Tradition: Belgian Mythology, Dutch Mythology
Alternative Names: –
Category: Sheep
The Myth
The Bokkenrijders were spirits who rode through the night sky upon goats. Mounted on their supernatural steeds, they could fly through the air by reciting a magical formula:
“Over huis, over tuin, over staak en dat tot Keulen in de wijnkelder!”
Once a year, the Bokkenrijders were said to ride to the Mookerheide, where they gathered to honor their master, the Devil.
The fear surrounding these spectral riders later became entangled with a very real band of robbers who operated throughout Limburg during the eighteenth century and called themselves Bokkenrijders as well. They appear to have exploited the existing fear of the supernatural riders. After being tortured, members of these gangs confessed to the most horrifying deeds, including having made a pact with the Devil and being able to fly through the air on the backs of goats.
More than 180 of these accused Bokkenrijders were eventually sentenced to death. Thus the name came to describe both the legendary spirits who supposedly crossed the night sky on goats and the eighteenth-century criminals who were accused of being their human counterparts.
Sources
“Aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten.” Abe de Verteller. Accessed September 30, 2026. https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/