Tradition: Czech Mythology
Alternative Names: Fiery Men, Weihizer
Category: Flame
The Myth
The Glowing Men were mysterious supernatural beings said to emerge at night from the desolate swamps beneath Bannholz, a wooded hill in the Bohemian Forest. They often appeared in groups of three or four, standing about as tall as a bundle of straw. Their burning bodies illuminated the darkness as they danced and wandered across the waterlogged meadows known as the Tratein. Herdsmen returning their cattle in the evening sometimes encountered these strange figures, which they called the Weihizer. The boys would quickly utter holy names to drive them away, while the Glowing Men could also leap into the baskets carried on women’s backs.
One night, a carter’s wagon broke down on a pitch-black road. Without a lantern, he called to a Glowing Man and asked it to shine its light so he could repair the damage. The fiery figure approached and illuminated the road with its burning body. Once the carter had finished his work, he thanked the being, saying, “God reward you!” The Glowing Man returned the blessing and declared that it had now been redeemed. Its light went out, and it vanished forever.
Another tale tells of a farmer from Kurzen who encountered a Glowing Man on an Advent night while walking to his barn. The figure stood in his path with its arms outstretched, terrifying him so greatly that he fled home and woke his household. When they returned to investigate, the being had disappeared, leaving only glowing footprints that led toward a moor.
According to the legend, such encounters would never happen again because Pope Gregory had banished all ghosts from the world for ninety years. The story presents the Glowing Men as more than frightening wandering fires: at least some were restless spirits who could find redemption through an act of kindness, while others remained mysterious and unsettling presences in the marshlands.
Sources
Hans Watzlik. “Glühende Männer.” In Böhmerwald-Sagen. Budweis: Böhmerwalder Dorfbücher, 1921, Heft 5. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/gluehendemaenner.html