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The Lady in White Haunting Ebersberg Forest

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Said to haunt the area around The Hubertus Chapel in the vast Ebersberg Forest in Bavaria, Germany, the Lady in White is seeking revenge for those refusing her a ride. But is she truly the only thing haunting this old and mystic forest?

Between the trees stretching for miles and miles in Bavaria, Germany, an alleged apparition in the Ebersberg forest. The story says that if the white lady appears to lonely travelers in the forest, something bad is going to happen. Usually a fatal accident if you don’t stop for this vanishing hitchhiker. .

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

The Hubertus Chapel in Ebersberg Forest is situated on a very sharp bend where there have been many traffic accidents in the past before they mended the bend on the road. Skeptics will say this is probably the background to this urban legend. However, others will defend the legend, claiming something strange was going on in the forest, long before the Lady in White appeared. 

Ebersberg: in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Ebersberger Forst  is one of Germany’s largest continuous areas of woodlands. Ebersberg’s history is closely tied with the nearby Benedictine monastery founded in 934 and since then, a lot of legends and mysteries have remained unsolved within the darkness between the trees.

The Lady in White of Ebersberg Forest

The bend around the chapel has been defused, and the road widened since the legend emerged. The whole B2R in the forest is still a place for common accidents and still people blame them on the Lady in White’s wrath. . 

The Hubertus Chapel: in the center of the Ebersberg Forest is a wayside chapel on State Road 2080 between Ebersberg and Schwaberwegen, at the junction with Scheibenweg. The chapel is dedicated to Saint Hubertus, the patron saint of hunters and marksmen. The oldest document of its existence is a map from 1783. The current building was erected in 1859. This is the place where the urban legend of the Lady in White is set. // Image: J. Patrick Fischer

According to the legend, the chapel is haunted by a woman who died in a car accident at this spot in the 1940s. Some say that she died in the forest after her car broke down. She tried to hitchhike out, but only one guy passed and left her, which is why she froze to death and now seeks revenge.

Some say that it was a hit and run. She died there in the roadside ditch close to the chapel, abandoned by her murderer, and has found no peace since. In another version, the woman’s two children also died in the accident.

The story of the woman in white goes that she will be hitchhiking on the side of the road, but she will only appear if you are a male driving alone on this road at around midnight. If you take her with you, she will sit in the back seat for a while and then vanish. 

Read More: The Vanishing Hitchhiker as well as The White Lady of Köhlholz Forest

If you don’t take her with you, she will appear on the passenger seat and grab onto your steering wheel to cause an accident. 

The Truth Behind the Urban Legend

But did such a death actually occur along these roads? It is most often said that the accident happened in the 1940s, but the documentation of it comes from the 1970s. 

There is no record of an accident like the one described in the origin story of the White Lady. Up until the 1980s, there were frequent accidents on the state highway near the chapel. In 1985, a car struck the chapel. After that, the road alignment was slightly altered and the curve was straightened, which reduced the number of accidents on the road.

Still, the legend lives on and people have claimed to have encountered the ghostly lady. Once, it is said that even the police tried to arrest the ghost at the chapel. What is also reported on is several people being arrested for dressing up and impersonating the ghost around the chapel. 

The legend of the White Lady at the Hubertus Chapel is also the basis of the Ebersberg horror film series, which consists of two seasons of four episodes each.

The Irrlichter Lights of Ebersberg Forest

But what about the other things said to lurk within the Ebersberg forest? There are the so called “irrlichter” of the ebersberg forest that have spun a lot of legends. 

Irrlichter: This is the German name for will-o’-the-wisp or the Ignis fatuus, the ghostly light sometimes seen at night over bogs and swamps. In folklore and superstition , will-o’-the-wisps are predominantly considered to have an ominous or malevolent nature, but it seems that the lights of the Ebersberg forest have kinder intentions.

The story goes that some guy got lost in the woods and couldn’t find out. After wandering for a while he saw a light shine for a second in the distance. It kept appearing and he decided to follow it, despite most stories like this, leading people out in bogs, or to darker parts of the forest where they never emerge from.  After following it, he found himself on the side of a road with the dark trees behind him. These lights can still be seen today, guiding lost people out of the woods.

The Ghostly Boar of the Forest: Another strange legend is about the Satanic Boar haunting the forest. Count Sieghart von Sempt hunted a huge boar here in the 9th century. When he finally got it within range of his lance, it suddenly vanished as if by magic. A hermit told the count: “The boar is Satan. Build a church and a castle to protect it, and the spell will be broken. After gifting it to the monks, the first provost received the skull of Saint Sebastian, the plague saint, from Pope Stephen VIII during a journey to Rome, and it was placed in the church. The ritual of the flourishing pilgrimage consisted of pilgrims drinking consecrated wine from the skull. This bizarre ritual continued until 1923.

For ages, even before the legend of the Lady in White emerged, it was a test of courage for the local children to go into the forest at night and look for the will-o’-the-wisps. Was it the honey fungus mushroom that gave off a glow of fluorescently light at night, or is it actually something else inside of the Ebersberg Forest? 

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  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
    Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bares a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial.
  • The One-Legged Jungle Ghost Kong Koi of Thai Folklore
    In the thick and dark jungle in the mountainous regions in Thailand, it is said something ghostly lingers. The Kong Koi ghost is said to be thirsty for travellers’ blood. But what exactly lurks behind the trees?
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    Through the city gates in Munich on dark evenings, people have long talked about being chased by a ghost around the Maxtor gate and the surrounding square, only described as a fat and pale man.
  • The White Lady of Köhlholz Forest
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  • Soucouyant: The Skin-Shedding Vampire of the Caribbean
    As one of the shapeshifting vampiric witches of the Caribbean, the Soucouyant has been the nightmare for generations and the fear lurking in the dark.

References:

Ebersberg – Wikipedia

Hubertuskapelle (Ebersberger Forst) – Wikipedia

Spuk am Gotteshaus – Ebersberg – SZ.de

Die weiße Frau vom Ebersberger Forst: Heimatforscher lüftet das Geheimnis

Gruselalarm im Ebersberger Forst: Weiße Frau schleicht durch den Wald – FOCUS online 

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The Plague Dance and the Dragon who Brought it to Munich

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Once, a plague ridden Lindworm was said to crawl out from the darkness, and attack the people of Munich. After defeating the dragon, and ridding themselves of the plague, a ceremonial dance has been danced through the city for over 500 years. 

When the Black Plague hit Munich in 1349, almost half the population of the city fell victim to it. Some historians claim that the Black Death struck Munich up to 25 times between the mid-14th and late 17th centuries – a period of approximately 350 years. During these years, many legends and tales about what caused it spread.

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

Right by the church at the north site of Marienplatz, the New Town Hall still bears the images of the legend of the dragon. This dragon was once said to have brought the plague to Munich with its poisonous breath. 

The New Town Hall: Neues Rathaus is a town hall that forms the northern part of Marienplatz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It hosts the city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and a small portion of the administration. In 1874 the municipality left the Old Town Hall for its new place.

The Wurmeck Corner of New Town Hall

At the western corner of the New Town Hall, a large dragon climbs the neo-Gothic tower called the Wurmeck Tower, first completed in 1906. The three stone reliefs above the fearsome dragon tell the legend. According to this legend, a lindworm crawled out of the earth in the city center, possibly even at this corner of the former marketplace, and spread the plague.

The Lindworm: The Lindworm is a snake- or dragon-like mythical creature in German folklore. The lindworm is usually bipedal, but four or more legs are also possible. It resembles a dragon and is sometimes referred to as a subspecies. It has no wings or only short ones and is mentioned primarily in old Germanic sagas.

In the central panel, the lindworm, or dragon ascends while a citizen falls to the ground, struck by the animal’s poisonous breath, while women and children flee to the sides. On the left, mercenaries and citizens prepare for battle against the dragon, loading a cannon.

The Basilisk: One of the four putti on the Marian column erected in 1638 in Munich’s Marienplatz also commemorates the fight against the plague. The basilisk, a mythical creature, symbolizes the deadly disease. a plague epidemic occurred in Munich around 1635, killing approximately one-third of the population – roughly 7,000 of Munich’s 22,000 inhabitants. // Image

After the Lindworm landed in the market square, courageous Munich residents shot him down with a cannon. Even after the dragon was defeated, no citizen dared venture onto the streets again except one. 

Plague Sites Around in Munich: The cross at Franz-Prüller-Straße 12 is probably a so-called plague cross. These were used during plague epidemics to mark houses where all the inhabitants had succumbed to the disease. The cross in the Au district are often said to date back to the plague epidemic that lasted from 1517 to 1519. // Image

Another version of the Lindworm Legend of Munich goes like this: 

In the year 1463, a plague-riding lindworm flew in from the Schwabing Gate and settled at the corner of the marketplace. Great terror ensued, and no one knew what to do until the mighty Duke Christoph came galloping down from Grünwald Castle and slew the dreadful creature. This and more of folklore could be found in a 1921 book called:  “The Adventures of Duke Christoph.”

The Lively Coopers and their Plague Dance

The coopers are also depicted on the tower. Because the coopers lived and worked in the outer districts of the city due to the unpleasant smell of pitching the barrels, and because they inhaled the essential oils released when pouring the pitch into the barrels, they were better protected than many others. 

The coopers were left without work when no one dared to go outside after the plague subsided. One of them, whom tradition calls “Master Martin,” said to himself, “Someone has to make a start,” and resolved “to revive the old coopers’ guild dance and lure people out of their houses.

They were the first to dance through the streets after the Black Death had ravaged the city, to lure people back outside. This dance was called The Schäffler dance and still to this day, the dance performs is about fighting fear and overcoming the plague. 

The Schäffler Dance: This is a guild dance of the coopers (barrel makers), who dance prescribed figures to music. It originated in Munich and The Munich Schäffler dance was first documented in 1702. From 1830 onwards, the custom spread beyond Munich through traveling journeyman coopers and is now common in many places in Old Bavaria and Bavarian Swabia. It only performs every 7 years, and the next one would be in 2033. Besides an alleged recurrence of the plague every seven years, the lucky number “7”, and an order from Duke William IV, a schedule of guilds for their customs is also among the possible reasons for the cycle.

There is a legend that claims the dance was first performed in Munich in 1517 during a plague epidemic. It is doubted that there was even a plague epidemic in Munich in 1517, as the death registers for that year do not show any unusually high death rates.

The Dancers: Originally, only unmarried journeyman coopers with impeccable character were allowed to participate in the Schäffler dance; master coopers and their sons were not permitted. Besides the dancers, there are lead dancers, barrel bangers, jesters, and hoop swingers. Apart from the jesters, who wear colorful costumes , everyone is dressed in the cooper’s costume with black shoes, white knee socks, black breeches, a leather apron, a red jacket, and a green cap with a white feather plume.

The legend is attributed to the house name Wurmeck, which refers to the medieval burgher house at Marienplatz 3, located on the same site, that was demolished to make way for the town hall. A list of corner house names from 1725 mentions that a lindworm was attached to the corner house; a relief of Saint George slaying the dragon is documented from a later period.

Or just maybe, it all started with a murderous dragon coming to town, trying to spread the plague in Munich. 

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References:

Schäfflertanz – Wikipedia 

Pest in München: pomki.de Website 2024

Lindwurm – Wikipedia

Wurmeck – Wikipedia

Der historische Schäfflertanz in München: Bilder und Videos

Ursprung des Tanzes – Schäfflertanz Murnau

Sagen & Geschichten – Eintrag bearbeiten

Die Abenteuer Herzog Christophs von Bayern genannt der Kämpfer – Franz Trautmann

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The Plague Visits Munich at Alter Peter Church

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Fantastical legends foretelling the Black Plague exist throughout Europe that would leave whole cities without any living. In Munich, Germany, a legend talks about a mysterious black hooded figure at the cemetery of St. Peter’s church being the omen of death. 

When the Black Plague hit Munich in 1349, almost half the population of the city fell victim to it. Some historians claim that the Black Death struck Munich up to 25 times between the mid-14th and late 17th centuries – a period of approximately 350 years. During these years, many legends and tales about what caused it spread.

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

One of these legends goes, one evening in 1349, a maid was on her way to her employer’s house on Kaufinger Street, one of the oldest streets in Munich. Today it’s one of the most important high end shopping streets in Munich, but back then, there was no street lighting or paved roads yet, only a narrow path of red bricks for pedestrians along the frontages of the houses. As it was already getting dark, she took a shortcut through the cemetery at Old Peter’s Church.”

St. Peter’s Church: St. Peter’s Church , also known as Peterskirche , is the oldest parish church in Munich . The earliest structure likely dates back to the 12th century, while the Gothic building was consecrated in 1294. Its 91-meter-high tower, popularly called “Old Peter ,” is one of the city’s landmarks. In the 15th century (1487), St. Peter’s also had its own cemetery (“gotzacker”). During the Second World War, the church was so badly damaged that only the stump of the tower and remnants of the choir remained.

As she ran through the graves, she suddenly noticed, in the glow of a small light, a black, ragged figure sitting on a grave. Seized by sudden terror, she ran on, but when she turned around, she saw the figure floating toward her. She hurried on, hearing bony fingers tapping in rhythm. Finally, she reached the merchants’ house, slammed the door shut, and locked it behind her. But there, sitting on the step before her, the black man grinned at her with a pale face: “I am the Black Death.” 

Black Death in Munich: Munich experienced six waves of the plague epidemic from 1349 to 1634. In 1349, the mob spread the false story that the Jews had poisoned the wells and thus caused the plague. “the Jews were burned, slaughtered, dismembered, and otherwise butchered and killed as a result of wicked slander.” Munich merchants maintained good relations with Italian trading cities, especially Venice, as early as the 14th century, making it quite possible that the plague pathogen entered the city via this route.

Soon after, a Munich man was found dead. His body was bruised and misshapen. Following a vague premonition, he was taken to the doctor and he declared the plague had come to the city. A week later, all the inhabitants of the house the maid had run into had died of the plague, which spread from there throughout the entire city. 

The Old Peter Spire: The spire, for example, is slightly twisted. “The story goes that the devil once stormed into the church. The brave watchman beat him with a wooden cross until he was able to drive him away – the building itself probably suffered some damage in the process.” “The devil’s kick is said to have bent the cross.” In reality, under Ludwig II, the cross was turned to prevent the strong westerly winds from bending it further.

In 1349 alone, almost 5,000 Munich residents, half the city’s population, died of the Black Death,  often within just a few days. It is estimated that one in ten inhabitants of what is now Germany died during this pandemic.

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    As one of the shapeshifting vampiric witches of the Caribbean, the Soucouyant has been the nightmare for generations and the fear lurking in the dark.

References:

Münchner Mythen: Besondere Geschichten zu bekannten Sehenswürdigkeiten – Ein Überblick 

Kaufingerstraße – Wikipedia 

Serie: Münchner Geheimnisse: Erinnerung an den Schwarzen Tod

Schauriges München: Grusel-Tour durch die Altstadt

München und die ersten Pestjahre

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/pest-mittelalter-geschichte-1.4250084

Pest, Pocken, Cholera: München und seine Seuchen

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Ghostly Kittens at Radlsteg in Munich

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After being drowned in the river by Radlsteg in Munich, it is said that the ghosts of the discarded cats are still roaming and following passerby’s. 

The Radlsteg in Munich was a footbridge leading over the Katzenbach with a turnstile and a city gate. The name of the bridge derives from the fact that crossing the stream was blocked for all types of vehicles by a turnstile – colloquially known as a “Radl” (Bavarian for “little wheel”). The name of the river Katzenbach means Cat stream and is possibly named after a cruel custom. 

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

The Einschüttbach was one of the two branches of the Katzenbach, which flowed behind the high bridge through Hochbrückenstraße. In 1731, bathhouses operated there, but the bridge was first mentioned in the 1500s. Alternatively, the name may derive from several mill wheels (“Radln”) that were built along the stream. 

The Radlsteg around 1880. Fresco by Hans Wißmeyer (1993) on the house wall in the Radlsteg in Munich.

The Legend of the Drowned Cats

According to the legend, the river is named after all the cats that ended their lives there. It was said that all the unwanted kittens, especially black ones, were drowned in it. Some say they are still roaming the nearby streets and alleyways. 

former Radlbad (today a residential and commercial building) with a picture showing the formerly unbuilt Pfisterbach. // Source: Wikimedia

In 1872, the Einschütt was covered and paved, the Katzenbach was also deepened and vaulted, the high bridge was demolished, and the street was leveled. 

Even today, it is said that girls and young women are often accompanied by kittens when they walk through the alley. Curiously,  it is said that the kittens vanish without a trace as soon as you try to pet them. They are said to only accompany ladies, following them towards the town center. Precisely in the direction the stream still flows underground.

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  • The Plague Dance and the Dragon who Brought it to Munich
    Once, a plague ridden Lindworm was said to crawl out from the darkness, and attack the people of Munich. After defeating the dragon, and ridding themselves of the plague, a ceremonial dance has been danced through the city for over 500 years.
  • The Plague Visits Munich at Alter Peter Church
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    From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers.
  • Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich
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  • The White Lady of Köhlholz Forest
    In a forest near Kemoding in Germany, the pregnant Anna Schwarzenberger was murdered. Since then, people have spoken of the White Lady of Köhlholz, who finds no peace. A cross now stands as a reminder of this event.
  • Soucouyant: The Skin-Shedding Vampire of the Caribbean
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References:

Radlsteg – Wikipedia 

Radlsteg in München – Geschichte, Stadtbezirk Altstadt-Lehel, Sehenswürdigkeiten 

 Das sind Münchens gruseligste Ecken 

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The Lady in Black at the Munich Residenz and the Wittelsbach Curse

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Before their deaths, members of the royal Wittelsbach family claimed to have seen the mystical Lady in Black appearing to them. Although the woman behind the black clothing is a mystery, her message has been clear: in the soon future, you will die.

A black-clad and veiled ghost is said to glide through the walls of the Munich Residenz, the former city palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty between Odeonsplatz and the English Garden. Like a curse, she haunts the Bavarian noble family and whenever she is seen, a family member dies shortly afterward. This curse has remained unbroken for centuries.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Germany

From 1508 to 1918, Munich Residenz was the residence of the Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria from the House of Wittelsbach. The complex was destroyed in World War II and subsequently rebuilt and this is her haunting ground.

The House of Wittelsbach: One of the oldest German noble families. It is named after its ancestral seat in the 12th century, Wittelsbach Castle. Most of the numerous Wittelsbach lines are now extinct. The family members living today belong to the Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld line.

It’s unsure how long the legend of the Lady in Black has existed. Electress Maria Anna (* 1728; † 1797), wife of Elector Max III Joseph, wrote: “In our family it is said that she haunts the residence as the ‘Black Lady’ and announces deaths in the House of Wittelsbach.”

The Antiquarium in the Residenz in Munich, Germany, where the ghost of a lady in black is said to haunt.

Sigthing in 1864

On Shrove Tuesday 1864, at a costume ball celebrating the centenary of the Residenztheater in the Munich Residenz, an unknown woman in a black gown and mourning veil was seen floating through a door at the edge of the party. Shortly afterward, King Maximilian II pricked himself with a tie pin, contracting blood poisoning from which he died soon after.

Maximilian II of Bavaria: (1811-1864 in Munich) of the House of Wittelsbach was King of Bavaria from 1848 to 1864. He was married to Marie Friederike of Prussia , with whom he had two sons, the later Bavarian kings Ludwig II and Otto I. Despite setbacks such as the Palatinate Revolt, Maximilian’s reign saw a cautious liberalization, and ministerial responsibility was introduced. The king is particularly remembered as a patron of the arts, sciences, and folk culture; the Maximilian style is also named after him.

The king suffered from headaches throughout his life; a bout of typhoid fever in 1835 had severely weakened him. As late as the autumn of 1863, he traveled again to Italy and southern France [ 17 ] to seek relief before the crisis in Schleswig-Holstein called him back. Maximilian died in March 1864 after a severe illness lasting only three days. Physicians explained it as a rapidly spreading erysipelas infection of the chest

Sighting in 1886

Ludwig I is therefore considered the last sovereign monarch to rule Bavaria. During the revolutions of 1848, he faced increasing protests and demonstrations by students and the middle classes, following his affair with the dancer Lola Montez. He abdicated his throne to his son that year.

Ludwig lived as a private citizen for 20 years after his abdication and continued to support the arts with his own funds. His relationship with his successor was not without tension, especially since Ludwig did not completely abandon his building program.

In 1868, his father, King Ludwig I, also encountered a ghostly woman dressed in black and grey in the royal private apartments.

Ludwig I died on February 29, 1868, at the age of 81 in Nice, in a villa he had rented for the winter. He had been struggling with physical ailments, though he hadn’t altered his daily routine. His feet and lower legs were swollen, causing him difficulty breathing and restless nights. Two leg operations brought him some relief, but his condition was becoming increasingly serious. His two surviving sons, Luitpold and Adalbert, were summoned by telegram to Nice, where he received the Last Rites and died shortly afterward.

Sigtings in 1886

The mysterious death of King Ludwig II in 1886 in Lake Starnberg is also linked to the Black Lady’s appearance. On the night of June 12th to 13th, 1886, the day on which King Ludwig II died under unexplained circumstances in Lake Starnberg, the Black Woman allegedly appeared to some chambermaids.

Ludwig II Otto Friedrich Wilhelm of Bavaria: (1845-1886) Ludwig II left his mark on Bavarian history as a passionate builder of castles, most notably Neuschwanstein , Herrenchiemsee, and Linderhof ; he is also known as the Fairy Tale King. After his deposition on 9 June 1886, his uncle Luitpold took over the government of the Kingdom of Bavaria as Prince Regent, since Ludwig’s younger brother Otto was incapacitated due to mental illness .

The unexpected death of his father left Ludwig, who was just beginning his university studies, completely unprepared for his new role. Ludwig spent all his own private royal revenues (although not state funds as is commonly thought) on building projects, borrowed extensively, and defied all attempts by his ministers to restrain him. This extravagance was used against him to declare him insane, a determination that is now questioned. Ludwig was taken into custody and effectively deposed on 12 June 1886; he and his doctor were found dead the following day. His death was ruled to be a suicide, a conclusion that is also now questioned.

Sightings Between 1958-1960s

Between 1958 and the early 1960s, Detlef Willand, a woodcarver and restorer, worked on the reconstruction of the Munich Residenz and stayed there with several other craftsmen during the construction period. He, too, had seen the Black Woman walking through the Residenz at night and swears up and down that she vanished like a ghost when he went looking for her as he documented in his book: “The Black Woman in the Munich Residenz.“

Other restorers confirmed similar encounters, and a guard at the Residenz reported that at 12:30 a.m., during his rounds on the Stone Staircase, he had seen a woman dressed in black and spoken to her. The woman, in a strange black gown, did not respond and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor. 

Sighting in 1969

Even long after the Bavarian kings had stepped down from their thrones, the Lady in Black has been said to have made her appearances before imminent death in the family. In 1969, it is said she appeared to Prince Adalbert of Bavaria in a dream; shortly afterward, his son died in a plane crash.

Konstantin Prinz von Bayern died on 30 July 1969 in a plane crash near Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg. The private plane crashed into Mount Raichberg when they encountered deteriorating weather that included low visibility and clouds enveloping the terrain.

Sighting in 2014

The Residenz ghost was sighted again on April 23, 2014. This time, however, it didn’t appear to the king, ladies-in-waiting, or craftsmen, but crossed paths with Margot Ilgner, a new museum employee assigned to supervise the three northernmost of the six stone rooms. Ms. Ilgner reported that, about seven to eight meters away from her, when no visitors were present, a figure in a black, floor-length robe looked to be floating in the Room of the World. In her eyes though, the figure looked to be the size of an 11 year old girl. Her immediate search for the strange visitor proved fruitless. Other employees have also told a variant of a ghost roaming the castle accompanied by a pudel. 

The Woman in White Wearing Black

Although the ghost of the woman is said to be clad in black, her presence and pattern of haunting is much reticent of the legend of the Woman in White, or the Weiße Frau from European mythology, said to haunt different noble families. These legends and ghosts are especially common around German noble families. 

The oldest accounts of the apparition date back to the 15th century, while belief in the spirit reached its peak in the 17th century. Although similarities exist to other female spirits in European folklore, the White Lady is a phenomenon that originated in and was typical of the aristocratic culture of the Early Modern period.

Most often, her presence acts like an omen of death. Sometimes it is said to have been a woman who cursed the family, but not always. 

The Whining Woman: In Germany they also have a type of haunting known as Winselmutter, or the Whining Mother. is a legendary figure that appears in various regions of Germany, for example in the Ore Mountains, in Vogtland and in East Thuringia. She is usually described as an elderly woman who finds no peace. In the stories, she appears as a white figure or a walking light. The creature dwells in eerie places or in the homes of the seriously ill and makes plaintive sounds. An encounter with a wailing mother is always considered a bad omen of death.

The Woman Behind the Ghost

But who is the woman behind the ghost? There has been speculation that it might be Electress Maria Anna (1728–1797), the wife of Elector Max III Joseph. She was said to have loved her husband deeply and passionately, though it is said that he was more inclined toward the company of men. This is the woman often put forth, but as she already is credited with writing of a ghostly woman haunting the family, could it be someone from even earlier?

Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony (Maria Anna Sophia Sabina Angela Franciska Xaveria; 29 August 1728 – 17 February 1797)

Alternatively, it could be Electress Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (1636–1676). Henriette Adelaide, a French woman was cultured and made significant contributions to the arts. But her whole life changed when the Wittelsbach seat burned down in 1674. It remains uncertain who caused the fire through carelessness—whether it was the Electress herself or one of her ladies-in-waiting. Henriette Adelaide reportedly managed to save her children while clad only in her nightgown. She never recovered from the aftermath of the fire and died in 1676. 

Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (6 November 1636 – 13 June 1676)

Or what about another Maria Anna of Bavaria? Maria Anna of Austria 1610- 1665 was an Archduchess of Austria and by marriage Electress of Bavaria. Maria Anna, who had a particular fondness for hunting, was raised strictly Catholic by Jesuits and was considered a great beauty, and was credited with qualities such as intelligence, orderly conduct, and temperance. Maria Anna, at the age of 25, married her much older uncle, Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria (1573–1651), who was 62. Maximilian’s marriage to Maria Anna was not only linked to the hope of the birth of an heir apparent, but also a political demonstration of his alliance with the imperial house against France. Despite the significant age difference, the marriage was very happy, and Maximilian lovingly cared for his wife. Her whole life she engaged in politics and the state of affairs. 

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (German: Maria Anna von Habsburg, Erzherzogin von Österreich, also known as Maria Anna von Bayern or Maria-Anna, Kurfürstin von Bayern; 13 January 1610 – 25 September 1665)

She died in Munich aged 55 and was buried at St. Michael’s Church, while her heart was deposited in the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting. 

The nature of the lady in black and her purpose for showing herself, is a little bit unclear. Is it a family curse, much like the lady plaguing the Hoenzollern family? Or is she perhaps more like a death omen, guarding over her family, like an Angel of Death?

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References:

https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/27294/1/W816_5641.pdf

Münchner Stadtlegenden * Die Schwarze Frau der Residenz * Munichkindl

Münchner Residenz – Wikipedia

Winselmutter – Wikipedia

Weiße Frau – Wikipedia 

Wittelsbach – Wikipedia

SZ-Serie: Sagen und Mythen, Folge 14 – Schleierhafte Erscheinung – Landkreis München

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The Walled Up Man’s Echoes at Sendlinger Tor

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From within the old city gate, Sendlinger Tor in Munich, it is said that the voice of the ghost is haunting its remains. If you listen carefully, it is said the laments of the man walled up inside of the gate lingers. 

As part of the old city wall around Munich, The Sendlinger Tor (translated: Sendling Gate) is a city gate at the southern extremity of the historic old town area of Munich. It served as a fortification for defence and is one of Munich’s three remaining gothic town gates. Separating the old city from the Isar suburb, it lies at the southern end of Sendlinger Strasse. 

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In addition to being a remnant of a medieval city, it is also said to be still housing a medieval ghost of a man that could perhaps still be inside the city walls.

Sendlinger Tor: It is first mentioned in 1319, but likely existed earlier. The gate and defensive structure, originally consisting only of the central tower characteristic of Munich’s city gates, was  expanded around 1420 with the addition of two flanking towers, necessitated by the completion of the outer city wall. In 1318, the Sendlinger Gate was also first documented as the starting point for the route to Italy .

The Walled up Thief of Munich

In medieval times, absolute quiet reigned in Munich. No citizen was allowed to be outside after nightfall. This must have been in the early 1300s or onwards, when the second city wall which Sendlinger Tor was one of the four town gates was built. 

At that time, a wealthy patrician lived in the city. A money-grubbing man, he tirelessly plotted how he could increase his wealth even further. 

Access to the Sendlinger Tor via a footbridge, perhaps around 1775?

A band of robbers, eager to enter the city, discovered that this morally unstable man was a member of the city council. They bought him for an exorbitant amount of gold coins: he was to steal the key to the Sendlinger Gate and hand it over to the robbers, so that they could enter the city and rob the citizens.

So he stole the key to the Sendlinger Gate to join forces with a wicked fellow. The thief could enter the city at night and rob the citizens. He would then share the loot with the patrician. But the rich man was seen meeting with the bandit and reported to the magistrates. As punishment for his depravity, he was walled up alive in the Sendlinger Gate, the so-called Faust Tower. 

The Faust Tower: The Faust Tower between Sendlinger Tor and Heyturm was unique ; it stood on the inside of the wall as a small round tower with a stone conical roof, resting on a column. The date of construction of the small tower is unknown. It can already be seen on Jakob Sandtner’s model of Munich, but it is not mentioned by name until the 19th century.

The name Fausttürmchen (Little Fist Tower) derives from the finial that adorned the top of the conical roof. After severe weathering, its shape resembled a raised, clenched fist in the 19th century. It had a stone on top that looked like a fist. 

However, there is also a legend that the fist was intentionally placed there as a warning after the treacherous townsman was walled up alive. This stone glowed brightly between midnight and 1 a.m. whenever the executioner had put an innocent person to death. 

Even today, one can hear the patrician’s wailing and lamenting at night from the south tower of the Sendlinger Gate.” It is said that even today, if you press your ear against the stone wall at the Sendlinger Tor, you can still hear the traitor’s lamentations.

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Gruselgeschichten aus München: An diesen 14 Orten soll es spuken 

Das Gespenst vom Alten Peter bringt die Pest | Abendzeitung München 

Fausttürmchen – Wikipedia 

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Theresia Kaiser The Last Witch of Munich

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Known as the last witch of Munich, Theresia Kaiser was condemned to death in 1701. Still, her legend and what happened to her accuser bears a haunted mystery of what really happened to this young teenager at trial. 

The last woman accused of witchcraft and sorcery in Munich was Maria Theresia Kaiser, the daughter of a sergeant, born in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, and only 17 years old. She was executed and burned in 1701. There is a case report about another one in 1721, but this has not been proven. Therefore, Theresia Kaise was known as the last woman accused, tried and executed for witchcraft in Munich. 

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

Where Falkenturmstrasse meets Maximilianstrasse, the Falkenturm (Falcon Tower) once stood. Also known as the “Witches’ Tower,” it served as a prison from the 16th century until its demolition in 1863. This is where she was imprisoned and is also rumoured to haunt. 

Falkenturm, wall tower of the outer city wall of Munich from 1840.

Theresia Kaiser is Imprisoned

Where today there are plenty of luxury clothing stores, the shadows of the Falcon Tower once loomed, opposite the National Theatre. There is still the street Falkenturmstraße named after it. A lot of prisoners came and left in this tower, and witches were supposedly imprisoned and tortured here as well. . 

One of the last victims of the witch hunt in Munich was Theresia Kaiser, a 17 year old girl. Her being accused of being a witch are said to have come after a high ranking court official is said to have denounced her when she was working as a maid of the Electorate. She was apparently rejecting his advances and he called her a devilish woman. 

The Witch Tower: Witch tower or Witches’ Tower (German: Hexenturm) is a common name or description in English and other European languages for a tower that was part of a medieval town wall or castle, often used as a prison or dungeon. The name is derived from the period of witch trials. Many of these towers were used to incarcerate those suspected or found guilty of witchcraft.

There were actually two towers by the second city wall they stood on. The falcon tower between Alter Hof and Neuveste, in which falconry equipment was temporarily stored and which later served as a prison. The witch tower was a neighboring tower of the Falcon Tower, which was also used as a prison.

According to her testimony she gave after torture, she was initiated into the secrets of magic by her cousin, Elisabeth, when she was just eleven, and taken by her to the witches’ sabbath on St. Thomas’ Night, a catholic feast day July 3rd. 

The Devil’s Ball

At this infernal ball, according to her account, entire cavalry units of soldiers and many lords and ladies appeared. A handsome cavalier with a large powdered wig approached her and asked her if she would renounce God. Several times she answered: no, But her cousin persisted, so that finally, after repeated questioning, she agreed.

The cavalier produced a large book and ordered her to write her name and age in it with her own blood. With a knife offered to her, she cut her left hand and signed it with her blood. Then there was dancing and people were naked. This gentleman then gave her a thaler, a gold silver coin, and then several more; but when she later wanted to examine them again, she found nothing but leather scraps in her hand. 

The devil had also tempted her to steal and taught her how to open locks with a knife or scissors. Supposedly, she stole thirteen times. The devil had also taught her to poison the Elector’s court chamberlain, Neufinger, and his wife, with whom she served in Munich. But because their children took pity on her, she did not do it, for which the devil tormented and beat her. 

In prison itself, the devil often urged her to murder herself so as not to fall into the hands of the executioner. The devil didn’t tolerate consecrated items on her, and in particular she had to take off her scapular, a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. She was also said to have to remove her Monica belts, something coming from the tale of St. Monica, and it is said she would protect anyone wearing it. 

According to her testimony, she also had committed fornication with the devil several times. She was tried and condemned to death. Apparently required treatment by a competent doctor while in prison before she was executed. 

Her execution happened by the sword in Munich on September 17, 1701, and then her body was burned. 

The Legend of the Ghost of Theresia Kaiser

Even stranger than the testimony she had to give after torture, are the legends of what happened after. On the night before her execution, the devil, in the form of a bat, is said to have flown to her in her dungeon according to her guards. The next morning, she was found unconscious and naked on the floor, without her shirt. Her accuser was found hanged, or in some versions strangled in his house that same day. For reasons unknown, he was wearing the prisoner’s shirt.

The Falcon Tower: At the rear of what is now Maximilianstrasse 8 and its extension, the Witch Tower at the rear of what is now Maximilianstrasse 6, served as a prison from 1500 to 1826. Photo : Theresa Auer, Faculty of Tourism – Munich University of Applied Sciences – Digital Marketing & Management// Source

Today, a bus station at Hackerbrücke stands, where so many accused of witchcraft were once tied to a vertical tree trunk before being burned alive. At the spot where the Witches’ Tower once stood, Theresia can supposedly still be seen today: a translucent female figure, barefoot, with long hair. She covers her face with her hands and stands motionless. Then she vanishes back into nothingness.

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References:

Sagen & Geschichten – Eintrag bearbeiten

https://m.bild.de/regional/muenchen/muenchen-aktuell/muenchen-das-sind-die-gruseligsten-orte-der-stadt-62044822.bildMobile.html?t_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

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The Fat Ghost at Maxtor Gate at Maximilianplatz

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Through the city gates in Munich on dark evenings, people have long talked about being chased by a ghost around the Maxtor gate and the surrounding square, only described as a fat and pale man. 

At the side of Maximilianplatz, stands the Maxtor, the newest city gate in Munich. According to rumours, there is supposedly a ghost roaming the streets, said to chase unfortunate people to their front door. 

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

The Maxtor was built in 1804 and 1805 after the older city walls had been demolished. The gate’s original name was “Prannerstor”. It was only in 1806 that it was renamed Max-Joseph-Tor in honor of King Maximilian I Joseph. From 1809 onwards, it was simply called Maxtor.

A few years earlier, a hospital stood on this site, next to a church and cemetery. But these buildings were demolished, and the Maxtor was erected and the ghost stories began.

The Fat Man Haunting Maxtor

Legend has it that a fat ghost haunts this spot. The story tells that he pursues pedestrians at night, right up to their front doors. Some sources trace the ghost back to a happening when a man encountered the ghost in an autumn evening, following him to his door. The local Munich man tried to fight him off with an umbrella, but the man vanished into thin air. 

Legend has it that the creature is not only a fat man, but also towers two-meter-tall and has a pale haunting face. It’s impossible to shake it off and when the victim thinks they’ve finally gotten rid, it suddenly reappears from a doorway.

Source

The ghost was sighted particularly frequently in the 19th century and onwards. It is said to appear particularly frequently when one passes through one of the small side gates for pedestrians and heads towards the Grotto Fountain found at Maximiliansplatz 18. It has also been seen around the Nornen Fountain on the opposite side of the square.

Source

Who could this ghost be? There are no names or death attached to this ghostly legend, but people have suspected the haunting could be from the old hospital or cemetery that once stood in this place. 

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Ukategorisert

The White Lady of Köhlholz Forest

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In a forest near Kemoding in Germany, the pregnant Anna Schwarzenberger was murdered. Since then, people have spoken of the White Lady of Köhlholz, who finds no peace. A cross now stands as a reminder of this event.

A large wooden cross in the Köhlholz forest, directly on the B 388 near Kemoding, has been erected as a wayward shrine as a reminder of several events: terrible accidents along the dangerous road and a bloody murder that happened in 1831.

Read More: Check out all ghostly legends from Germany

The 2.5-meter-high “Fertlbauernkreuz” (Fertlbauer Cross) was built by initiative of Andreas Faltermaier from Kemoding, as a wayside shrine of the same name had long stood on this spot , but disappeared a few years ago. In the Kemoding area alone, a small hamlet belonging to the municipality of Fraunberg, several very different crosses can be found.

Köhlholz Forest: The forest can be found along the way to Kemoding Village, part of the municipality of Fraunberg, Erding district, Upper Bavaria.The village lies approximately six kilometers southeast of Fraunberg. Image Source

The Murder in Köhlholz Forest

The Köhlholz is one of the largest wooded areas in the district and stretches from Kreuthäusl on the B 388 to Danerberg, just before Ottering. Since the 19th century, the forest has been primarily known for a gruesome murder.

On July 31, 1831, a lover stabbed a young, heavily pregnant woman 14 times there. Because of people still living with the name in the area, his name is often retracted from records. He was an unmarried farmer known as MG from H. She was Anna Schwarzenberger from Lern ​​(Berglern). 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories in haunted forests

On that fateful night, he had tricked his lover into believing he was inviting her to the fair in Dorfen. After stabbing her, he then drowned her in a small pond when she was still alive, even after all of her stab wounds. The murder went undiscovered for almost three weeks until G. turned himself in. 

Anna Schwarzenhuber was eight months pregnant at the time of her death and the newspaper at the time, the Bayerische Landbötin, called the perpetrator a “reject of humanity.” G. was sentenced to death. However, his mother, through an appeal to the king, managed to have the death sentence commuted to life imprisonment in chains. G. presumably died in prison.

The Haunting of the Forest

Since then, the legend has persisted that Anna has never found peace. Since the 19th century, many coachmen have reported seeing the sad, heavily pregnant mother wandering about as a white figure. In the past, farmers used to drive their carts at high speed through the Köhlholz forest. 

Even today, she is occasionally sighted by walkers in the Köhlholz forest. Many people still report that they are overcome by a deep sadness when they drive through the Köhlholz. Driving through the Köhlholz forest, Anna is said to appear and sit in the passenger seat and gaze at you with large, sad eyes. 

Especially at the end of August and beginning of September, a faint crying or sobbing can supposedly be heard. It was during this time of year that Anna’s child was said to have been born.

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References:

An der B 388 bei Kemoding: Ein Kreuz für die weiße Frau vom Köhlholz 

7 wahre urbane Legenden aus München 

Fraunberg: Jedes Kreuz hat seine Geschichte 

Ukategorisert

The Iron Maiden and the Haunted Jungfernturmstraße

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In the ruins of the Jungfernturm in Munich, some say the victims of the mythical torture device is still haunting the street where the tower once stood.

The Jungfernturm, or Maiden Tower on Munich’s old city wall was said to once be the site of feared death sentences and mysterious disappearances. Although the tower itself was torn down, still to this day, people still talk about experiencing strange things while walking through the street of Jungfernturmstraße. 

Read more: Check out all haunted places in Germany 

The Jungfernturm served mainly as a battery tower for the defence of the city, but according to legend, it is said the tower got its name from torture and executions carried out with the Iron Maiden said to be within it.

By Carl August Lebschée (1800–1877)

History of the Maiden Tower

The first city wall around Munich was built as early as the 12th century, but the construction of the defensive tower didn’t begin until 1493. It stood between the second city wall and the inner wall for the protection of its people. As it was a battery tower, it had no windows, only hatches for firing projectiles and it was difficult to say what went on inside of it from the outside. 

It could only be accessed from within the city. With the dismantling of Munich’s fortifications in 1791, it became obsolete as a means of defence and ended up as a storage room for the opera nearby. It remained in its place for over a decade before its demolition finally began in 1804 as a means to modernize and beautify the city.

The Iron Maiden and the Statue of Virgin Mary

Did something else happen within the tower though except for preparing for an attack on the city? According to the legend, death sentences were said to have been handed down in the Maiden’s Tower in secret. 

Most legends claim that the victims were taken to the tower by carriage. Often the legends talk about men in black being the ones taken from them. This is often in connection to the mysterious Guglmänner, a secret and veiled society in Munich, although officially, these were mourners at funeral processions. At night, these men in black robes with pointed hoods would knock on the door and collect the offender in a black carriage, taking him to the Jungfernturm.

The Guglmänner: Originally, they were attendants of a funeral procession. As early as the 14th century, penitents veiled themselves from head to toe, leaving only a peephole for their eyes. Since around the late 1990s, the term has mostly referred to a Bavarian secret society whose members see themselves as guardians of the monarchy and contribute to the perpetuation of the legends surrounding the death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1886. Their motto, referring to the deceased, is Media vita in morte sumus , which translates as: “In the midst of life we ​​are surrounded by death.”

According to legend, there was a statue of the Virgin Mary at the tower, which the condemned man had to kiss before a trapdoor opened beneath him and he fell into a dungeon below, being impaled in the Iron Maiden torture device. 

The iron maiden: this mythical torture device, believed to have been first created in the 19th century. It consists of a solid iron cabinet with a hinged front and spike-covered interior, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. While often popularly thought to have been used in the medieval period, there is no known mention of the iron maiden from before the 19th century. The most famous iron maiden that popularized the design was that of Nuremberg, first displayed possibly as far back as 1802. The original was lost in the Allied bombing of Nuremberg in 1945. The 19th-century iron maidens may have been constructed as a misinterpretation of a medieval Schandmantel, which was made of wood and metal but without spikes.

The Ghost of Captain Franz von Unertl

The popular legend links the mysterious powers of the Iron Maiden to the time of Elector Karl Theodor in the mid 1700s, whose secret committee, headed by the notorious Privy Councilor Lippert, issued banishments and death sentences without a court trial, carrying them out secretly and without fanfare. 

A time of unease in the realm: Between fighting for Bavarian reign, wars and the brewing French Revolution that would affect nobles across Europe, there was much unease and scheming going on in the shadows. Illustration showing Privy Councilor Lippert informs Karl Theodor that the people of Munich are dissatisfied and are resisting his orders.

According to this legend, individuals deemed dangerous to the state due to their revolutionary principles were suddenly arrested, taken to the residence, interrogated and condemned by the secret committee in the dreaded Yellow Room. They were then sent to the Maiden’s Tower to be murdered by the arms of the Iron Maiden.

One such alleged executed person was Captain Franz von Unertl. He was reportedly picked up from an inn by a horse-drawn carriage on the evening of January 6, 1796, after Munich had already dismantled its fortifications, and taken to the tower. The story tells that the Captain met his death by the Iron Maiden at 3:00 a.m. on January 7. 

Franz Xaver Josef Baron von Unertl: (21 February 1675 – 22 January 1750) was a Bavarian politician. Unertl was born in Munich. He served as Electoral Bavarian Privy Council Chancellor and Conference Minister. His role under the Austrian occupation during the Spanish Succession War remains dubious. He died in his home town of Munich.

However, we have no documentary evidence of such mysterious activities during the reign of Elector Karl Theodor. After his death, his successor, Elector Maximilian Joseph, later King, ordered an investigation into the proceedings of the secret committee on March 26, 1799. The thing is, only those dating back to 1796 were found. What happened before that had been destroyed. 

So were there actually secret executions at the Jungfernturm throughout the centuries it stood? Hard to prove, and no Iron Maiden was ever found. However, it is said that the executioner of Munich from this time told that he had once been forced to execute a person unknown to him in the Residence.

The Corpses in the Tower

So what was the truth? With no Iron Maiden found, it’s hard to prove the validity of the legend. However, the remains of people in the tower could point to the fact that more than one person died here. 

General Field Master and Chief Warrant Officer Josef Count von Salern told about a terrible find he encountered working with the costumes for the opera when he was Intendant of the Court Music in 1751. He noticed that a small piece of paving in the first-floor floor was sticking up slightly, making it easy to trip and fall. When they tried to repair it, they discovered a trapdoor leading to a lower room. A few masons lowered themselves into the hole below and found two unattached, almost completely decomposed corpses. 

These bodies with a pile of rags were then removed without further investigation and buried in the churchyard that was located right next door according to the Imperial Police Director Baumgartner. Could this be proof that the tower at least was used as a place of criminal justice? 

From Baumgartners story about the tower: Source

Demolition of the Tower

This tower was demolished and along with it, the proof. What we do have though it the reports from the Royal Police Director Baumgartner who said this: 

“Rumors always circulated among the people that in ancient times a secret court had operated in this tower and perhaps buried some victims there. When the tower was demolished, I, along with the city building director von Schede and the city master mason Ferdinand Zimmermann, examined every nook and cranny. At the top of the first floor, we found an old Gothic door, inside this door a bricked-up thwarted chamber, and at ground level a trapdoor. I descended a ladder with a mason and found myself in a burial chamber, where a kind of resting place had been prepared in a niche. I found no trace of chains or iron rings, but in the vault above the trapdoor itself, I did find an iron hook for a pulley, used to lower or raise things into the depths. There was a musty smell in this recess, and the floor was completely covered with moth husks, which are found on long-buried animals.” dead bodies were found. Some of the bones found inside were from the jaw of a dog.”

From all this, the most probable conclusion is that the Maiden’s Tower, in earlier times before it was used as a decoration storehouse, served as a prison of that barbaric kind.. Such cruel prisons were common in medieval castles, fortresses, and town halls. According to testimonies from people visiting it throughout the years, this would have happened between 1666, when Colonel-Master of Ordnance Baron von Rouyer examined it and found it completely empty, and 1724, when it was designated for the storage of opera decorations.

By Johann Georg von Dillis (1759–1841)

The Haunting of the Tower

Some claim that the screams of its victims who never returned from the tower still echo in the winds. On dark nights, people claim to hear their screams coming from the remains of the tower. 

It is said that on the night of January 6th to 7th, a man in a tailcoat and leather boots can be seen on Jungfernturmstrasse. This is the ghost of Captain Franz von Unertl, said to haunt the area. If it is so that he never went to the tower for his demise, and died in his home, could it be one of the other unfortunate people who fell into the clutches of an Iron Maiden?

The Remains of the Jungfernturm: Image by Moonmausoleum

The Remains of the Tower

The legend of an iron maiden as an execution machine appears in several cities and towns, but not much proof of its existence has ever been found. 

Not much remains of the former defensive tower today. Only a few remnants of the red brick wall on Jungfernturmstrasse still bear witness to its former location. A plaque commemorates it with the inscription: “Here stood the Jungfernturm, built in the year 1493, demolished in the year 1804.” 

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