The Draugar are Scandinavian spirits who can enter the dreams of the living.[1][2]
History[]
Long ago, a group of Vikings sought aid from the gods to gain passage to Valhalla. Only Hel, goddess of the underworld, answered the call. Hel promised a wager in exchange for her help. Once a decade, she would send the ghost of the Grendel to test the bravery of their descendants. If the descendants failed, Hel would take their soul. Once 1000 years passed, if more descendants failed than succeeded, Hel would take all of the Vikings' souls.[3]
In the present, after the Gareth Dibello case, a single Draug entered the Firehouse in peace and asked for Janine Melnitz by name in Swedish. While Ron Alexander insisted the ghost should be shot, the others heard him out. However, no one understood Swedish. The Draug made it so only Janine could understand him. He explained he had come with a warning of the Grendel, who would be seeking out Janine at midnight as part of a test of bravery passed down through the centuries. Janine was a descendant in his bloodline through a Great Uncle.[4] The Draug could not elaborate further and vanished. Janine managed to trap the Grendel, but the same Draug appeared in a rage. Janine was supposed to face the Grendel alone not knowing if it would kill her or not. By calling Kylie Griffin for help, Janine broke a trust. Just as the New Ghostbusters drew their throwers, an interdimensional rip opened and blew the Draug up. The Draug's Yellow Slime rained down on the New Ghostbusters and they saw the Ghostbusters had returned home through the rip. Janine later told Roger Baugh about the ghost blowing up but not about kissing Egon.
With the Grendel trapped, Hel could not recall it and the wager could not be decided. The Draugar were stuck in their forms and could not proceed to Valhalla. They decided to offer Janine's soul in order to be released from their debt to Hel. A couple of weeks later in the summer, Janine suddenly discharged Yellow Slime and was completely encased. Egon Spengler tried to use a Slime Blower then Gris-Gris, designed to ward off evil spirits, to cure Janine to no avail. Agitated magic was used against them, three Draugar manifested behind Egon Spengler and Roger Baugh as they tried to save Janine in the Firehouse lab. They denied being evil spirits but refused to revive Janine because she profaned an ancient rite. Egon activated the Wall-Trap and captured two Draugar. The last refused to capitulate and declared he wasn't a coward. Unfortunately, Roger tried to help and intervened.
Roger's plea convinced the Draug to use a form of astral projection to dump the pair on the fringes of Janine's mind. As they moved to Janine's conscious thinking self, Egon and Roger found Janine bound in a Norse structure, surrounded by 10 Draugar. When Egon questioned the strength of their plan, the Draguar decided to kill Egon and Roger then offer their souls, too. While hiding in Peter's apartment, circa New Years Eve 1989, Egon realized the power of mind made things tangible. Egon and Roger proceeded to a Firehouse memory. Egon donned the Boson Pack and once again demanded they all be returned to their bodies. The Draug, wary of his two comrades capture in the Firehouse, rushed Egon and was dispersed. The other Draugar released their hold and returned Janine, Egon, and Roger to their bodies. However, they vowed vengeance for still being stuck as ghosts. Egon simply activated the Wall-Trap again and captured all remaining nine at once.
Powers[]
Draugar can make it so their descendants can understand the foreign language they speak in. Their primary ability is a forcible form of astral projection interpreted as an ability to enter dreams of the living.
Based on Mythology[]
Draugar are undead creatures in Norse myth who live in graves and guard treasure buried with them in burial mounds.
Trivia[]
- The Draug is referred to as "some ancient Geat." Beowulf, who slew the Grendel, of the epic poem was a legendary Geatish hero.
- One of the Draug in the Firehouse, with one hand missing, is based on the Norse god Tyr.
- At some point, when he was in college, Egon studied the Draugr while in Sweden.[5]
Appearances[]
- Ongoing Series
- Volume 2
- Volume 3
- Ghostbusters International #3
- Mentioned in What Came Before! Page [6]
- Ghostbusters International #3
- Ghostbusters Annual 2018
- Alluded to by Peter on page 24. [7]
References[]
- ↑ Egon Spengler (2013). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #6" (2013) (Comic p.7). Egon says: "Scandinavian Draugar can enter the dreams of the living and I think that's more or less what happened here."
- ↑ Previously on Credits page (2013). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #7" (2013) (Comic p.0). Previously reads: "While Egon was dealing with a host of Draugar attacking Janine's mind, a ghost ship manifested in the Atlantic, a few miles east of Montauk, Long Island, and the governor wants it gone before a minor nuisance becomes worse."
- ↑ Draugar (2013). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #6" (2013) (Comic p.11-12). Draug says: "Long ago, we sought aid from the gods. Only Hel answered. In exchange for her aid, the goddess proposed a wager... once a decade Hel would test the bravery of our descendants by sending the spirit of the monster Grendel, to face them. If they failed the test, she would claim their souls for herself. And if after a thousand years, more of our kin had failed than not, she would claim our souls as well and we would never see Valhalla."
- ↑ Janine Melnitz (2013). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #3" (2013) (Comic p.9). Janine says: "There was a Great Uncle or something in there, I think."
- ↑ What Came Before! page (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #3" (2016) (Comic What Came Before! page). Line reads: "This kept him from joining the others in Europe...but Egon's already been there back in his college days. He was studying Draugr in Sweden."
- ↑ What Came Before! (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #3" (2016) (Comic What came before! page). Line reads: "He was studying Draugr in Sweden, could that have anything to do with what he's studying now?"
- ↑ Peter Venkman (2018). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Annual 2018" (2018) (Comic p.24). Peter Venkman says: "Like when Janine got harassed by Vikings?"
