Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Traitors of the Stage, The Wild Horsemen of Deinikon
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Walking Traitors are restless spirits associated with a hill near Deinikon, Switzerland, known as the Stage. According to local legend, this was where the Peace of Zurich was concluded in 1531, following the bitter end of the war at Kappel. The people told that Zurich, fearing the consequences of defeat, instructed its envoys to do everything possible to preserve the city’s Protestant faith. If the victorious Catholic side insisted on a return to the old religion, the envoys were to negotiate fiercely and spare no expense. Some Catholic envoys allegedly accepted bribes from Zurich, allowing the city to remain Reformed.
Those who accepted the bribes were believed to have sacrificed their peace of mind for all eternity. Their guilt condemned them to wander as the Walking Traitors, supernatural horsemen who revealed their wrongdoing through their endless punishment. They rode as part of a Wild Hunt along a precisely defined route, and no one was permitted to obstruct their passage. On one occasion, a clothesline was accidentally stretched across their ghostly path. The neighbors suffered a night of disturbances and unrest until the obstacle was removed, after which the haunting ceased.
The supernatural nature of the Stage was also revealed in a tale about a poor beggar woman. One day, she asked a hurriedly wandering man dressed in ancient clothing for alms in God’s name. Before her eyes, the mysterious stranger suddenly melted into thin air. The story suggests that the hill remained haunted by figures from the past, whose appearances served as reminders of the guilt, betrayal, and supernatural punishment associated with the Walking Traitors.
Sources
“Die Verräter von Deinikon.” SAGEN.at – Zuger Sagen. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/zug/verraeter.html