Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Paper Mill Gnomes, Heiderscheid Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome
The Myth
More than a hundred years ago, when gnomes were still said to wander the earth, there stood a paper mill in Heiderscheidergrund on the site where houses stand today. Although the mill often lay idle during the day, its owner prospered greatly and produced the finest paper in the region.
As soon as night fell, however, the mill would suddenly begin to run and continue working until morning. Many people wondered at this, unable to understand how it was possible.
The reason was that a few meters above the mill, the little gnomes had their dwelling in a hill. They were fond of the mill owner and every night brought him heaps of rags, which kept the mill working without pause.
This went on for some time, and the people rejoiced in their prosperity. But at last they began to worry. They feared that the gnomes must be stealing the rags from others and that it was wrong to profit from such acts. They spoke to the pastor, who thought carefully and advised them to make a cap sewn from seven different pieces of cloth, each a different color, and hang it before the gate. By this means, he said, they would be rid of the little beings.
When the gnomes came again that night and saw the cap hanging there, they grew sorrowful and said, “Here hangs our reward.” They turned away and never returned.
After their departure, misfortune befell the owners of the mill. They could no longer make good paper, their business declined, and they fell into poverty and debt. In the end, they died in grief.
The grotto in the hill where the gnomes once lived can still be seen, though its entrance is now almost entirely blocked with rubble, and few dare to venture inside.
When the gnomes left, they went to Ahlhausen, not far below Esch-sur-Sûre. Later they were driven away from there as well, and since then no one has seen them in the region, though their former dwelling at Ahlhausen is still pointed out.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtelcher im Heiderscheidergrund. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Heiderscheidergrund.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive