Mythology

Crying Children of the Sauer

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: The Voices over the Sauer
Category: Ghost

The Myth

In earlier times, people near the Rosport ferry often heard strange sounds at night above the waters of the Sauer River. Ferrymen crossing the river and travelers passing nearby reported hearing loud shouting and singing of children in the air, though nothing could be seen.

Two fishermen working late one night also heard a terrible cry of children above a small pool of the Sauer called the Wog, situated a short distance downstream from the ferry. The sound was so frightening that the men immediately fled in great terror.

Thus people believed that an unseen presence lingered above the river, known only by the cries of children echoing through the night air.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Kindergeschrei über der Sauer bei Rosport. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Kindergeschrei.html

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The Headless Man of Bralhof

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: The Headless Burgher, Bralhof Ghost
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Near the Bralhof farm between Merl and Rollingergrund, in the area where an old windmill once stood, a headless man was said to appear.

A brave man named Johann Br., who came from a nearby village, once encountered the figure there. Wherever he tried to move, the headless man blocked his path. The same thing later happened to the narrator’s brother when he returned home from town one evening. He reached his house breathless and in terror, struggling to open the door quickly enough to escape the apparition.

People said that the ghost was the spirit of a burgher who had once lived there and whose memory remained infamous in the area.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Mann ohne Kopf bei Straßen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Mann_ohne_Kopf.html

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Oligsmännchen of the Oligsbaach

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg (spring of the Oligsbaach near Emeringen; Alt/Gaanerbaach valley)
Alternate Names: The Old Man of the Oligsbaach
Category: Swamp dweller

The Myth

At the source of the Oligsbaach, a stream that after a short course flows into the Alt, also called the Gaanerbaach, there was said to roam a fearful being known as the Oligsmännchen.

The stream was known to swell into a raging torrent, and people warned that no one should be seen on the nearby meadow after sunset. For if anyone lingered there in the evening, the grim old spirit would seize him by the hair in an instant and drag him down into the depths, where he would be lost beyond rescue.

Thus the Oligsmännchen was feared as the dark guardian of the spring and its dangerous waters.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Plätschmännchen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Plaetschmaennchen.html

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Plätschmännchen of Oberanven

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: The Splash Man, Little Splashing Man
Category: River dweller

The Myth

In the village of Oberanven, people once spoke of a mysterious being called the Plätschmännchen.

Every evening it was said to move along the stream that ran through the village, splashing loudly in the water as though striking it with a rod or whip. The sound was clear and unmistakable, yet no one ever saw the being itself.

Thus the villagers believed that an unseen water spirit passed through the stream each night, known only by the sound of its splashing.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Plätschmännchen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Plaetschmaennchen.html

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The Great Water Spirit of Echternach

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Echternach Water Giant
Category: River dweller

The Myth

Near Echternach there was said to dwell an immense water spirit.

During the day he remained in the Spelzbusche, hidden from sight. At nightfall he descended to the Sauer River and plunged into the water.

He was described as a gigantic figure clad in long, flowing white robes. Fishermen feared him greatly, for when he hurled himself into the river, the force of his fall shattered boats nearby and broke them to pieces.

Thus the great spirit of the river was believed to move between forest and water, unseen by day and feared at night.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der große Wassergeist bei Echternach. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wassergeist_Echternach.html

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Ferry Spirit of Rosport

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Rosport Ferry Ghost
Category: Ghost, River dweller

The Myth

In earlier times, the ferry at Rosport on the Sauer River was said to be haunted.

When the ferryman had to carry passengers late at night, it sometimes happened that the boat, though empty or only lightly loaded, suddenly became terribly heavy in midstream. It could scarcely be moved and seemed ready to sink at any moment.

The ferrymen believed that this was caused by a malevolent spirit that climbed invisibly into the boat and weighed it down as it crossed the river.

Thus the ferry was feared at night, for people said an unseen being still haunted the crossing.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Spuk auf der Rosporter Fähre. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Rosporter_Faehre.html

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Mermaid of Mörsdorf Weir

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: The Mermaid of the Weir; connected spirit known as the Schaffmännchen (Drowned Boatman)
Category: Mermaid

The Myth

Near the weir at Mörsdorf, people spoke of a water nymph who lived in the rushing water.

Long ago, a fisherman — called the Schaffmännchen, the Little Boatman — tried to pass the weir on a moonlit night after a successful catch. He had taken many large fish, especially trout, and as he forced his way upstream he drove his iron-tipped pole harshly into the riverbed, damaging the nymph’s dwelling beneath the water.

Angered by this, the water spirit rose up in fury and dragged the boatman down into the waves. He perished there in the current.

Since that time, people have often heard strange sounds near the weir at night. They say it is the drowned fisherman struggling with the foaming water, trying again and again to force his way through. Nothing can be seen, only the sound of his pole striking the river. The unseen boatman wanders the place through the night, and though he harms no one, he drives away those who come too near with shouts, threats, and curses.

Thus the spirit of the drowned boatman remains bound to the weir, and the water nymph still guards her dwelling beneath the rushing current.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Nixe und das Schaffmännchen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Nixe_Schaffmaennchen.html

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The Moselgeist of the Meilesteen

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Moselstadtgeist, Moselle Spirit
Category: River dweller, Ghost

The Myth

On the Moselle River, at a place called ob em Meilesteen a short distance upstream from Mertert, fishermen who worked at night often heard a strange sound. It resembled the splashing of countless carp striking the water with their tails, and the noise drifted downstream toward Mertert and beyond. Near Wasserbillig it suddenly ceased, and people said it stopped where the old Moselstadt once stood, for it was believed that a great town of that name had existed there long ago.

The fishermen said the splashing was caused by the Moselgeist, the spirit of the Moselle.

Others told that at the same place, in the darkness of night, they had seen an unknown boatman crossing the river. He rowed silently across the water, and just as suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished into the river and was gone.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Moselgeist zwischen Grevenmacher und Wasserbillig. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Moselgeist.html

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Steipmännchen of the Sempchen

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: River Stone Man, Sempchen Steipmännchen
Category: River dweller

The Myth

One evening, as a man was traveling from Ahn to Wormeldange, he saw in the Sempchen river a small, bony old man struggling to force a boat against the current. Moved by pity, the traveler went down to the bank and called out to him, offering to help and asking the old man to throw him a rope so he could pull the boat toward Wormeldange.

But the little figure had only pretended to struggle in order to lure him. Instead of tossing a rope, the Steipmännchen suddenly struck the man with a violent blow from his oar. The traveler fell to the ground, stunned, while the deceitful river spirit had accomplished his trick.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Steipmännchen in der Sempchen bei Wormeldingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Steipmaennchen_Sempchen.html

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Steipmännchen of Ehnen

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Little Rock Man, Stone Man of the Moselle
Category: River dweller

The Myth

In earlier times, a malicious spirit known as the Steipmännchen lived near Ehnen along the Moselle. He delighted in teasing the boatmen who traveled the river and in playing tricks on them.

On stormy nights he was said to sail a half-boat near the Ehnen weir, splashing loudly with oar and pole while crying out again and again, “Help, help, or I will perish!” If a compassionate boatman rowed toward the dangerous place to rescue him, he found no one in need. Instead, the Steipmännchen laughed and clapped from the rocky bank. Should the boatman grow angry and curse him, the spirit might capsize the boat, leaving the man to struggle in the cold water.

At other times the little being would call from the ferry on the opposite shore, begging to be taken across. When a boatman came to fetch the supposed traveler, he was met only by mocking laughter. As soon as he returned home, the drawn-out cry of “Carry me over!” would sound again from the nearby Braas forest.

People also told that at the witching hour a boat was often heard on the Moselle traveling up from Wormeldingen as far as the statue of Saint Nicholas. There it could go no farther and would suddenly turn back downstream, only to return again and again until the hour had passed. No one ever saw the Steipmännchen himself, but many claimed to have heard his ghostly passage upon the river.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Steipmännchen bei Ehnen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Steipmaennchen.html

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