Tradition / Region: Danish Mythology
Alternate Names: Hel Horse
Category: Horse
The Myth
The Helhest is a supernatural three-legged horse associated with Hel, death, and illness in Danish folklore.
It was believed to wander graveyards on its three legs, and its appearance was considered an omen of death. During times of plague, people said that Hel rode through the land upon the three-legged horse, bringing destruction and death to those it encountered.
According to one tradition, the Helhest could sometimes be seen in the churchyard of Aarhus Cathedral. One evening, a man was told that the horse standing outside was the Helhest. When he looked at it, he became deathly pale. Although he refused to describe what he had seen, he soon fell ill and died.
Another belief held that a Helhest was buried beneath a narrow stone at Roskilde Cathedral. People passing the spot would spit upon the stone.
Legend also claimed that before the first person was buried in a new churchyard, a living horse was interred there. After its burial, the animal would return as the Helhest, haunting the cemetery and becoming forever associated with death and the resting place of the dead.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Helhest. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helhest