Tradition: Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: The Twelve Night Monks
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Night Monks are mysterious apparitions that appear around Gratzen Castle, emerging from beneath its walls under the light of the moon. They are twelve in number, dressed in dark robes tied with ropes around their waists. Their beards are long and ice-gray, their faces snow-white, and their eyes are always cast toward the ground. Each carries a tall, burning candle in his hands.
One night, in the castle’s red tower, a woman who had recently given birth slept beside her newborn child while the midwife kept watch. Looking out of the window, the woman saw the moonlight shining brilliantly across the castle wall. Suddenly, the wall below opened, revealing subterranean steps from which the twelve monks slowly ascended.
Without speaking or making a sound, the monks marched past the ancient castle. They passed straight through its solid walls as effortlessly as if they were moving through cobwebs, then vanished into the darkness. Their ghostly appearance filled the castle’s warden with dread, and he feared that the mysterious procession was a warning of some terrible misfortune to come.
Sources
Watzlik, Hans. “Die Nachtmönche.” In Böhmerwald-Sagen. Budweis: Böhmerwalder Dorfbücher, 1921, Heft 5. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/nachtmoenche.html