The White Reindeer 1952

In the snowy Finnish landscape, Maarita gives birth to a daughter whom she calls Pirita. A prophecy hints that Pirita will be drawn into the traditional joik. Years pass, and the now-grown Pirita enters the annual reindeer competitions, where she meets a young reindeer herder who will become her husband, Aslak; the two fall in love quickly and marry soon after. With Aslak often away for work, Pirita’s loneliness grows, and she longs for a spark to rekindle their bond.

Seeking help to restore their closeness and reignite passion, Pirita visits the local shaman, Tsalkku-Nilla, who prepares a potion and recites a spell. The shaman instructs Pirita to sacrifice the first creature she encounters to the Great Seita, a sacred reindeer graveyard, a ritual meant to make any man fall in love with her. The first creature she encounters, a white reindeer that Aslak has freed, is sacrificed, but the ritual misfires in troubling ways. While it seems to attract men, every full moon grants Pirita supernatural powers and she begins to transform into a murderous white reindeer.

One night, the village notices a mysterious white reindeer roaming the wilderness. When Niila Niila manages to catch it, the creature reverts to Pirita, who promptly kills him. Nights pass and another reindeer-related death follows, spreading fear and suspicions of witchcraft. A forester from southern Finland, Forester, arrives and confronts the strange creature, witnessing its eerie transformation as it stands before him. The forest horror bleeds into the village’s celebrations when Pirita appears as the white reindeer during a wedding; the groom follows the creature into the wilderness and is never seen again, feeding the villagers’ belief that Pirita is a witch.

Panic tightens its grip as the mob arms itself with iron spears and hunts Pirita down. Realizing she has been discovered, Pirita flees the village, hoping to find help from the shaman, only to discover that he has been killed. Desperation drives her to Seita, pleading for mercy, but the plea goes unanswered, and she reverts back into the white reindeer. In a final confrontation, Aslak is the first to catch up to her and thrusts his spear into Pirita. Mortally wounded, she slips back into her human form for the last time, dying as the rest of the villagers arrive.