Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Schrättling
Category: House dweller
The Myth
The Schrättlig is a terrifying supernatural creature that visits homes at night and torments their inhabitants. According to an oral account from the Canton of St. Gallen, it repeatedly came to one family’s house, troubling different members of the household on different nights. Its attacks created such distress that the family eventually attempted to prevent the creature from escaping.
On one occasion, the household managed to block the Schrättlig’s route out of the house. The following morning, they discovered a straw lying on the living-room floor. Believing it to be connected to the creature, they attacked it with hammers and axes. At the same time, a woman known to the family lay seriously ill in a bed in the room above.
The account does not describe the Schrättlig’s usual appearance or explain precisely how it tormented its victims. However, the discovery of the straw after its escape route had been blocked suggests that the creature could be associated with an unusual physical form or a transformation into something seemingly harmless. The seriously ill woman may have been connected to the incident, although the oral legend does not explicitly explain the relationship.
The story presents the Schrättlig as a nocturnal menace whose presence brings suffering into an otherwise ordinary household. Its brief but unsettling account reflects a folkloric fear of supernatural beings that attack people during the night and may leave behind strange clues to their identity.
Sources
“Schrättlig.” SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/schraettlig.html