Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Platschmrechen, Ghost Washerwoman
Category: Ghost
The Myth
In the small valley of Mühlbach between Mutfort and Kontern, people sometimes hear at night a wet clapping sound, like someone beating laundry in water. The noise may come from the Syr River or from the nearby millstream.
It is said to be the Platschmariechen, a ghostly washerwoman who haunts the waters there. People warn that one should keep a safe distance from her. Whenever someone tries to approach and catch sight of her, she suddenly disappears.
At times she is said to tease the curious. If someone creeps toward the sound beside the Syr, the clapping suddenly seems to come from the millstream instead. If one rushes there, it is heard again from another place along the river.
Thus the unseen washerwoman wanders between the waters, known only by the sound of her washing.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Das Platschmrechen in dem Mühlbach. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Platschmrechen_Muehlbach.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