Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative names: Kuhwampen
Category: Cow
The Myth
The Kuhwampen is described in the folklore of Rauris as a misshapen, ghostly creature. One day, while a shoemaker was working in a farmhouse, a Kuhwampen rolled through the doorway.
Annoyed by its intrusion, the shoemaker stabbed at the creature with his awl. The following morning, the farmer’s wife was found with a stab wound in her eye. The shoemaker had not known that she was a Trud—a supernatural being associated with causing harm in dreams—and the wound he inflicted upon the Kuhwampen had manifested upon her.
Sources
“Die Kuhwampen.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Österreich, Salzburg, Pinzgau. Accessed August 21, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/oesterreich/salzburg/pinzgau/kuhwampen.html