Mythology

Wild Woman of the Wôbâch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Wild Woman of Wölfragrond
Category: Cave dweller

The Myth

In the valley of the Wôbâch, a small stream that flows into the Eisch between Simmern and Heckenhof, there once lived a wild woman in a cave. Because of her, the place came to be called Wölfragrond.

She was said to be completely covered in hair from head to foot. By day she hid in her cave, but as soon as night fell she came out and walked along the banks of the Eisch. There she attacked and strangled whatever she could seize, whether human or animal. Because of this, no one dared to pass through the place at night.

At last a knight from Simmer Castle set out to rid the region of the creature. Whether he ambushed her or met her by chance, he took the silver cross from his rosary, hammered it into a ball, and loaded it into his rifle. With this bullet he shot and killed the wild woman, and the valley was freed from her terror.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die wilde Frau in der Wôbâch. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wilde_Frau_Wobach.html

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Böschgretchen of Heßlingen

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Böschgretchen, Wild Woman of Wölfragrond
Category: Ghost, Swamp Dweller

The Myth

In earlier times, when ghosts were still believed to roam the land, there lived near Heßlingen, by the Wolf’s Mill in the forest called Wölfragrond, a strange being known as Böschgretchen.

She was said to have once been a woman of exceptional height and beauty who had been cursed and bound to the swamp there. People disliked passing that place, though no one was known to have been harmed by her.

One day, an old man known as Burgklees came along the path from Remich. Brave as he was, he went straight past the swamp. But as soon as he neared it, he felt uneasy. Pressing on, he heard someone calling behind him, “Klees, Klees, wait!” He turned and saw Böschgretchen standing before him. Terrified, he tried to flee, but the ground beneath him began to give way. He leapt aside and escaped, reaching home pale and exhausted, collapsing at his door.

The spirit remained in the area for many years and was seen by many. Once, a shepherd grazing his flock near Heßlingen noticed his dog behaving wildly, running and howling so loudly that people came to help. Following the dog, they found Böschgretchen lying dead in a wolf’s den, sunk knee-deep in mud. They pulled the body out, carried it to Ellingen, and buried it in the churchyard, where later the wall was built so that her grave now lies within its foundations.

It was said that once every seven years the dead woman returns by night to the place where she died, and that on stormy nights old people have heard her moaning there.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Böschgretchen bei Ellingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Boeschgretchen.html

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Felsefrächen of Grevenmacher

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Rock Fairy of the Felser Cliffs
Category: Fairy

The Myth

Two hundred years ago, a strange woman was said to live in the high cliffs that rise above the vineyards between Machtum and Grevenmacher. She was known as Felsefrächen, the Rock Fairy. Some said she lived alone, others that there were three of them.

She was rarely seen by day and then only at mealtimes, when she would silently approach the workers and vintners. At night she roamed the mountains, and around the witching hour her loud singing and cries could be heard. In the Felser cliffs there are two nearby crevices, one large enough for a person to walk through upright, and it was said she always entered through one and left through the other, passing into her hidden underground dwelling.

Her chief work was said to be spinning, and she was known to prepare helpful potions for sick livestock. For this reason she was more loved than feared by the people of the surrounding villages.

One day a woman sent her son to the rock spirit to fetch a drink for a sick cow. The creature took a liking to the boy and lured him into her dwelling beneath the rock, refusing to let him leave. The boy disliked the place and tried twice to escape while she was away, but failed. On the third attempt the rock woman became enraged. She attacked the boy, tore him in two, threw one part into the Moselle River, and devoured the other.

When the deed became known, the people captured the rock creature and burned her at the stake.

Yet it was said that she was often seen afterward, especially by women who went to the Moselle early in the morning to wash their clothes.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Felsefrächen bei Grevenmacher. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Felsefraechen.html

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Keyhole Maiden of Palzem

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: The Keyhole Spirit, The English Witch-Bride
Category: Spirit

The Myth

A young man once lived alone in his house and was content with his life. One night a very beautiful maiden suddenly appeared to him. He was deeply struck by her beauty and wished she might become his wife. Yet whenever he tried to hold her back, she vanished as suddenly as she had come.

Troubled, he sought advice from a clever neighbor. She told him that the maiden must be entering and leaving through the keyhole of his front door and that if he sealed it once she was inside, she would not be able to escape.

The young man found the keyhole and made a plug that fit it exactly. That night, when the maiden appeared again, he leapt from bed and sealed the hole. The girl could not leave. He kept her with him and asked her to become his wife. She agreed, and they married, and in time they had three children.

Years later, while his wife baked pancakes, the man idly thought it no longer mattered whether the hole remained closed. He removed the plug.

At once the woman cried out loudly before the children, saying that she could hear the bells ringing in England. Then, in an instant, she vanished through the opened hole and was never seen again.

The man remained behind with his three children, and people said that if he had not opened the way, the strange woman — said to be a witch-spirit from England — would have stayed with him.

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der betrogene Mann. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/betrogene_Mann.html

Kiddelsmehnchen of Echternach

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Kittelsmännchen, Echternach Goblin
Category: Goblin

The Myth

In the buildings of Echternach Abbey there once haunted a goblin known as the Kiddelsmehnchen. He was said to tease and trouble the inhabitants in many ways.

An old man who worked in an outbuilding, burning potash day and night, was often visited by the little being. While the man sat quietly beside his cauldron, praying with his face buried in his hands, the goblin would sometimes enter and begin hammering loudly on a nearby anvil. Sparks flew, the building shook with the noise, and yet the old man remained calm. After a time, the strange blacksmith would leave as silently as he had come.

The same man was sometimes tasked with guarding a nearby cloth bleaching ground at night. Once he saw someone moving about the canvas in the darkness. He called out, but received no reply, and followed the figure toward the door. Just as he reached out to seize the supposed thief, the figure vanished into thin air. Only then did he realize that the Kiddelsmehnchen had tricked him.

The goblin also frightened others in the abbey. When the porters sat quietly in the evening and the children were already in bed, the creature would cause loud clattering, banging, and cries in the corridors and stairways, as though horses and donkeys were running through the building and terrified children were calling for help. But whenever people rushed out to investigate, everything was silent and no trace could be found.

At other times the goblin would drop from the roof in the form of a barrel, causing a terrible crash. When the people gathered to see what had happened, they found nothing at all.

Thus the Kiddelsmehnchen continued to trouble the abbey with its tricks and noises, appearing and disappearing at will.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Kiddelsmehnchen (Kittelsmännchen) zu Echternach. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Kittelsmaennchen.html

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Engelbertchen of Ehnen

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Engelpferdchen, The Angel Horse
Category: Goblin

The Myth

In Ehnen, in a very old house that still stands today, a goblin was once said to live. He was known as Engelbertchen, or sometimes as the Angel Horse.

At times he appeared in the form of an old man with a silver-white beard. At other times he was seen riding a small white horse. He would rush up and down the tall stone spiral staircase of the house with great speed, and the loud clattering frightened the people who lived there.

At midnight he could also sometimes be heard dragging tables or moving furniture about the house, though no one saw him doing it.

In later years, however, the disturbances ceased, and nothing more was heard of Engelbertchen.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Engelbertchen oder Engelspferdchen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Engelsbertchen.html

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Goblin of Mamer Churchyard

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Mamer Churchyard Goblins
Category: Goblin

The Myth

In Mamer, a gravedigger known for drunkenness and theft was once digging a grave in the churchyard on Christmas Eve. As he worked, a boy passed along the path singing. Angered by the noise, the gravedigger rushed at him and beat him.

Afterward, he reached for his brandy bottle to drink. Then he noticed a little man dressed in white sitting several graves away with his tongue stuck out. Fear seized him, and he tried to leave, but the strange spirit prevented him from escaping. When he resisted, the little figure struck a metal object with a small hammer, and it rang loudly.

At once, a light appeared in the sacristy, and twelve more goblins emerged. They seized the gravedigger and forced him into an open grave, where they surrounded him. The first goblin complained of being cold, and the others brought him fire in a shovel, which he drank. They then ordered the gravedigger to drink as well. When he refused, they forced the fire into his mouth.

After this, they twisted his legs up over his back and forced his head between them. Finally, they hurled him back into the churchyard, where he lay unconscious.

The next day he fell ill, and the boils covering his body convinced him that what had happened to him in the churchyard had been no dream.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Kobolde auf dem Kirchhofe zu Mamer. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Kobolde_Mamer.html

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Goblin of Holzer Busch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Hierschermännchen, Hedemännchen
Category: Goblin

The Myth

In the Holzer Busch, between Bondorf and Holz, there was said to live a little dwarf known as the Hierschermännchen. This small being often spoke with people and would even allow them to carry him.

Another creature of the same kind was said to dwell at a place called Misère. It was known as the Hedemännchen, and people spoke of it as a similar small goblin who lived in the area.

Thus two little goblin-like beings were remembered in the region, each tied to its own place in the countryside.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Zwei Kobolde bei Bondorf. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Kobolde_Bondorf.html

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Dwarfs of Wallebroch

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Diekirch Goblins, Plattfüßchen
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

In a ravine between Diekirch and Ingeldorf, it was said that the Knights Templar once gathered. Yet the people of the region spoke of them not as knights, but as small beings — goblins who lived underground.

In a nearby plain called Wallebroch, another group of these creatures assembled for their councils. They were known as the Plattfüßchen, a kind of goblin said to dwell beneath the earth.

Thus the land between Diekirch and Ingeldorf was believed to shelter hidden underground folk who met in secret places and lived unseen beneath the ground.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Zwerge bei Diekirch. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Zwerge_Diekirch.html

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Gnome near Ettelbrück

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Ettelbrück Gnomes, Warken Gnomes
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In earlier times, many gnomes were said to live around Ettelbrück. They were believed to come especially from the Nuck and from the Deiwelsbaach. The village of Warken was thought to be particularly troubled by them, and people said they emerged from Witry’s stable there.

The gnomes were believed to multiply quickly, and their numbers grew so great that the inhabitants of Ettelbrück decided to hunt them down. They were thought to have holes scattered throughout the mountains, which led to underground caves where they lived.

Even today, these openings in the ground are said to be known as fox holes, recalling the places where the gnomes were once believed to dwell.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelmännchen bei Ettelbrück. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Ettelbrueck.html

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