Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Moor Hound, Black Dog of Stöckelts
Category: Dog
The Myth
Near the Stöckelter Moor, which lies between the districts of Sandweiler and Itzig, people long believed that an evil spirit dwelt in the marsh. This being was called the Bachhund.
It was said to roam the heights of Stöckelts at night in the form of a large black dog. At times, a terrible roaring could be heard across the moor and in the surrounding woods, a noise that rose like a distant thunderstorm and filled the place with dread.
One story tells of a woman from Kontern who, near the moor, heard someone calling out “Hoo! Hoo!” Thinking it was a lost traveler, she answered with the same call. The exchange happened three times. But when she called out the third time, a large black dog suddenly leapt from the air beside her and stared fixedly at her. Terrified, she hurried away as fast as she could.
Thus the Stöckelter Moor was remembered as a place haunted by the Bachhund, whose presence was feared and whose roaming was said to continue even in later times.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Bachhund. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Bachhund.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