the person before they arrive at some key spot. The fylgja will, however, follow a person when they are near death.

A fylgja is sometimes associated with a particular family or clan, in which case it is called an ættarfylgja (pl. ættarfylgjur 'family followers'). A closely related type of fylgja is the "dream woman", as appears in Gísla saga (Cf. below). It is contended that the Icelandic mar or mara (the folkloric "[night]mare") is a dream