Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Villingen Valley Maiden, Villinger Thalfräulein
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Villinger Thalfräule is a haunting spirit said to wander the Villingen Valley between Mergentheim and Wachbach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. According to local legend, she was once a countess of Wachbach, associated with the noble family whose residence later belonged to the von Adelsheim family. During her lifetime, she was infamous for her mercilessness, greed, and cruelty toward ordinary people. She owned magnificent horses that her servants washed with wine every day, yet she denied those same servants even a drop to drink. She also cheated the poor by selling them heavily diluted milk, justifying the deception with the saying, “Three pints of milk, one pint of water, makes a Maß.”
The countess’s cruelty extended to human life itself. One day, as she travelled through the valley in her sleigh, her servant noticed a man lying in the path and stopped the horses. The countess, concerned only with her fine animals and impatient to continue her journey, repeatedly ordered the servant to drive on. The man was run over and killed. The countess died soon afterward, but her wickedness condemned her to wander the earth as a restless spirit.
The Villinger Thalfräule is often heard calling out at night, “Go away, go away!” She is said to lure people and even entire wagons into the Villingerthälisbach stream, where a deep pool can drown them. She appears as a medium-sized, very old woman dressed in old-fashioned clothing and remains silent when encountered. In the Villinger Thalwald forest, she also misleads travelers and plays tricks on them, sometimes carrying away their bundles of firewood. Her haunting serves as a supernatural punishment for a life defined by greed, callousness, and contempt for the suffering of others.
Sources
“Das Thalfraeule.” SAGEN.at – Deutsche Sagen aus Baden-Württemberg. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/baden_wuerttemberg/thalfraeule.html