Tradition / Region: German Mythology
Alternate Names: The Calf Spirit; The Bleating Steward; The Hoofprint Ghost
Category: Cow, Ghost
The Myth
In the free village of Sufferloh, the people once lived under the protection of Tegernsee Abbey. Each year, out of their own goodwill, they brought a calf to the prelate as a sign of respect. The offering was freely given and caused no resentment among the farmers.
But in time a new monastery steward was appointed. When another year passed, he declared that the gift would no longer be voluntary. From then on, he demanded the first-born calf from the farmers as a fixed obligation. The people obeyed, but bitterness settled in their hearts.
After the steward died, strange happenings began in the monastery passage. At night, a loud bleating echoed through the corridors — the unmistakable cry of a calf. The sound returned again and again, filling the monks with dread.
Not long after, a calf’s hoofprint appeared in the stone floor of the passage. No matter what was done, the mark would not vanish. Even when the tiles were removed, the imprint could still be seen beneath them.
The monks finally sealed the passage in hopes of ending the disturbance. Yet the bleating continued night after night, and peace did not return until the monastery itself was dissolved.
People later said the spirit of the unjust steward had been condemned to wander, crying forever like the calf he once demanded without mercy. Some claimed the ghost was driven first to the Ringspitze, and later, by order of the Pope, to roam the Unnütz mountain with other restless spirits, doomed to bleat through the darkness for all time.
Gallery
Sources
SAGEN.at contributors. (n.d.). Kalbplärrer. In SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Deutschland: Bayern–Isarwinkel, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/deutschland/bayern/isarwinkel/kalbplaerrer.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