Dutch Mythology

Appelman

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Appelmannetje, Appleman
Category: Plant

The Myth

In the orchards of Limburg, people once warned children and adults alike not to eat too many apples. If someone grew greedy and devoured more than their share, they were told, “The Appelman will get you,” or, “The Appleman will come to collect what is owed.”

The Appelman was believed to be the spirit of the apple tree itself, a quiet presence watching over the orchard. He was not often seen, but people felt that he noticed when someone showed too much hunger or greed. Those who ignored the warning risked misfortune, illness, or some other small punishment sent by the spirit of the tree.

A similar belief was known in England, where people said the final apple on a tree should never be picked. That fruit was left behind as the share belonging to the Appleman. To take it would be to rob the spirit who guarded the tree, and doing so might bring bad luck upon the household.

Thus the Appelman was remembered as a guardian of balance in the orchard — a spirit who reminded people that the fruits of the earth should be taken with moderation, and that greed might awaken the watchful soul of the tree.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Alruinmannetje

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Galgenmannetje, Pismannetje, Alruin
Category: Plant

The Myth

The Alruinmannetje is said to be the root of the poisonous mandrake plant, shaped vaguely like a tiny human figure. Because of this form, people believed the plant was not merely a root but a being with a spirit living inside it.

It was feared above all when pulled from the earth. The Alruinmannetje was said to scream with such a terrible, piercing cry that anyone who heard it would fall dead on the spot. Only those who managed to survive this dreadful moment could claim the root. If they then treated it well — giving it a small bed, dressing it in cloth, and feeding it milk and food — the spirit within would become loyal to its keeper.

Once cared for properly, the Alruinmannetje was believed to whisper secrets to its owner and reveal hidden knowledge. It could also bring wealth. At night, it would fetch money for the household, and coins placed beside it in the evening would be found doubled by morning.

The root was sometimes called Pismannetje because people believed it sprang from the urine of a freshly hanged man beneath the gallows. From this grim origin, the plant gained its connection to death, magic, and the unseen world.

In Friesland, the name Alrún was also used for a witch from Raerd who possessed the power to heal people and lift enchantments, showing how the name of the root became linked not only to a plant, but to human magic as well.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Waterwolf

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: None recorded
Category: Wolf

The Myth

The Waterwolf is a dangerous spirit said to appear in the form of a wolf adapted to life in the water. Unlike a normal wolf, its body is covered in scales, over which moss and water plants such as algae and weeds have grown. It moves silently through rivers, marshes, and flooded lands, propelled by two large fins that allow it to glide swiftly and almost invisibly beneath the surface.

The creature is feared as a predator of humans, especially children. According to the stories, it lurks near banks and shorelines, dragging the unwary into the water where they disappear without a trace.

Like many Dutch water legends, the Waterwolf reflects anxieties about the dangers of marshes, floods, and deep water, giving those natural threats a monstrous, animal form.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Korenwolf

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology, German Mythology
Alternative name: –
Category: Wolf

The Myth

The Korenwolf or Roggewolf is not a literal wolf but the spirit believed to dwell within grain fields. It lives especially in the last sheaf left standing during harvest, and when that final bundle is cut, the spirit is thought to be captured.

Because of this belief, the last reaper was sometimes jokingly or ritually called “the wolf,” as if they had caught — or temporarily embodied — the field spirit.

The Korenwolf is invisible and can only be sensed through the strange rippling of grain in the wind, as if something unseen moves through it. When calm, it brings fertility to the fields; when angered, it may strip the ears from the grain and ruin the harvest.

It also serves as a warning figure in folklore. Children were told not to wander into the fields, since the Korenwolf might seize or devour them.

Some stories describe the spirit as having six legs, marking it as unnatural — a being of the harvest rather than an ordinary animal.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Stommelstaart

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog, Devil, Demon

The Myth

Stommelstaart is a name used in Dutch folklore for the Devil when he appears in the form of a dog.

He is described specifically as a large black poodle — an unsettling shape that looks almost ordinary at first, but is recognized as something far more sinister. The name itself suggests something heavy, dragging, or awkward in movement, fitting the eerie presence attributed to the creature.

Like many Dutch tales of the Devil in animal form, this appearance serves as a warning figure: a dark, dog-shaped manifestation of evil wandering the night or appearing to those who stray too far from the right path.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Kladdegat

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Spookhond van Hattem
Category: Dog, Ghost

The Myth

Kladdegat was the feared ghost dog of the town of Hattem.

For generations, townsfolk claimed to hear its howling at night. According to tradition, the creature was chained in the cellars of the Spookhuys, a building connected to the now-vanished castle known as the Dikke Tinne. Other versions say it lived in a hole in the city wall.

People believed that anyone who ventured outside the town walls at night risked being seized by the beast and dragged into its lair, where victims were kept captive. Because of this, many in Hattem were afraid to leave their homes after dark.

At last, a brave man decided to confront the creature. He captured the dog in a net, forced it into the hole in the wall, and sealed the opening with masonry. From that time onward, the howling ceased, and nothing more was heard of Kladdegat.

Thus the creature lived on in local memory as a chained phantom hound — a terror of the night that once guarded the ruins beneath Hattem.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Börries

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Barries, Stommelstaart
Category: Dog

The Myth

In the northern provinces, stories were told of a ghostly creature known as the Börries.

It appeared as a large black dog, often described as resembling a poodle or water dog, with glowing eyes as big as small bowls. People said it could be encountered at night on lonely mounds, crossroads, and open fields where the land lay quiet and empty.

The creature moved in a strange, swaying manner, stepping first with the legs on one side of its body and then the other, giving it an unnatural, rocking gait. Behind it stretched a rough, heavy tail that stuck straight out as it walked.

Those who met the Börries were warned to stand perfectly still. One must not move, not speak, and not even blink. If the traveler remained motionless, the beast would have no power over them. But if they showed fear or moved, it could bring danger or death.

Some tales said the Börries was a form taken by a werewolf, while others claimed it was a sign that death was near. It was sometimes said to appear with other uncanny creatures, such as a flying boar or a headless foal, making the encounter even more dreadful.

Thus the Börries was remembered as a swaying black hellhound of the northern lands — a night-roaming omen whose glowing eyes warned of danger and whose presence was often taken as a sign of approaching death.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Tienuurshond

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology, Belgian Mythology
Alternate Names: Twaalfuurshond, Negenuurshond, Tienurenhond
Category: Dog, Ghost

The Myth

In parts of Utrecht and the region around Antwerp, people once spoke of a spectral animal known as the Tienuurshond.

He was said to appear on lonely roads during winter evenings. At exactly the same hour each night — most often at ten o’clock — a large black dog would come into view ahead of a traveler. Around its body hung chains that rattled as it moved, their sound echoing through the cold darkness.

The creature did not usually attack. Instead, it walked in front of the traveler, leading the way along the road as though guiding them through the night. It remained just out of reach, always ahead, never allowing itself to be caught.

Because it appeared at a fixed hour, people gave it its name: the Ten-O’Clock Dog. In some places, where it was believed to appear at other times, it was known as the Nine-O’Clock Dog or the Twelve-O’Clock Dog instead.

Thus the Tienuurshond was remembered as a chained black hound of the winter roads, a ghostly figure that emerged at the appointed hour and walked before the lonely traveler until it vanished again into the night.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. From https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Smakhak

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Smakpoot, Smakvoet
Category: Dog

The Myth

Along the Delleweg near Stedum in Groningen, people once spoke of a haunting presence known as the Smakhak.

He was said to move along the road at night, close to travelers but often not clearly seen. What first gave him away were the sounds — heavy, wet thuds and smacking noises made by his feet as he went. The noises would come suddenly, as though something unseen was pacing alongside a person in the darkness.

When he did appear, he was described as a white dog, gliding along the road and passing close by those who walked there. He did not always attack or speak, but his presence was enough to unsettle anyone who met him.

Some said the Smakhak was not alone in the world of spirits. He was believed to be kin to another supernatural being known as the Widde Wiend, and the two were thought to belong to the same shadowy order of night wanderers.

So the Smakhak was remembered as a ghostly white hound of the road, known more by the strange sounds of his passing than by his form, a spirit that brushed past travelers and vanished again into the dark.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. In abedeverteller.nl, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Polderhond

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog

The Myth

In the province of Groningen, stories were told of a spectral animal known as the Polderhond.

He was described as a rough, black dog, wild in appearance, with a tail like a broom. People rarely saw him clearly, but they often heard him. His howling carried across the open land, echoing over fields and ditches. At times the sound seemed to come not only from the land but from the water itself, as though the creature moved between both.

The Polderhond was counted among the ghostly hounds that haunted lonely places. He wandered the polders, appearing in the dark and vanishing just as quickly, leaving behind only the sound of his cry.

Those who heard him knew that something uncanny was near, and the night would feel heavier until the howling faded and the fields fell silent again.

So the Polderhond remained in memory as a dark spirit of the northern lowlands — a black hound whose voice could rise from land or water, warning that the unseen world was close at hand.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. In abedeverteller.nl, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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