Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Mamer Churchyard Goblins
Category: Goblin
The Myth
In Mamer, a gravedigger known for drunkenness and theft was once digging a grave in the churchyard on Christmas Eve. As he worked, a boy passed along the path singing. Angered by the noise, the gravedigger rushed at him and beat him.
Afterward, he reached for his brandy bottle to drink. Then he noticed a little man dressed in white sitting several graves away with his tongue stuck out. Fear seized him, and he tried to leave, but the strange spirit prevented him from escaping. When he resisted, the little figure struck a metal object with a small hammer, and it rang loudly.
At once, a light appeared in the sacristy, and twelve more goblins emerged. They seized the gravedigger and forced him into an open grave, where they surrounded him. The first goblin complained of being cold, and the others brought him fire in a shovel, which he drank. They then ordered the gravedigger to drink as well. When he refused, they forced the fire into his mouth.
After this, they twisted his legs up over his back and forced his head between them. Finally, they hurled him back into the churchyard, where he lay unconscious.
The next day he fell ill, and the boils covering his body convinced him that what had happened to him in the churchyard had been no dream.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Kobolde auf dem Kirchhofe zu Mamer. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Kobolde_Mamer.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive