Mythology

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 Mythology
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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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 Mythology
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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