Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Bleichi-Mueterli, The Spirit of the Bleaching Field
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Above Schönbrunn, along the road toward Hinterburg between Bethlehem and a place known as the Loch, lies a stretch of land called the Bleichi. The area was once haunted by a mysterious female apparition known as the Bleichi-Mueterli. She was described as a dark-faced figure wearing a white gown and a straw hat, often emerging from the Wösch, a forest between Bethlehem and Edlibach. She carried a light as she wandered through the area, and her strange appearance frightened those who encountered her.
Even in the nineteenth century, the apparition was remembered as a source of terror. A young boy from Schönbrunn was so frightened by seeing the Bleichi-Mueterli that he remained ill for some time afterward. In another account, a boy from Menzingen was walking past the Bleichi with his father when he saw the ghost carrying a small blue light. Terrified, he stayed close to his father, who could perceive nothing of the apparition.
The name of the Bleichi-Mueterli also became associated with a more earthly figure. A cheeky fruit thief reportedly disguised himself as the bleaching-field spirit and made his rounds among the heavily laden fruit trees, using the ghost’s frightening reputation to carry out his thefts. His long fingers helped him pluck the fruit, but the farmers eventually became watchful and put an end to his schemes. The legend thus preserves both the memory of a feared nocturnal apparition and the tale of a thief who exploited local superstition.
Sources
“Der Bleichi.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz (Zug). Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/zug/bleichi.html