Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Bichelgretchen; Washerwoman of the Syr
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Near Mensdorf, people once heard a woman washing clothes every night by the Syr River in the Bichel forest. This figure was known as Bichelgretchen.
She was feared because she carried an iron whip, whose cracking sound echoed through the night as she washed.
Travelers were warned never to mock or imitate her.
If someone clapped their hands to mimic the sound of her whip, they would suddenly lose their footing and fall into the river — at which point loud, mocking laughter would ring out.
Bichelgretchen was believed to possess supernatural strength, and anyone who came too close risked being struck down by the terrible force of her whip.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Bichelgretchen an der Syr. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Bichelgretchen.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