These supernatural beings are depicted in the Old English literature. For example, in Beowulf, the Old English epic, the evil fiend Grendel (the monster that terrorizes Heorot) and his mother are described as water-haunting trolls that live in the “deep water-filled hole in marshy country”(Irving, 47).

What kind of evil is Grendel?

Grendel is evil because he is a demon from hell and thus a “foe of mankind.” His mother’s evil is more ambiguous, because killing for vengeance was allowed in the warrior culture of Beowulf’s time.

Is Grendel evil or good?

Throughout Beowulf, Grendel is described as mankind’s enemy, and his attacks are driven by the jealousy that humans are able to enjoy life in the light, and he is condemned to misery in the darkness. It’s not just Grendel’s ancestry that makes him evil; Grendel’s actions are evil as well.