Selkolla – The Seal-Headed Spirit of Strandir
A medieval Icelandic tale tells of Selkolla, a supernatural woman sometimes seen with a seal's head, and her encounter with Bishop Guðmundur the Good.
The Story
On the shores of Strandir, an unsettling story grew around a child carried to baptism. According to the medieval legend, two attendants set the baby down beside a large stone and left it unattended. When they returned, the child had changed terribly; soon afterwards, a dangerous figure appeared in the district.
The being was called Selkolla, 'Seal-Head', because she could appear as a woman or with a seal's head. Stories describe her troubling local people until Bishop Guðmundur the Good confronted her. Versions differ, and their supernatural claims belong to medieval religious narrative and folklore, not established history.
A rock called Selkollusteinn on Bjarnarfjarðarháls preserves the geographical connection. This is a landscape associated with a story, not proof of an apparition.
Sources: Árni Magnússon Institute, 'Flagðið Selkolla', https://www.arnastofnun.is/is/greinar/flagdid-selkolla ; Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, https://galdrasyning.is/soguslodir-a-strondum/