Tradition / Region: Czech Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Flame
The Myth
The Inviting Pond is a mysterious light associated with the Herrenweiher pond in Oppelitz.
One night, a poor woman was walking past the Herrenweiher pond when a little light danced toward her and whispered, “Come with me into the pond, you’ll be well off there.”
The woman resisted, saying, “What will my children do?” But she went closer to the water, and the lights grew more and more numerous, dancing, beckoning, and telling her, “Come on, come, your children will be taken care of.”
Suddenly, the woman shuddered and ran away. At home, she immediately looked for her children. They were lying dead in bed.
Sources
Hans Watzlik. “Jungferblitz.” In Böhmerwald-Sagen. Budweis: Böhmerwalder Dorfbücher, 1921, Heft 5. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/jungferblitz.html