Mythology

Wäschfrächen of Gehansbusch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Washer Spirits of the Sauer
Category: Ghost

The Myth

At Gehansbusch on the Sauer River, between Echternach and Steinheim, people long believed that washer spirits appeared at night beside the water. Old inhabitants of the surrounding villages said they often heard the clapping of the washing bat, though no figure could clearly be seen.

Some told a different tale about the same place. According to them, three strange and uncanny figures sometimes returned there. An old fisherman once said that as he came home from Echternach one evening, he saw them seated at a table covered with bottles, gambling and drinking. They beckoned to him to join them, but he refused and continued on his way.

Thus the riverbank at Gehansbusch was remembered as a place where mysterious beings gathered at night, whether washing unseen beside the water or feasting in ghostly company.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Wäschfrächen in der Sauer. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Waeschfraechen_Sauer.html

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White Maiden of the Guiseborn

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Guiseborn Washer Maiden
Category: Ghost

The Myth

On certain nights, a maiden clad entirely in white is said to appear at the Guiseborn stream, which flows between Rosport and Steinheim along a small hill.

At times she is seen washing her linen in the spring. At other times she walks silently back and forth along its edge.

Thus the spring is remembered as the haunt of a white-clad maiden who returns there by night.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die weiße Jungfer am Guiseborn bei Rosport. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Jungfrau_Rosport.html

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Wäschfrächen of the Olker Bâch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Laundry Maiden of the Olkerbach
Category: Ghost

The Myth

In the Olkerbach gorge below Ralingen, where the stream falls from the rock called the Scheeß into a pool, a tall maiden in dazzling white robes was once said to appear on certain nights. The people called her the Wäschfrächen of the Olker Bâch.

Sometimes she washed snow-white linen in the pool beneath the rock; at other times she wandered along the banks of the stream or moved through the hazel thickets that once grew thickly there.

A woman from Olk once went to the place on the evening of the Feast of the Assumption to gather hazelnuts. As she reached the pond, the white-clad maiden appeared on the opposite bank, wearing a necklace of gold and silver coral. She rebuked the woman sternly for profaning the holy feast. Filled with fear, the woman hurried home at once.

Another time, a young tailor from Kordel, who lived in Rosport, wandered into the hazel bushes there on the same feast day while gathering nuts with friends. Separated from the others, he saw a radiant maiden pacing on a meadow below the pond. She wore a golden crown, and her garments glittered with gold and silver, shining with an unearthly light. When the young man spoke to her, she answered gravely, telling him that the day was not meant for pleasure but for sanctification.

The encounter filled him with dread. He returned home, took to his bed, and from that time on was ill. The following year, on the same feast day, he died.

Thus the white washer-maiden of the Olkerbach was remembered as a radiant and solemn spirit who appeared beside the water and rebuked those who treated sacred days lightly.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Wäschfrächen von der Olker Bâch. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Waschfrachen_Olker_Bach.html

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Gelsfrächen of the Castle Stream

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Washerwomen of the Gels
Category: Ghost

The Myth

In earlier times, the Gelsfrächen were said to come at night to the castle stream called the Gels near Weiler. There they washed clothing, and people in the surrounding houses often heard the clapping sound of water and washing through the darkness.

If the women or maids of the nearby households had no time to wash their garments, the Gelsfrächen would sometimes do the work for them. More than once the farmhands from the manor farm that had belonged to the castle found their dirty overpants, left soiled the evening before after work in the fields, freshly washed and hanging on the fence posts.

Thus the Gelsfrächen were remembered as night-washing spirits who labored unseen beside the stream.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Gelsfrächen zu Weiler zum Turm. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Gelsfraechen_Weiler.html

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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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