Editing Troll (section)

{{short description|Supernatural being in Nordic folklore}}
{{About|beings from Nordic folklore|the slang term|Troll (slang)|the doll|Troll doll|other uses|Troll (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Trolls|the 2016 animated film|Trolls (film){{!}}''Trolls'' (film)}}
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[[File:John Bauer 1915.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''Look at them, troll mother said. Look at my sons! You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon.'' (1915) by [[John Bauer (illustrator)|John Bauer]]]]

A '''troll''' is a being in [[Nordic folklore]], including [[Norse mythology]]. In [[Old Norse]] sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings.

In later [[Scandinavia]]n folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not [[Christianization of Scandinavia|Christianized]], and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them.

In Scandinavian folklore, trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks (sometimes said to have been formed by a troll having been exposed to sunlight). Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture.