were called haugbúi — “barrow-dwellers. Follow for more

Nordic myths and monsters.