German Mythology

Krampus

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Krampus, Krampusnacht Figure
Category: Demon

The Myth

Krampus is a hairy, horned creature with black or brown fur, fangs, and a long pointed tongue. He has goat-like cloven hooves, sometimes depicted with one human-like foot and one goat’s foot. He carries heavy chains, often with bells attached, and a bundle of birch branches used to beat misbehaving children. He may also carry a sack or basket on his back.

On the night of 5 December, Krampus travels with Saint Nicholas as they visit children. Saint Nicholas rewards children who have behaved well with small gifts, while Krampus punishes those who have behaved badly. He lashes them with his birch branches and frightens them.

Particularly wicked children may be seized by Krampus and placed into his sack. In some traditions, he carries them away to drown them, eat them, or take them to Hell.

Krampus is the frightening companion of Saint Nicholas, dealing with the children whom the saint himself does not punish. He appears during the winter celebrations surrounding Saint Nicholas and is especially associated with Krampusnacht and the frightening processions known as Krampuslauf.

Sources

“Krampus.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 12, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

Drude

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Tradition: Germanic mythology
Alternative Names: Drude, Trude, Druden
Category: Demon

The Myth

The Drude is a malevolent female nocturnal spirit, particularly associated with southern Germany. She is a kind of Alp or witch-hag who torments people in their sleep and causes nightmares known as Alpdruck, the sensation of being pressed down by a supernatural being.

The Drude is capable of changing her size. She may become small enough to enter a house as a tiny creature, or even appear in the form of a butterfly. At other times she can grow into a giantess, leaving enormous footprints impressed upon stone. In some traditions, it is not the physical body of the witch that attacks people, but her spirit, which leaves her body during the night and travels to torment sleeping victims.

A person oppressed by a Drude could attempt to drive her away in several ways. Grabbing an object could force the Drude to beg for its return. Throwing a pillow at her was believed to repel her, while pronouncing a holy name could frighten her away. In Tyrolean folklore, placing a flax-threshing comb on the chest with its spikes pointing upward was believed to deter the Drude and prevent her from returning.

The Drude was also associated with protective charms. The Drudenfuß, or “Drude’s foot,” was a magical symbol identified with either a pentagram or hexagram. It was placed on houses, stables, gates, cradles, and beds to protect people and animals from the Drude and other supernatural beings. In some regions, a fir-wood Drudenfuß was placed inside a baby’s cradle because the Trude was believed to press down upon infants and prevent them from crying.

Another protective object was the Drudenstein, or “Drude stone.” These were often naturally perforated stones, especially smooth stones shaped by rivers. A ribbon could be threaded through the hole and the stone hung inside a house, beside a cradle, or on the bars of a stable window. Such stones were believed to protect against the Drude, witches, nightmares, Alps, and other harmful spirits.

In southern German folklore, certain stones or landmarks were also known as Trudenstein. One tradition held that these were places where female spirits gathered to decide which humans they would torment. A Bavarian legend tells that the Druden once attempted to place a particular stone at a farmstead, but abandoned it when a rooster crowed.

Sources

“Drude.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 10, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drude

Myrlyava

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Tradition: Sorbian Mythology, German Mythology
Alternative Names: Marawa, Myrlata, Myrlawa, Marava, Myrljata
Category: Demon

The Myth

Myrlyava is an evil demoness from Upper Sorbian folklore who appears as a repulsive, ugly, and perpetually dirty woman.

She was rarely seen, and nobody knew where she came from, where she lived, or what she fed on. Her mysterious nature made her a frightening figure in local folklore.

In Müllrose, in northern Upper Lusatia, people had a saying about a woman who had been working for a long time and was constantly busy with her work. They would say:

“She must be an old Myrlyava.”

The name was therefore used to describe a woman who was regarded as particularly unpleasant or unattractive.

Sources

“Мырлява (Myrlawa).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/Myrlyava

Alp

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Alpe, Alpen, Trud, Mar, Mart, Mahr, Schrat, Walrider
Category: Demon

The Myth

The Alp is a supernatural being from German folklore associated with nighttime oppression, nightmares, illness, and the bewilderment or deception of humans. The word Alp is the German form of the same ancient Germanic word that eventually became English elf.

In older German traditions, the Alp was understood as a nature spirit or nature demon. It was regarded as an eerie and sometimes ferocious being, and was particularly associated with the mare, a supernatural creature that tormented people during sleep.

The Alp was believed to approach sleeping people and oppress them during the night. This association is preserved in the German word Alpdruck, literally “elf-oppression,” meaning a nightmare. The Alp could also be associated with illness, including epilepsy.

Medieval German traditions frequently portray elves as beings capable of deceiving or bewildering people. A recurring expression described a person as being deceived by the elves or by the Alp. Elves could also have a seductive aspect, with medieval poetry describing people as being enchanted or bewitched by them.

By the later medieval period, elves had increasingly acquired a threatening and demonic character. A fourteenth-century German prayer known as the Münchener Nachtsegen invokes protection from the Alp, the Trud, and the Mare, asking these beings not to oppress, pinch, ride, or mount the sleeper.

The Alp was therefore closely connected with other Germanic nightmare spirits. Names such as Trud, Mar, Mart, Mahr, Schrat, and Walrider were used for related forms of supernatural beings, while surrounding European traditions preserved similar figures such as the Drude and the Old Hag.

The Alp was also associated with supernatural influence over human beings beyond sleep. In Northern Germany during the early modern period, elves were described as carrying out the evil wishes of witches. Martin Luther himself believed that his mother had been afflicted in this manner.

German traditions also preserved older associations between elves and other supernatural races. Elves could be connected with dwarfs in German heroic literature, particularly figures whose names or characteristics preserved the older idea of elf power.

Thus, the Alp represents an older Germanic conception of the elf as a potentially dangerous supernatural being: a spirit capable of deception, illness, nocturnal oppression, and supernatural influence over humans.

Sources

“Alp (folklore).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_(folklore)

White Roe

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Das weiße Reh
Category: Deer

The Myth

The White Roe is a milky-white deer that appears near a spring at the Hasensprung, a height near Baden in Baden. The spring emerges quietly from old masonry beneath an oak in a somewhat wild rocky woodland. It flows particularly strongly during the full moon and less strongly as the moon wanes.

One morning at first light, a young man came into the woodland and saw a milky-white roe grazing on a meadow filled with flowers. The strange animal greatly fascinated him.

“I must have it!” he thought. He quietly crept toward the White Roe and stretched out his trembling hand, overcome with desire to capture it. But the deer suddenly ran toward the spring. At the edge of the spring lay a maiden with extraordinarily beautiful features, resting her head beside the water.

The young man remained motionless, staring in astonishment at the lovely apparition. He did not know what to do. Fear urged him to flee, yet the beauty of the maiden held him spellbound.

“What am I doing?” he quietly asked himself.

The maiden then waved to him, turning backward as though looking around her. The young man looked again, but there was nothing there. When he turned around once more, both the milky-white roe and the beautiful maiden had disappeared.

Only the quiet spring remained to greet him.

Sources

Gottschalck, Friedrich. “Das weiße Reh.” In Die Sagen und Volksmährchen der Deutschen. Halle, 1814. Originally citing Schreiber, Beschreibung von Baden, Heidelberg, 1811, p. 188. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/allgemein/gottschalck/dasweissereh.html

Akhlis

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Achlis, Alces, Ahlkis
Category: Elk, Deer

The Myth

The Akhlis is a strange animal described as resembling an elk, but possessing several unusual features. It has stiff legs without joints or ligaments and a large upper lip that hangs down. Because of the construction of its legs, it is said to be unable to lie down and, if it falls, unable to rise again. Instead, it rests by leaning against trees.

According to Gaius Julius Caesar, the Akhlis was found in the great forests of the north, particularly the Hercynian Forest. He described animals called alces that resembled goats in their build and markings but were considerably larger. They had blunt antlers and legs without joints, preventing them from lying down. When they needed to sleep, they leaned against trees, and hunters could supposedly discover their usual resting places by following their tracks.

The Akhlis was also said to have an unusual way of feeding. According to Pliny the Elder, it resembled an elk and lived on the island of Scandinavia. Its upper lip was so large that it could only graze by walking backwards, preventing it from moving forward while feeding.

Later writers repeated and expanded these descriptions. Solinus described another elk-like animal with a hanging upper lip, saying that it could only graze while walking backwards and that its legs were so straight and stiff that it was difficult to stop once it began running. These accounts closely resemble Caesar’s earlier description of the alces.

The ancient descriptions are therefore unusual because they appear to combine a real northern animal—the elk—with fantastical characteristics. Caesar’s account is generally recognizable as a description of an elk, while the strange details concerning its stiff legs, inability to lie down, and backwards grazing became attached to the creature in later retellings.

The Akhlis was eventually forgotten, surviving mainly in ancient and medieval writings about the animals of the far north. Its name and description were later compared with other legendary elk-like creatures, although the original accounts present it primarily as a mysterious northern animal rather than a supernatural monster.

Sources

Sergey Ksaverov. “Ахлис (Achlis).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed September 5, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/Akhlis

Zwergenkuh

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Dwarf Cow
Category: Cow

The Myth

About half an hour from the village of Goldbeck, in the direction of Rinteln, there are caves in a mountain where dwarfs were once said to have lived. Near these caves stood a farmer’s farm, and his herd usually grazed in the area around them. The shepherd noticed that every morning a strange cow would join his animals. She was so smooth and beautiful that she seemed to glitter and shine like gold. Yet every evening, when the shepherd drove the herd home, the mysterious cow would suddenly disappear near the caves.

One evening, the shepherd told his master about the strange animal. The farmer replied, “For that they could surely give you a tip, since you drive their cow out to pasture with yours every day.” The dwarfs, who liked to remain invisibly in the farmer’s house, overheard what he had said.

The following morning, when the shepherd once again drove his herd past the dwarfs’ caves, he found a penny lying in front of one of them. From then on, a penny appeared there every day.

When the farmer heard about this, he said to the shepherd, “If they can do that, surely they can give you breakfast as well.” The next morning, when the shepherd passed the cave again, he found a pancake lying beside the penny. From that day onward, he found a pancake there as well.

Sources

Zaunert, Paul. “Die Zwergenkuh.” In Westfälische Sagen. 1927. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. (sagen.at)
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/nordrhein_westfalen/diezwergenkuh.html

Witch as a Calf

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Witch as a Calf
Category: Cow

The Myth

In the Schöllang area of the Allgäu, a farmer was plagued by misfortune in his barn. His cows would not give milk, no matter how much he fed them, and one misfortune after another seemed to fall upon him. The farmer eventually confided his troubles to a man, who gave him strange advice. He told the farmer to get up at midnight and inspect the barn. A calf, he said, would be loose and running around among the other cattle. If the farmer found it, he should not hesitate to cut off both of its ears and then return to bed.

That night, the farmer went to the barn at midnight. Just as he had been told, he found a calf running freely among the other cattle. The farmer took a carving knife and cut off both of the calf’s ears. Having done what he had been instructed to do, he returned to bed without further investigation.

The following morning, the calf was standing unharmed in its usual place. There was nothing apparently wrong with it. But when the farmer looked around the barn, he noticed an old woman sitting in one of the corners. Her ears had been cut off.

The farmer immediately understood what had happened. He shouted, “There you have it!” and chased the old woman out of the stable. After this, the witchcraft that had plagued the farmer and his cattle ceased. His cows once again gave milk, and the farmer and his cattle were happy once more.

Sources

“Hexe als Kalb.” In Allgäuer Sagen, selected from K. A. Reiser’s Sagen, Gebräuche und Sprichwörter des Allgäus, by Hulda Eggart, no. 248, p. 259. Kempten and Munich, 1914. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/allgaeu/hexe_kalb.html

Pfronten-Öscher Hund

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative names: Öscher Hund, Öscher Pudel
Category: Dog, Cow

The Myth

Long ago, people in Pfronten-Ösch frequently saw a huge phantom dog wandering through the area at night. It became known as the Öscher Hund or Öscher Pudel.

The apparition usually appeared shortly after midnight. It was enormous, about the size of a calf, and its strange appearance made it even more frightening: it was described as being half calf and half dog.

A night watchman who encountered the creature more often than most once found himself being followed by it. The apparition approached him accompanied by the terrifying rattling of chains. Eventually it came so close that he was able to see it clearly.

The creature was divided in color, being half fox-colored and half black. Its eyes were enormous and fiery, said to be as large as the full moon, making it a horrifying sight.

When the night watchman reached the Bärenwirt, however, the Pudel suddenly disappeared. Instead, he heard a terrible crashing noise, as though all the houses of Ösch were collapsing at once.

The Öscher Hund could also be seen by people who did not normally believe in ghosts. Yet it was not visible to everyone. According to the legend, only people born under a particular sign were capable of seeing the apparition.

One Christmas Eve, for example, the creature approached two travelers walking along the road and accompanied them for a considerable distance. One of the men could see the phantom clearly, while his companion could see nothing at all.

Sources

“Der Pfronten-Öscher Hund.” In Hulda Eggart, ed., Allgäuer Sagen, selected from K. A. Reiser’s Sagen, Gebräuche und Sprichwörter des Allgäus, no. 194, pp. 198–199. Kempten and Munich, 1914. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/allgaeu/hund.html

Ochsenkopf

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative names: Ochsenkopf
Category: Cow

The Myth

At the Brümmerhof, a historic farmstead dating from 1644 and now located on the grounds of the Agricultural Museum in Hösseringen, an ox head hangs in the gable.

According to the local legend, the ox head has an important protective function. If it were ever removed or disappeared, the farm’s livestock would begin to die one after another.

The deaths would occur in a particular order. The largest animals would die first, beginning with the horses. The deaths would then progress through the livestock until finally reaching the smallest animals, with the chickens dying last.

The legend therefore presents the ox head as a supernatural guardian of the farm’s animals. Its continued presence ensures their survival, while its disappearance would herald the destruction of the entire livestock.

Sources

Bengen, Etta, comp. “Der Ochsenkopf.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Deutschland, Niedersachsen. Source: Will-Erich Peukert, Niedersächsische Sagen I (Göttingen, 1964), p. 4. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/niedersachsen/bengen/ochsenkopf.html