Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternative names: Iron Foal
Category: Horse
The Myth
The IJzeren Veulen (“Iron Foal”) is a ghostly horse said to haunt the area near Cabauw in the Dutch province of Utrecht.
According to tradition, it galloped between two bridges every night between midnight and one o’clock. As it ran, it made an enormous clattering noise, as though its body were filled with iron or all of its joints were made from iron hinges.
One night, three boys decided to wait for the creature with clubs. When the Iron Foal appeared, it charged them with such tremendous force that it struck the boy standing in the middle, killing him instantly.
A white friar was later said to have banished the haunting spirit. As it disappeared, however, the Iron Foal cried out, “In a hundred years, I will return!”
Sources
Abe van der Veen. (2014, July 8). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. Abe de Verteller. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/