Fylgjur

The Fylgjur were female protective spirits where each fylgja attached herself to an individual at birth. The fylgja remained with that person for the rest of his or her life. At the person's death, the fylgja would attach to someone else. In this sense it was sort of like a guardian angel.

It is believed that the fylgjur were usually invisible, and the fylgja only appeared to the person they meant to protect if they were in danger. They sometimes appeared in the person's dreams.

Fylgjur means "fetches". The fetches were popular in German folklore and sometimes used in horror novels. The fetches were apparitions of the living person, or their doubles. Other words for fetches are wraiths and doppelgängers. Seeing one's own double meant that it portended his or her imminent death.

In Helgakvida Hiorvardssonar, Hedin, Helga Hiorvard's half-brother, was said to have met his fetch, in the form of a troll-woman riding a wolf, using serpent as her reins. No name was given in the poem. She asked for Hedin to sleep with her, but he refused.