Tradition: Belgian Mythology
Alternative Names: The White Woman of Wijnegem
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

The White Woman of Wijnegem appears as a mysterious white figure that roams near the canal. Although she initially resembles a ghostly woman, she may actually be a witch capable of transforming into an animal.

Around forty years before the legend was recorded, a man from Wijnegem was returning home from work along the canal. A white figure approached him and attempted to attack him. The man fired his gun at the apparition, which immediately transformed into a cat and disappeared.

The following day, the man learned that a woman known locally as a witch was lying wounded in bed. He realized that the white figure he had shot had been the witch in another form. The encounter revealed the dangerous nature of the White Woman, whose ghostly appearance concealed a shapeshifting witch.

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Sources

De Cock, Alfons. Vlaamsche sagen uit den volksmond. Amsterdam: Maatschappij voor Goede en Goedkoope Lectuur, 1921.

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