Tradition: Czech Mythology
Alternative names: Mill Devil
Category: Demon
The Myth
The Mill Devil is a group of hellish spirits summoned through a magical book and associated with an old mill near Langendorf. They appear as numerous devils with glowing eyes and licking tongues, capable of moving with great speed and performing impossible tasks.
The devils have a terrifying appearance, with glowing eyes and tongues that lick from their mouths. They appear in large numbers and are violent and threatening, seeking to strangle those who summon them.
Behind Langendorf stood an old mill whose miller possessed a grey book that allowed him to summon the forces of Hell. One Holy Day, the miller’s children were left alone at home. While rummaging through old things, they discovered the mysterious book. They opened it and began reading the words inside.
Suddenly, the entire mill filled with devils. They raged through the building with glowing eyes and licking tongues, threatening to strangle the children.
At that moment, the miller was sitting in church. During High Mass, he suddenly became restless and felt that something was wrong. He rose from his place and hurried home.
The devils were already waiting for him. They demanded that he quickly tell them what he wanted them to do. The miller tore the fur from his body and threw it before them, ordering them to count every hair in it.
The devils immediately fell upon the fur and began counting. While they were occupied, the miller ran into the mill and poured a sack of grain into the stream.
The devils soon finished counting and announced that the fur contained seven hairs. They demanded another task, threatening to tear the miller apart if he did not give them one quickly.
The miller ordered them to retrieve every grain he had thrown into the stream. The devils fished the grains from the water and returned, again demanding another task.
The miller then gave them an impossible command: they were to remove all the ice from the pond, carry it to the yeast stone, set it alight, and bring him the ashes.
Enraged by the miller’s mockery and impossible demands, the devils finally abandoned him and returned to Hell. Before leaving, however, they took the mill wheel with them as revenge.
Sources
Watzlik, Hans. “Schnelle Knechte.” In Böhmerwald-Sagen. Budweis: Böhmerwalder Dorfbücher, 1921, Heft 5. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/tschechien/watzlik/schnelleknechte.html