Daníelspyttur and the Boy who Drowned and Haunts it

In a remote area in Iceland, the Daníelspyttur is named after a boy who once took off from work and drowned in the water. Ever since, people have thought it haunted as well as the surrounding area.

Below the farm Gnúpafell in Eyjafjörður is a flat land that reaches down to the bank of the Eyjafjörður River. It is called Gnúpufellsmýri, in which there are in some places small pools or pits, some abysses. One of these pools is called Daníelspyttur and is said to be haunted by a man that once drowned in it. .

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Iceland

A man was named Daníel and lived by the fjord. He was described as being mentally ill and sometimes had fits of rage, and then he had to be watched. One spring he was working for Ólafur Guðmundsson in Hleiðargarður. One day, a fit of rage came over him, he grabbed a large goad, or some sort of pointed rod, and started running out and down the field.

Ólafur asked Jón Jóhannesson to give chase to Daníel. He saw that there were horses on the islets. It seemed to him likely that Daníel was planning to cross the Eyjafjörður River for some reason. Jón hurried towards the horses. There were only two of them, a good gray horse and a full-grown animal. The other was a mare, who seemed lazy and weak. Jón intended to take the mare, but she turned away badly and tried to both bite and beat him. On the other hand, the horse Snarfari, who stood still and let himself be bridle without resistance, moved.

Daniel had forded the river when Jón Jóhannesson caught up to him. When he saw that he was being pursued, he began to run down the banks. He held the goad on his shoulder. He suddenly turned sideways into the swamp, where there was one of those deep pits. He took off in the air and jumped into the abyss and immediately disappeared under the surface of the water.

When Jón arrived at the bank, Daniel was shooting up at the surface for the first time, but it was too late and he drowned and his body sank and disappeared. Since then it has been called Daníelspyttur and is believed to be haunted as well as the area around Gnúpufell. They say that they sometimes see him here and there, wandering with his spear.

Others who have fallen into the water has also been seen shooting up on the surface as Daniel did, three times before they also drown, almost if something is dragging them down.

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