Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Useldingen Gnomes, Äschtercher
Category: Gnome, Forest dweller, River dweller
The Myth
Between Useldingen and Ewerlingen, in the woods near the Lohmühle mill, little gnomes were said to live. The people of the area called them Äschtercher.
These small beings were known to frighten children who wandered too far into the woods. They were said to be especially drawn to those who bathed in the Attert River, where they would appear suddenly and startle them.
Thus the people spoke of the little gnomes of the forest, who lingered near the river and the mill and whose presence was feared by the young.
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher zu Useldingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Useldingen.html