Chapter 12: The Nisse

Chapter 12: The Nisse is the twelfth episode of the first season and the twelfth episode of the Hilda TV series, released on September 21st, 2018 on Netflix.

Synopsis
On the day of an overnight camping trip, Hilda tries to help a down-and-out house spirit. Frida makes new friends, and a mysterious beast roams Trolberg.

Plot
With the year almost complete, Raven Leader announces the upcoming end-of-year camping trip and badge ceremony. This last bit makes Hilda nervous since she hasn’t earned any badges since joining the Sparrow Scouts; something she is afraid to tell her mom. But there is more to worry about; Frida hasn’t come to any Sparrow Scout meetings for the past 3 weeks.

So Hilda and David decide to visit Frida at her home. Frida doesn’t seem too happy to see them, and it soon becomes clear why; she has made a new friend. A teenager named Kelly. She immediately strikes Hilda and David as odd. Frida and Kelly leave, and so does David, clearly disappointed.

Later, Hilda and Johanna go shopping at the hardware store for new camping equipment, since all their old camping stuff has disappeared since they moved to Trolberg. Johanna also buys a newspaper, the front page of which warns for a mysterious beast. On their way home, Hilda sees a small humanoid creature with a face full of hair sitting against a wall. Johanna quickly drags Hilda away from it, explaining the creature is a Nisse; house spirits that live in peoples homes and are usually invisible. This one is obviously banished from the house he lived in, and Johanna assumes this must have a good reason since according to her Nisse are thiefs and liars.

That evening, while Hilda is packing her backpack, Johanna sees a newscast about the beast from the newspaper, here called The Black Hound. She doubts if it’s safe for Hilda to go camping, but Hilda doesn’t believe there is any danger. The following morning, all the snacks Johanna bought for Hilda’s camping trip are gone. Hilda denies having eaten them. While Johanna goes out to buy new snacks, Hilda visits Frida again. Kelly is also at Frida’s house however and keeps Frida from answering the door. Saddened that Frida won’t come out to see her, Hilda leaves.

She then sees the Nisse from the previous day again, sleeping in a tree. Despite her mothers warnings, she goes to talk to him. The Nisse introduces himself as Tontu, and claims he didn’t do anything to justify getting banished. Hilda offers to let him stay in her house, but Tontu is reluctant since there might already be a Nisse there and Nisse are very territorial. Hilda assures him there is none. Once home, he shows Hilda how her house, like all places, has a Nowhere Space dimension. Here, Hilda finds various things that had gone missing, including the missing camping equipment. Unfortunately, Tontu’s fears turn out to be correct; there is another Nisse in the house and the two of them get into a fierce fight. They trash the kitchen and living room. When Johanna comes home and finds only Tontu, she banishes him.

Johanna is of course angry at Hilda, but has no time to discuss it now since the camp starts that evening. While driving Hilda to the campsite, Johanna briefly spots the Black Hound. At the camp she shares her worries with Raven Leader, but she ensures Johanna everything is fine. Back at her home, Frida is getting second thoughts about skipping the camp, but Kelly insists Frida comes with her instead.

Once the parents have left, Raven Leader sends the Sparrow Scouts on a scavenger hunt in the Huldrawoods, urging them to stay together. Hilda and David leave their group however when they see Tontu in the woods, and stay with him till well after it’s dark. Tontu tells them more about the house he used to stay in. When Raven Leader shows up looking for them, Hilda promises to come back later that night to bring Tontu some snacks.

That night Hilda and David sneak out of the camp to visit Tontu. What they find instead however is a group of Marra, telling stories about nightmares they gave people around a magic campfire. And more shocking; Kelly and Frida are with them. Frida even joins the other Marra in absorbing the magic flames once Kelly is done telling her story. Hilda wants to help Frida, but David is done with her and walks off. He doesn’t get far as he sees some bushes move, and fears it’s the black hound. In his panic, he runs back, bumps into Hilda, and sends both of them falling towards the Marra.

The Marra that used to torment David recognizes him and taunts him, but Hilda comes to his defense. When Kelly states Frida will make a good Marra, David finally snaps and in a rare moment of bravery calls Frida out on her choice to hang out with the Marra, while simultaneously declaring he’s no longer scared of them. While David talks, the Marra suddenly back away from him. But not because they are intimidated by David; the black hound is standing right behind him.

Humans

 * Hilda
 * Johanna
 * David
 * Frida
 * Raven Leader
 * Willy
 * News Anchor
 * Enid Hallgrim (mentioned)

Creatures

 * Jellybean

Nisse

 * Tontu (alpha)
 * Tontu (Beta)

Deer-foxes

 * Twig

Marra

 * Kelly
 * David's Marra

Trivia

 * This episode was adapted into "Hilda and the Nowhere Space."