Mythology

Platschmrechen of Stöckels

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Platschmariechen, Washerwoman of Stöckels
Category: Ghost

The Myth

At the Stöckelter Moor near Itzig, where people say a pagan castle once stood, and also along the Hohlbach stream between Stöckels and Scheid, a ghostly washerwoman is said to appear on certain nights.

Her presence is known by the eerie, hollow slapping sound of laundry being beaten, though no one has ever managed to see her. She is called the Platschmrechen.

It is said that she always seeks out dark, muddy water and never washes in clear springs.

Thus the moor and stream are remembered as places haunted by the unseen washerwoman whose washing can still be heard in the night.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Platschmrechen auf Stöckels. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Platschmrechen_Stoeckels.html

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Platschmrechen of Schrassig

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Platschmariechen, Washerwoman of Gruesbur
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Near Schrassig, at a place called the Gruesbur, a ghostly washerwoman is said to appear at midnight.

At that hour people hear the hollow, spectral clapping sound of laundry being beaten, though no figure can clearly be seen. The spirit is known as the Platschmrechen, and the eerie noise of her washing marks her presence in the night.

Thus the place is remembered as the haunt of the washerwoman who labors unseen at midnight.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Platschmrechen bei Schrassig. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Platschmrechen_Schrassig.html

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Platschmariechen of the Mühlbach

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Platschmrechen, Ghost Washerwoman
Category: Ghost

The Myth

In the small valley of Mühlbach between Mutfort and Kontern, people sometimes hear at night a wet clapping sound, like someone beating laundry in water. The noise may come from the Syr River or from the nearby millstream.

It is said to be the Platschmariechen, a ghostly washerwoman who haunts the waters there. People warn that one should keep a safe distance from her. Whenever someone tries to approach and catch sight of her, she suddenly disappears.

At times she is said to tease the curious. If someone creeps toward the sound beside the Syr, the clapping suddenly seems to come from the millstream instead. If one rushes there, it is heard again from another place along the river.

Thus the unseen washerwoman wanders between the waters, known only by the sound of her washing.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Platschmrechen in dem Mühlbach. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Platschmrechen_Muehlbach.html

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Bewitched Water Bird of Geisbusch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Geisbusch Night Bird
Category: Bird

The Myth

Many years ago, in the wooded area called Geisbusch between Alzingen and Itzig, there lay a large fishpond. Each evening an unknown bird appeared there, whose harsh and repulsive song frightened all who heard it.

People believed the creature possessed the power to bewitch any living being that came into its sight, luring them toward the pond where they would perish in the water. Because of this, no one dared approach it.

At last a mounted hunter decided to destroy the uncanny bird. One evening he rode into the forest with his double-barreled gun and crept close to the pond. When he thought himself near enough, he fired at the bird. Immediately afterward a pitiful cry and a dull roar were heard, and horse and rider were swallowed by the waters of the pond.

After this event, the pond was said to have turned into a wild moor. The place remained visible for a long time, but people carefully avoided it, believing that evil spirits still lingered there and sought to destroy anyone who came too near.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der verhexte Wasservogel auf dem Fischteich im Geisbusch. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Fischteich_Geisbusch.html

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White Cat of the Alzette Bridge

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: New Year’s Water Spirit, Alzette Bridge Cat
Category: Cat

The Myth

Each year on New Year’s Eve, the water spirit of the Alzette River is said to appear in Ettelbrück in the form of a white cat on the bridge.

One year, a man crossing the bridge that night encountered the animal, which followed him through the deep snow. He hurried home, but the strange creature followed him into the house. No matter how often he tried to drive it out, it kept reappearing in the room.

At last he went to bed and tried to sleep, but the cat sat before him and cried out in a pitiful voice. When the clock struck one, the animal suddenly vanished. In the morning, however, the man discovered that his face had been badly scratched.

People said that the water spirit itself had visited him in the form of the white cat.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die weiße Katze auf der Teichbrücke zu Ettelbrück. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Katze_Ettelbrueck.html

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The White Cat of Budersberg

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Budersberg White Cat
Category: Cat, Swamp dweller

The Myth

In the meadowlands below the village of Budersberg, a snow-white cat is said to appear on certain nights.

It is sometimes seen where the stream called the Gessel flows into the Brüllchen, but most often it shows itself in the middle of the marsh known as the Fäschtemsmoore. There it moves silently through the darkness and then vanishes again, leaving no trace behind.

Thus the people spoke of the white cat that haunted the meadows and marshes below Budersberg.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die weiße Katze bei Budersberg. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Katze_Budersberg.html

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Black Horse of the Sauer

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Ghost Horses of Rosport
Category: Horse

The Myth

Near the Rosport ferry on the Sauer River, people told of ghostly black horses that sometimes appeared at night.

A young shoemaker returning late from Ralingen once came to the ferry and waited for the boatman. As he stood there, he saw two magnificent black horses trotting along the towpath. Thinking they had escaped from a nearby farm, he tried to seize them. But when he reached for their bridles, the horses opened their mouths, blazing with fire. Terrified, he released them, and the creatures plunged into the Sauer River, spewing flames as the water hissed and roared around them. The shock of the encounter was said to have turned the young man’s hair white by morning.

Another time, two smugglers lying in wait near Eselsborne close to the river heard a terrible roaring from the water as midnight approached. One of them looked down and saw the same black horses leaping and swimming in the weir, their fiery mouths open amid the splashing, foaming waves. Yet his companion saw and heard nothing at all.

Thus the people believed that fiery phantom horses sometimes rose from the Sauer at night, appearing only to certain witnesses before vanishing again into the water.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die gespensterhaften Rappen bei Rosport. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Rappen_Rosport.html

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Bachhund of the Stöckelter Moor

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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

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Muselhond of Grevenmacher

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Moselle Hound
Category: Dog

The Myth

Near Grevenmacher there was said to live a strange being known as the Muselhond. He usually stayed in the waters of the Moselle and only rarely appeared in the countryside around the town. Because he harmed no one, he was not greatly feared.

Early in the morning he was often seen as a large dog. After making his rounds around the town, he would plunge into the Moselle and there reappear in the form of a man. Washerwomen sometimes saw him rolling noisily down the river like a tumbling cask. Children who behaved too boldly while bathing were warned that the Muselhond would drag them under the water.

He was said to be friendly toward fishermen, and two fishermen from Grevenmacher were believed to have once caught an enormous quantity of fish with his help.

Opposite Temmels, people sometimes heard voices shouting “Carry me across! Carry me across!” Two figures, one tall and one short, were said to roll about in the meadow there. Yet when the ferryman crossed over, he found no one waiting. This too was attributed to the Muselhond, who was thought to delight in such tricks.

Thus the Muselhond was remembered as a strange river being who moved between water and land, sometimes appearing as a dog, sometimes as a man, and whose presence lingered in the tales told to children.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Muselhond zu Grevenmacher. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Muselhond.html

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Night Voice of Reisdorf

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg (Reisdorf; the Moor)
Alternate Names: The Moor Voice
Category: Ghost

The Myth

In the moor near Reisdorf, people said that at night a strange voice could be heard calling out through the darkness.

From the marshes came the repeated cry, “Hup! Hup!” though no one could ever see who or what uttered it.

Thus the place was believed to be haunted by an unseen presence whose voice rang across the moor after nightfall.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die nächtliche Stimme zu Reisdorf. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Reisdorf.html

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