Tradition / Region: Hungarian Mythology
Alternate Names: The Greencoat; Green Coat Man; Mountain Dwarf of Günser
Category: Mountain dweller
The Myth
In the Günser Mountains, people speak of a small, strange being known as the Grünröckel, the Greencoat. It is said to appear on bright moonlit nights along mountain paths and hollow roads. Though not truly evil, its appearance is feared, for those who meet it often suffer misfortune afterward.
One summer night, three men from the mountains were hauling wood down into town with their oxen, using the cool moonlight to avoid the heat and the swarms of flies. Their teams moved one behind another through a hollow between vineyards while the drivers rested on their wagons.
Suddenly the first pair of oxen stopped and would not go forward.
The driver climbed down and went ahead to see what blocked the way. There, in the middle of the hollow, shining clearly in the full moon, stood a short figure. It wore a pointed hat, a white ruff at the neck, and over its shoulders a bell-shaped green coat that hung down to its thighs. Beneath it were short breeches and tight trousers. The little man stood still, smiling with an eerie grin.
Terrified, the driver leapt back and seized his long-handled axe. He rushed forward and struck with all his strength. But just as the blade came down, the small man sprang lightly up the embankment and vanished at once. Though the slope was thick with vines, the figure passed through without a sound or any sign of resistance, as if it had never been solid at all.
The men continued on their way, shaken. Soon afterward, one of the companions died unexpectedly, and people said the meeting with the Greencoat had brought the ill fortune.
In the mountains it is also said that the Grünröckel is a spirit who delights in startling travelers and teasing wanderers, though he is not wholly hostile. Some claim he is the restless ghost of an executed man who once fled through these hills, while others believe he is an ancient mountain spirit who has always belonged to the land.
But all agree that when the small man in the green coat appears in the moonlight, it is a sign that something strange is about to follow.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Grünröckel. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/ungarn/gruenroeckl.htm
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