In the Transylvanian village of Heitau, a Romanian farmhand once walked along the road with two maids. As they went, the man suddenly threw himself into a somersault. Then he somersaulted a second time, and a third.
At once he was no longer a man but a grey-spotted billy goat.
The animal charged furiously at the two girls. With its horns it gored and tore at their red katana, shredding the garments into pieces. The maids fled in terror as the goat raged around them.
After some time, the creature again threw itself into three somersaults. As it completed the last one, the goat vanished and the farmhand stood there once more in human form.
Yet the transformation had not left him untouched. A small shred of the torn red cloth had grown fast to his ears, and this strange mark, it was said, remained with him for the rest of his life.
Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology Alternate Names: — Category: Fairy
The Myth
In the old town of Timișoara there once lived two fairies, Mazura and Detta. Mazura was cruel and ill-tempered, while Detta was gentle and beautiful. The two quarreled constantly, for Mazura wished to rule the city alone and often threatened to destroy her rival. Detta, who longed for peace and would not live in hatred, finally chose to leave.
One morning she rose early and walked out into the open countryside, not knowing where she would go. She crossed fields and meadows, always heading west. By evening the sun burned red in the sky, and Detta came upon a small river whose waters murmured softly. Pleased with the place, she said, “Here I will stay. I like it here.”
She lifted her hands and whispered a spell, and at once a splendid house appeared on the riverbank. Yet Detta soon felt lonely and wished for human company. The next day she spoke another charm, and an inn sprang up beside her home. Still, she feared no one would pass that way, so she cast a third spell, and a country road formed, running close to the inn.
Now Detta was content. Travelers came along the road and stopped at the welcoming inn of the kind and beautiful hostess. A year later a band of Swabian settlers arrived from the Black Forest, searching for a place to live. Detta urged them to remain, telling them the land had forests, fields, and water enough for all. The Swabians liked what they saw and settled there.
Before long, the bravest and most handsome young hunter among them, Franzl, fell in love with Detta. When he asked her to marry him, she answered, “Franzl, I love you, but you must promise me one thing: never walk beside me in the street and never touch me in public or before strangers. If you break this promise, great misfortune will follow.” Franzl agreed, and they wed.
Ten years passed, and they had two children. One day they were invited to a wedding. Detta told her husband she would go ahead and meet him there, as always. But Franzl felt ashamed. The villagers whispered that husband and wife never appeared together and must not truly love each other. Determined to silence the gossip, he decided to ignore her warning. He believed her fears were only fancy.
He left the house and hurried after her. When he caught up, he slipped his arm around her shoulder and smiled.
Detta turned pale. “Franzl, why did you do that? Now I am lost…”
At once a blinding flash burst forth. In that instant the beautiful fairy, her grand house, and the inn vanished forever.
In memory of her, the settlers named their village Detta. And the place bore that name for generations afterward.
Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology Alternate Names: The Old Witch of Bits; Matchmaking Witch of the Bits Pond Category: Witch
The Myth
In earlier times, the Bitschter Pond lay in the deep valley between Buderscheid and the Pirmesknapp. The large body of water stretched from the Buderscheid mill to the Pirmesberg hill, surrounded by dense, wild forest. People said the place was haunted, for many spirits were believed to dwell there.
Among them lived the infamous old witch of Bits. She practiced fortune-telling and matchmaking, and young men and women who longed for marriage would seek her out. The witch possessed a mysterious bottle in which there was an egg and a crucified Christ. By means of this bottle, she told those who consulted her whom they would marry, where that person lived, and what they must do to win them.
At night, she was said to fly like a bird over the pond, crying out with a hoarse, croaking voice. Around the pond, other witches gathered, and in the moonlight they danced wildly in the trees, making music and raising a dreadful noise. They were also seen hovering around the Pirmesberg, reveling in the forest and floating through the air.
At last the witch’s deeds became known. She was seized and blown into the Bitschter Pond. At once a violent thunderstorm broke out, flooding the waters and turning the place into a great quagmire.
Even long afterward, people said the place was not a pleasant one, and many were afraid to pass the site of the old pond at night.
Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology Alternate Names: Spirits of the Enerèweschter Pond Category: Ghost
The Myth
Many years ago, on Friday nights, two enormous human figures were said to appear at the pond called Enerèweschter Weiher in the forest near Lintgen. Each carried a long whip and lashed the water with such force that the noise echoed far and wide. At the same time, strange cries of “Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!” rang through the night.
Afterward, the figures would perform a circle dance around the pond. Whenever anyone tried to approach them, they vanished at the slightest sound, leaving only a loud splash behind in the water.
One night, several daring young men from the village hid behind thick tree trunks, each armed with a club, determined to uncover the truth. As midnight drew near, they again heard the whipping and the eerie cries, and they saw the figures dancing. At a signal, they rushed forward and struck with all their strength. But their blows met nothing. They heard only a splash in the pond, and then all was still.
From that time on, the haunting ceased. Yet even today, some villagers believe that invisible spirits still play their tricks at the Enerèweschter Weiher.
Near Lintgen, at the source of the Kaselter Bach, there once stood a tall beech tree. People said that shortly before a thunderstorm, musicians dressed in red would often appear there and play soft music.
At the same time, from the edge of the spring came the loud knocking and banging of washerwomen beating their laundry in rhythm with the music. According to the legend, these women caused rain and storms by splashing water upward with their washing whips, sending it into the clouds.
No one dared to watch or disturb them. It was said that even the strongest man would have been crushed or killed by a single blow from these washerwomen.
One traveler, who dared to whistle when he heard the ghostly music, was immediately struck by lightning. And two shoemaker’s apprentices, returning drunk from the Lorenzweiler fair and cursing the apparition, were found the next day beside the Kaselter stream with torn clothes, battered faces, and fractured skulls.
Thus the people avoided the place whenever storms gathered.
Between Sandweiler and Itzig lies a pond known as the Rahloch, a place once regarded as eerie and feared.
One night, a lone wanderer passed by the pond and heard the sharp echo of washerwomen’s whips sounding through the still air. As he approached, he saw several old women standing at the water’s edge, silently beating laundry before them.
Seeing nothing strange in their work, he called out, “You are washing very late!” But the women gave no answer. Thinking to jest, he spoke again: “Ah, you wretched women, won’t you wash my clothes too?”
Hardly had he spoken when the women rushed upon him and beat him so severely that he fell senseless to the ground. When he later came to, he found his clothes completely soaked, and realized that the washerwomen had stripped him and washed them while he lay unconscious.
Filled with terror, he fled home as fast as he could. Only the next day did he notice that his hair had turned gray from the fright.
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.
Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology Alternate Names: Scholtesbur Washerwomen; Midnight Washers of the Well Category: Ghost
The Myth
Around midnight, a villager was passing the Scholtesbur near Lintgen with his dog when he saw two women at the well, silently striking their washbasins with tremendous force.
The dog shrank in fear against its master, sensing something unnatural. The man hurried past, but soon heard footsteps behind him. Looking down, he noticed a long shadow at his feet. Turning quickly, he saw that one of the women was following close behind, while the other came after at a distance.
He called out to them, asking what they wanted, but received no answer. Since they neither attacked nor spoke, he continued on his way, gripping his walking stick in readiness. The dog followed in terror, tail tucked.
When he finally reached the hilltop and looked back, the women had vanished. Yet down at the Scholtesbur he saw them again — now whirling in a wild, diabolical dance.
Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology Alternate Names: Washerwomen of the Fountain; Midnight Washers Category: Ghost
The Myth
At the large washing fountain in Niederkorn, people often heard loud splashing around midnight, as if many washerwomen were laboring there.
Those who, out of curiosity, tried to approach and discover the source of the noise were suddenly struck by powerful jets of water. Though they saw no one, they were drenched again and again and chased away in this manner, sometimes all the way to their own doorsteps.
Thus the fountain was remembered as the place where the unseen Burjoffern worked and defended their midnight washing.
