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A few anecdotes about the Orm | |
Local anecdotes about the 1522 Orm
A local anecdote at Helgøya (the island) says that the place where the orm landed got the name Pilstøa (maybe best translated as the Arrow Landing). The name was derived from the fact that a steel arrow was still stuck in one of the eyes of the stranded orm carcass. A man saw the arrow, pulled it and took possession of it.
The spot where the orm cadaver landed had the name Pilvika (Arrow Bay). A man erected two of the rib bones of the monster left on the beach to make a gate. These were supposedly high enough to enable a mounted horse to ride through without difficulty.
One of the vertebrae parts were used for years as a a foundation for wood chopping at a farm on Helgøya.
The stable hand who ventured down to the shore to kill the orm was later actually rewarded a sum of money by the Hamar citizens.
During the Seven Year`s War against the Swedes the church bells were taken down. One bell was sunk in a shallow part of the lake east of the town to prevent the invading Swede army from looting the bells. An orm was supposed to rest curled around the bell. The bell should have been visible from the surface as late as the 19th century. Once it had even been raised almost to the surface, but it accidentally sunk back into the water.
Another local legend tells that one of the big bells from the church tower got sunk in shallow water near Hamar when the Swedes started transporting all their loot across the ice of the lake when retreating to the Swedish border.
Later anecdotes
During the early centuries few "sea serpent" stories were written down. Several documents mentions contemporay sightings, but gives no details. The myth was kept alive. The 1769 and -70 incidents were no exception. The 19th century provided more stories, and are now anecdotes since they can no longer be substantiated.
One anecdote tells of a sea serpent going ashore close to a church. One brave man climbed the bell tower and fired his flint lock gun three times at the head of the terrible animal, whereupon it turned and crawled back to the shore of the lake.
Another tells of a sea serpent exposing its neck and head above water only to frighten a lady rowing a boat, causing her to flee ashore and run in panic loosing her one wooden leg.
Still another story from the early 20th century tells about a man who actually caught the sea serpent swallowing the fishing lure meant to catch lake trout. The animal naturally tried to escape, ending up towing the rowing boat at high speed for quite some time across the lake. Finally the hooks got straightend out and the creature got loose and vanished.