History Main / AllTrollsAreDifferent

* ''Fanfic/AFutureOfFriendshipAHistoryOfHate'': The second challenge Twilight has to pass in order to rescue her friends from [[BigBad Ruinate]] is a bridge guarded by Craggle, a troll made out of rock -- specifically, a mineral that blocks magic (keeping her from just teleporting past him). He's rather dimwitted, but also seems to have an honor code, as he not only gives her a fair chance to get past him, but [[spoiler: when she saves him falling to his death upon his defeat, he not only lets her pass, but saves her from a pack of [[CanisMajor shalehounds]]]].

* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheGuardiansLight'', Hogwarts is subjected to a mountain troll attack on Halloween, as per canon. This time, however, there's more than one troll. A subsequent search party by the BPRD uncovers the trolls' leaders, Orikal and Ulik, both from Franchise/MarvelComics. Orikal is an ugly clawed grey creature who mainly appears masked, and can magically [[FusionDance combine living entities]], while Ulik is a yellow-skinned, brown-haired thug, but more intelligent than he appears, and speaks with the FunetikAksent of an Ork from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''.
* In ''Fanfic/UnderTheNorthernLights'', Tarandroland is home to trolls called Stalu (after a Sami myth in real life). They are huge, misshapen cervines who live deep in forests and use forest lakes for gardens. They are infamous for eating reindeer. [[spoiler: They are actually moose, driven to hiding after the genocidal efforts of the reindeer. While they might be hostile in self-defense, they most certainly don't eat people.]]

* Also, different countries have their own versions of troll, as shown by [[http://humoncomics.com/trolls-from-four-countries this image]].

* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', trolls have [[RockMonster stony skin]], are [[AttackAttackAttack incredibly stupid]], will [[ExtremeOmnivore eat literally anything]] and live in caves inside mountains. Occasionally trolls will [[ImAHumanitarian raid human settlements for food]]. However, trolls are not always hostile and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality just don't seem to understand]] that humans would rather not be eaten. Trolls are named after the first thing they attempt to eat, leading to names like "My Arm" and "Dad".

* ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'': Trolls are human-sized, ugly, with overdone mullets, and an obsession with leather. Especially shoes. It isn't clear if the shoe fetish is a racial trait or not, all of the trolls who exhibit it are immediate family. Despite their human size, they are incredibly strong. At one point one was hit by a car, leaving a deep indent in the front of the car but barely moving the troll.

[[caption-width-right:326: Do not feed.[[note]] The one with the frizzy hair is an actual troll from Scandinavia. The rest are from (L-R) ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'', ''Film/TheHobbit'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls''.[[/note]]]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'': Trolls (likely based on the ones in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'') are rather primal creatures, around twice the height of the average human and [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation come in a large array of colors]]. They posses an incredible HealingFactor that allows them to recover lost limbs in a matter of seconds. Some people are capable of making deals with them, but most avoid them; a rather good idea, seeing as they go in a ravenous frenzy of pillaging and destruction the second Shabranigdu is unleashed into the world, which happens quite often, it would seem. A minor character is [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot part troll and part werewolf]] -- he has human-level intelligence and apparently ''stronger'' regenerative abilities than a normal troll. Obviously a {{Munchkin}}...

* ''LightNovel/WorldEndWhatDoYouDoAtTheEndOfTheWorldAreYouBusyWillYouSaveUs'': Trolls are almost indistinguishable from normal humans and are usually pretty attractive by human standards as well. However, their behavior was anything but human, with many unfortunate travelers being lured into spending the night at the home of an attractive stranger only to be devoured by their host. They stopped this practice after humanity went extinct and most trolls now focus on catering to guests rather than eating them. Still, this doesn't stop Nygglatho from expressing a desire to eat certain characters. The main character, Willem, is a frequent target of her "affection" given that he's the last living human and therefore a rare delicacy in her eyes.

* Trolls appear in the ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "Troll Bridge" as AlwaysChaoticEvil beings who take control of the New York bridge, and are more similar to the folkloric depiction. In ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'', trolls eat metal and multiply by mitosis.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* The basis of elf and troll tales may be on ''Homo neanderthalensis'' -- the extinct Neanderthal human, which occupied the Northern Europe much of the prehistorical era, only finally succumbing at the end of the last Ice Age. ''Homo neanderthalensis'' was very robust, strong and as intelligent as ''Homo sapiens'', but different enough to be perceived as a different species. The folk tales tell of trolls and men interbreeding, and such interbreeding indeed did happen historically: the European DNA has approximately 5% ''Homo neanderhalensis'' DNA, and it is assumed the red-hairedness gene is ''Homo neanderthalensis'' legacy.
** While some Neanderthals did have a gene that probably resulted in red hair, their gene responsible for it was not the same as the gene found in any red haired population of modern humans. And so modern red hair must have appeared entirely within modern humans and not be part of the Homo neanderthalensis legacy.
* Residents of UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}}'s Lower Peninsula are sometimes referred to as trolls by the Upper Peninsula. Why? With the Mackinac Bridge connecting the peninsulas, people from the LP live "under the bridge".
[[/folder]]

** ''Film/{{Troll}}'': The troll in this movie is the villain of the film. It's a small, ugly, hairy creature that used to be an elf. He turns people into mythological creatures and causes other mischief.
** The trolls in the infamous ''Film/{{Troll 2}}'' [[NonIndicativeName aren't trolls at all]], but goblins. There are no trolls whatsoever in the movie, and it has nothing to do with the original.

* Even the etymology of the word "troll" has numerous meanings. Originally, the term in Old Norse seemed to serve as a catch-all term referring to any being or creature who was generally malicious, and could translate to anything from "fiend" to "demon," to ''"[[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]"''.

* Even the etymology of the word "troll" has numerous meanings. Originally, it seemed to serve as a catch-all term referring to any being or creature who was generally malicious, and could translate to anything from "fiend" to "demon," to ''"[[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]"''.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's short story "Troll Bridge" features a troll with a nose keen enough to "smell the dreams you dreamed before you were born". And it eats a person's life and takes their place, [[spoiler: leaving them, in exchange, to take the place of the troll]].

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'': Trolls appear as big hulking ogres with clubs in Imil Cave, and are the first [[DifficultySpike truly difficult regular enemy]] you will face in the game.

* The trolls of ''ComicBook/{{Lanfeust}}'' are 7-8 feet tall fur-covered humanoids that live in their own villages. They eat anything that comes their way, can survive just about anything you throw at them, and smash first, ask questions very rarely.

* Wiki/TheWanderersLibrary:

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' plays with the dual meaning by having [[{{Troll}} Internet trolls]] turn out to be actual grey-skinned creatures with horns. Further reveals have shown that they're HumanoidAliens, with BizarreAlienBiology implying that they're closer to insects than humans, divided into varieties with different blood colors that to some extent determine traits, abilities, and lifespan. They're a HigherTechSpecies whose society runs on BlueAndOrangeMorality and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy lots of violence]]. They're almost [[EveryoneIsBi all bisexual]] (because gender is vestigial) and have weird forms of romance (troll reproduction requires this), and many are either psychic, psychotic, or both. [[spoiler:Most of the less-savory aspects of their culture are not natural, but were engineered by malevolent outside forces. Prior to the pressing of an in-universe ResetButton, trolls were a peaceful species (though it's implied that their society had its own problems).]] Personality-wise, there's a great deal of variation within the 12 trolls in the cast (and [[GenerationXerox their ancestors]]): from {{Anti Hero}}es to {{Anti Villain}}s, [[TheWoobie Woobies]] to {{Smug Snake}}s, monsters to {{Messianic Archetype}}s. However, they are similar to mythological trolls in that they are nocturnal and sensitive to sunlight. As in, sunlight can blind them permanently. [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Only rainbow drinkers (analogous to troll vampires) can withstand the sun]].