— Name disclaimer — |
The real name of this character is currently unknown. |
David's Marra is, as her name suggests, a Marra, who is a recurring character in the animated series. She is the first Marra seen in the series, and makes her debut in "Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit".
She does not appear in any of the graphic novels, but was created for the animated series. She does appear in the novelization.
Appearance
David's Marra is a tall and slim girl, who is in her early teens (between 13 and 15).
She has long, platinum blonde hair pulled up into pigtails, Some red freckles plus red dot's on her face. and black eyes that glow green whenever she uses her power.
She wears an oversized black sweatshirt or possibly an oversized black dress, a light pink scarf, and salmon pink tights with black sneakers.
History
Animated series
Her debut was in the episode The Nightmare Spirit. She was responsible for giving David nightmares all week, making him scared, while David blamed Hilda and the adventures she took her friends on. This was easy because he was afraid of everything, giving her lots to work with. Hilda, who was searching for adventure, found her as a perfect example: being a mysterious girl that may have a surprising trait about her. Coming across the Rat King later in the episode was when the real culprit for David's nightmares was revealed after Hilda shared her secret with them: her fear of riding a bike.
That night, Hilda and Frida both decided to track the marra. When David started to have another nightmare, Frida found the girl nearby after a strange green flash occurred. After Hilda arrived, she couldn't find the girl, but Twig caught the scent and sight of the girl's shadow. Later, when the two approached a locked gate, she used her power of transforming into a spirit-like form and slipping through the keyhole. David then caught sight of her walking down a street, where Hilda and Frida tried to catch up to her by riding Frida's bike. When the three arrived at the Huldrawood, she then used her power once more to slip through the gates there and escaped from them. Frida and Hilda went after her by climbing the wall, only to find her talking about another nightmare she had created for David with other marras around a light green campfire, causing all of them to laugh with joy. When Hilda started to confront them, the marras, including her, their eyes glowed green and they escaped, as well as put out the fire.
The next night, Hilda, David, and Frida put a plan in action to confront the marra herself and talk to her. When the marra arrived, Alfur woke Frida, who then tried to use the marra's weakness, a leather belt, to restrain herself in order to talk. She deflected the attack when Frida tried to do it, but Hilda, who was disguised as David this entire time, tied her feet together and talked to her. To stop her from giving David more nightmares, Hilda and the marra made a bet that Hilda won't be scared by any nightmare the marra gave her, and in return, if Hilda won, she would stop haunting David's dreams. First, the marra made a nightmare in which she was disguised as Johanna, and she grew angry at Hilda for letting "the spiders in", while thousands of spiders crawled out. However, that didn't scare Hilda, as she thought they were cute, in an ugly way, and that she could earn a Sparrow Scout Badge for using them in her bug collection. Next, she created a forest giant that wanted to eat Hilda, but Hilda pointed out that forest giants don't normally eat people, and if his life's just a drag, and that eating people won't help with that. After throwing Hilda and her landing on a woff, she watched from inside one of the giant eyes and wondered what scared Hilda. Then she realized Hilda's secret that she shared with the Rat King. She backed away and vanished, smiling all the way.
She then created a nightmare for Hilda, about being unable to keep up with her friends on bikes because she cannot ride a bike, and then getting caught in a light green tornado of street rubble and bicycle riders. This was so scary for Hilda that she started to cry out in her sleep. David, who had returned to his home after taking Hilda's place, couldn't bear to see her like this, woke her up, while Johanna (the real one), who had brought David back home, while the marra smiled and giggled evilly outside of David's room and left through the keyhole using her powers.
The next morning, when David reveals that he had a sweet dream all about sweets instead of a nightmare, the marra reveals that she didn't come back, on account that it's no fun when someone just asks for a nightmare on purpose. Hilda then asks her how she knew her secret, in which she reveals that she knew the Rat King and they trade each others' secrets "on the double". She leaves and walks around a corner, with a light green flash following, indicating that she has traveled through another keyhole.
In Chapter 12: The Nisse, when it is uncovered that Kelly is a marra, David's Marra was one of the many marra that attended the marra gathering in the Huldrawood. Frida was also at this meeting on Kelly's invitation. Hilda and David encountered the group while looking for Tontu. When the Marra discovered them, David's Marra recognized him as her easiest victim ever and mocked him for it. When Kelly in turn said that Frida would make a great Marra, however, David finally stood up to them. It was then that the Black Hound (Jellybean) suddenly appeared and scared the Marra into fleeing the area. She has not been seen since that event.
She plays no role of importance in the rest of the series. Her last appearance is a cameo in "Chapter 8: The Fairy Isle", where she steals David's bag of jorts.
Novelization
The events of "Chapter 6" and "Chapter 12" are combined into the novel "Hilda and the Nowhere Space". In this book, the character is referred to as simply "The Marra". For most part, her role in the story is identical to the animated series, with a few differences; in the book, Hilda first encounters her and the other Marra on the night of the Sparrow Scouts camp, where she finds them in the Huldrawood and the Black Hound scares the Marra away. David is not with her, unlike the animated series. The novel also omits the character of the Rat King. Instead, the Marra figures out on her own what Hilda's fear is.
Personality
Like other marras, David's marra is mean-spirited, as she loves to cause mischief for David and tell it to her friends with happiness bursting out. She is also very teenager-style with her speech and uses lots of slang, such as "duh" and "like". She is very mysterious as well, often keeping a low profile when she walks around during the day, and doesn't really talk or do much. She is also very sneaky, as being able to create people's nightmares without anyone realizing it's her. Despite this, she does have a code of honor where she kept her promise of leaving David alone after Hilda makes a bet against her.
Appearances
- Animated series
- Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit (debut)
- Chapter 12: The Nisse
- Chapter 13: The Black Hound (cameo)
- Chapter 8: The Fairy Isle (cameo)
- Tie-in novels
Trivia
- She speaks with an American accent.
- She is voiced by Kaisa Hammarlund, who also voices The Librarian.[1]
- Among the crew of the show, this marra was nicknamed "Twintails" when referring to the character. However, in the script itself she is never given a proper name.[2]
- When designing the character, Luke Pearson gave her a scarf because Hilda is also wearing a scarf, to underscore that the Marra is basically like an evil Hilda.[3]
Quotes
“ |
And as David's head fell off his body and tumbled screaming down the rocks, he realized his head was bouncing directly into the mouth of another troll! |
” |
—Telling David's nightmare to other Marra, Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit, |
“ |
Dream on. Like I'm gonna let myself get trapped by some little kid? |
” |
—When Frida fails to catch her, Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit, |
“ |
You! You're that crazy girl who's been chasing me all over town. |
” |
—To Hilda, Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit, |
“ |
What scares you, crazy girl (Hilda)? But you must have a....secret. |
” |
—While inside Hilda's nightmare, Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit, |
“ |
Nope. It's no fun giving nightmares to someone who's brave enough to ask for them |
” |
—Explaining why she will leave David alone, Chapter 6: The Nightmare Spirit, |
“ |
Oh, boy, do I have some stories to tell about this kid. He's the easiest scare I ever had |
” |
—Mocking David in front of the other Marra, Chapter 12: The Nisse, |