Surma (Finnish mythology)
Surma is a character in the Finnish folklore of Kalevala, appearing in the story of Lemminkäinen. Surma is a terrible beast, embodies sudden, violent death and guards the gates of the Tuonela to prevent escape. It is often described as being a large dog with a snake-tail and can turn people into stone. An often-used Finnish metaphor is surman suuhun "into Surma's mouth", as if the victim was mauled to death by Surma.
Surma also means kill, or specifically a kill and the Finnish verb 'surmata', to kill or to slay, is derived from it.
