Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog
The Myth
In the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg, people once spoke of a night spirit known as the Bellenman.
He was said to take the form of a hideous dog or a wolf-like creature, sometimes described as almost a werewolf. Around his neck hung a bell, and chains dragged along his body. Even when he could not be seen, people claimed they could hear the rattling of iron and the dull ringing that announced his presence in the darkness.
The Bellenman was most often encountered by those walking alone at night. Travelers would suddenly sense that something was following them. Footsteps would sound behind them, or the noise of chains would scrape along the road. If they turned, they might see nothing — or only a shadowy shape keeping pace just beyond sight.
He did not usually attack. Instead, he followed his victim silently, driving them forward in fear. The spirit would pursue a person all the way to their door, only stopping once they had reached their home. Then the sounds would cease, and the night would fall quiet again.
Because he was often invisible, many believed the Bellenman belonged more to the world of ghosts than to that of living beasts — a restless presence that wandered the roads after dark, heard before he was ever seen.
And so those who traveled late at night were warned to listen carefully, for the faint ringing of a bell or the dragging of chains might mean that the Bellenman had begun to follow.
Gallery
Sources
Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. In abedeverteller.nl, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/
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