The Elder Scrolls: 7 Weirdest Skyrim Enemies (And What They Represent)
6. Draugr
Whilst a Draugr might just seem like a corpse by any other name, they’re surrounded by magical properties and folklore superstitions tied specifically to Skyrim itself, erring towards a calmer envisioning than that of Norse mythology.
And whilst these zombie-like creatures are believed to be employed as warriors and servants under Dragon Priests and their kind from long ago in Skyrim, their real-life counterpart in Norse folklore sees them as protectors of treasure - living in burial mounds to guard their collective gold with magical abilities.
These abilities could be anything from growing exponentially in size, to seeing the future, to shapeshifting, to controlling the weather, of which the latter ties nicely into their frost powers in the game.
The Draugr of folklore are born out of being malicious whilst living and then propelled by jealousy in death, whereas the game counterparts just seem p*ssed that wanderers are consistently waking them up.
In either case, these skeletal defenders are close to their legendary source material in all the important ways, distilling Old Norse anxieties about death and turning them into pesky axe fodder to stipulate your gameplay.
That’s one way of facing your fears, at least.