Tradition / Region: Belgian Mythology
Alternative names: –
Category: Horse
The Myth
A farmhouse in the village of Exaarde was long believed to be haunted. One night, when a cow was about to calve, the household went to the stable and found a monstrous horse lying in front of the door. As they approached, the creature quietly moved aside to let them pass. After they had finished their work in the stable, the horse calmly returned to its original place.
In the nights that followed, the hauntings changed. Around midnight, the farmer often looked from his window and saw a fiery carriage drawn by two horses racing around the farmyard. The blazing apparition illuminated the entire courtyard as it thundered past.
The frightened family sought the advice of local priests. They instructed the farmer to search the farm carefully for any unusual sign. One morning he discovered the imprint of a horse’s hoof in the middle of the path. After hearing this, the priests nailed a horseshoe to the inside of the farm gate facing the road.
From that day onward, the haunting ceased. Years later, when the old gate was replaced, the family neglected to transfer the horseshoe to the new gate. The ghostly manifestations soon returned and continued until the horseshoe was once again fastened to the entrance, after which the haunting disappeared.
Sources
de Cock, A. (1921). De Nachtkoets (p. 114). In Vlaamsche sagen uit den volksmond. Maatschappij voor Goede en Goedkoope Lectuur. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/cock001vlaa01_01/