Tag Archives: folklore

Ukategorisert

Oskorsreia – the Wild Hunt in the North

Leave a comment
Advertisements

The wild hunt is a supernatural ghost ride in the sky during the dark winter days. In Scandinavia this hunt is called Oskorsreia, often a hunt led by Odin himself that could be dangerous for people to get entangled in. 

The sound of rumbling thunder, horses tramping in the pitch black night sky, and the screams of the hunters making their way through the sky is a familiar picture for many Europeans. The idea of the wild hunt that can take you away is a frightening one. Especially in the northern part of the world, where the fear from the hunt was real. 

Loudly through air at night they haste,
An uproar on wild black horses!
As a storm the wild crowds travel by
With nothing but clouds for foothold.
Over the valleys, the woods and meadows –
Through darkness and weather, they never heed.
The traveler throws himself frightened to ground.
Listen… what clamor! It’s the forces of Asgard!
— Åsgårdsreien by Johan Sebastian Welhaven (english translation)

The time of Christmas is a cozy one for most people today. Many of the traditional customs however, have a much darker backstory than many know today. From the evil Krampus in Germany, the horse skull of Mari Lwyd in Wales to the wild hunt of Oskorsreia in the north.

Read more about ghost and hauntings during Christmas time: Ghost Stories of Christmas Hauntings

Especially in the northern part of the world, the idea of Christmas and winter have much more sinister connotations than elsewhere in the world. The days are shorter here, and the nights are much darker with more dangers lurking in the stormy winds, cold and snowy landscapes where the sun only peaks over the mountains a couple of hours each day. Christmas times are around the darkest time of the year and winter solstice has been celebrated and often feared as well as the time where the wild dark forces get unleashed into the world. 

The Wild Hunt in Europe

The idea, the fear and the legends about The Wild Hunt is found in many places in European mythologies. To the Germanic stories about the wild hunt between the Christmas weekend and new years weekend and the phenomenon was popularized when the brothers Grimm brought it up in their writings.

The Wild Hunt: Die Wilde Jagd, a German interpretation of the wild hunt by Johann Cordes from 1856. Almost every part of Europe have their own version of the wild hunt and there are many different historical, mythical or godly persons leading the hunt.

There are a lot of variations of the legends like Oskorsreia and the wild hunt, but mainly, it is the stories about restless spirits riding through the night sky. Often it is historical figures, like King Valdemar stalking a woman in Denmark, Theodoric the Great in Italy.

In Scandinavia they called it Oskorsreia and Wild Hunt was not only connected with the restless spirits in the sky, but also to the Gods and it was told before Christian times, it was believed it was Odin himself that led the hunt, the leader of the Norse Gods. 

Oskorsreia in Scandinavia

The Wild Hunt of Asgard raids the county
Whilst fall and winter at stormy nights.
But it favors to travel at Yuletide…
They feast with trolls and giants;
they closely ride by meadow and path
And pass the fearful nation.
Then, – take care farmer! Keep all in order!
As the wild hunt of Asgard may visit your home!
— Åsgårdsreien by Johan Sebastian Welhaven (english translation)

Oskoreia, or Åsgardsreia as it was later called by the 1800s national romantics as a connotation to Åsgard, where the norse Gods resided, was in Scandinavian lore restless spirits riding in the sky in the night. This happened especially around christmas time, or yule, called Juleskreia. Oskoreia was the older world for it, from a time when even Christmas hadn’t reached the icy tips of Scandinavia. 

Oskorsreia was often in folklore about making sure you were ready with the preparations for Christmas and not being outside when the hunt was on. If you were not prepared and out and about when they came riding, chances were high that you would be carried along with them. 

Julereia: Jul, meaning Yule or Christmas was also a version, sometimes used in stead of the more godly ride we oten connect Oskorsreia with. It was a group of goblins, witches, trolls, elfs and other obscure creatures, travelling around during christmas time in order to cause chaos and havoc.//Picture: Nils Bergslien 1922.

Oskorsreia was supposedly dangerous for humans to get entangled with the hunt, as it would tear at your soul and carry you so far you might not get home. Many sagas tell about people taken from their homestead and are let down in an unfamiliar place. 

To stay safe against the Oskorsreia hunt, people painted crosses of tar or chalk on their doors both for humans and animals in the more Christian area. They also placed sharp steel over the doors to protect both the people in the house as well as the horses in the stables. If you were already out when you heard the ghost riders coming, your only hope was to throw yourself on the ground, arms and legs spread out and just hope that the riders would pass you. 

The Danger of Oskorsreia

As through the air in the dark came a thunder,
– a howling horde on ferocious horses,
It raced over woods to the wedding house,
Intended to visit the bloody performance.
Then horns blew, and an awesome noise
From bells and riding-gear resounded.
Now it was close – it came over the hill –
There was an outcry: The wild hunt of Asgard!

There was a tempest in Heaven and Earth,
That hurled a horror in every heart,
It blasted along in growing circles,
It punched with wings and grabbed with arms.
Then Wolf was dragged away by his hair,
thrown up in the air and taken away,
Yes, taken away over woods and mountains,
He was never seen or heard of again.
— Åsgårdsreien by Johan Sebastian Welhaven (english translation)

Over time when there was a mysterious death no one could explain, it was often blamed on the Oskorsreia, especially during Christmas times. There are many folk tales from Scandinavia where they tell about someone trying to celebrate Christmas, but an unknown corpse appears on the farm, in the woods or close to the house no one knows where it came from. Then it was thought it was a person who got tangled up in the ride, was taken away and dropped down from the sky again. 

In the 1800, Oskorsreia and The Wild Hunt was a popular motif for the Germanic painters, poets and sculpture, and today we have many pieces of art depicting the hunt. But it is not the only place we can see the remnants of people’s fear of the wild hunt. 

Back in pre Christian times the hunt was either a ride of witches through the night, meaning Gandferd. Gand was originally the word for a pointy staff the witches used, and this witch ride is one of the origins stories of why we think witches ride on brooms. 

Why the wild hunt like Oskorsreia was happening varied, but most likely it started as an explanation to the stormy weathers during winter times. Oskorsreia and the Wild Hunt was often thought to be a warning of a coming plague or war, and also more harmless reasons as to check on people if they were doing their Christmas preparations correctly. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Salomonsen konversasjonsleksikon om Asgaardsrei

https://snl.no/%C3%85sg%C3%A5rdsrei

Wild Hunt – Wikipedia

Complete translated poem of Åsgårsreia by Johan Sebastian Welhaven: http://www.odins-gift.com/pclass/asgardsreien.htm

Ukategorisert

The Myths and Legends of Frankenstein Castle

2 Comments
Advertisements

The historic building of Frankenstein Castle is now mostly in ruins, but is still a place for myths and legends to live on and inspire new horror. 

On a stoney hilltop amidst the dark forest there at the spurs of the low mountain range of Odenwald in Germany is an old medieval castle called Frankenstein Castle. 

The place itself with its narrow valleys and dark trees contains many legends and is heavy with myths of the past. The same can be said for the castle on the hilltop that has weathered many storms, legends and ghosts since it was built. 

The Frankenstein Castle or Burg Frankenstein was built sometime before 1252, the year of the first historical record, by Lord Conrad Reiz of Breuberg. Already then the place was filled with myths and stories about other older castles that had once stood there. 

The castle went through many modernisations and so did the Frankenstein family living there for over 400 years. They saw many things change during their reign as lords and knights and during the Reformation they were strong opponents to the Lutherans, being devoted Roman Catholics. 

By the 18th century the castle was used as a hospital and refuge until it fell into ruins. The two iconic towers that are seen today are nothing more than a restoration from the mid 19th century. And an inaccurate version of that. 

Myths and Legends of the Frankenstein Castle

Many strange things have happened near this place. Like in the 18th century when fortune tellers made everyone believe that a treasure was hidden close to the castle in 1763. Everyone started digging for it until local authorities had to ban people from gold digging altogether. 

Close to the castle you will also find magnetic stones on Mount Ilbes were compases don’t work properly. Many say that there is witchcraft practice at these stones on special occasions like on summer solstice. It is said that Mount Ilbes is the second most important meeting place for witches in the country after Mount Brocken, and visitors are advised to not disturb any ongoing rituals. 

Another mythical thing close to the Frankenstein Castleis the Sea of Rocks known as Felsenmeer, and believed to be a place where Siegfried the dragonslayer was murdered in the epic poem Nibelungenlied. 

This is also a place where you can see legendary creatures like water spirits that change into a fox. 

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

The Frankenstein Castle may or may not have been inspired by this historic castle when she wrote her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818. 

The meaning behind the name is the two words, Franks, a Germanic tribe, and Stein, meaning stone. And the name itself is actually a pretty common name for castles in this region. There is also the connection to Benjamin Franklin as an inspiration, so the name itself doesn’t necessarily prove anything. 

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Whether or not she really was inspired by the castle or the legends about the place is unclear. But there are myths about a scientist creating a monster with the help of lightening within the walls of Frankenstein Castle.

There is however no mention of the castle itself in the book and many researchers doubt Shelley’s connection to the castle as she herself never went. It is possible that she heard stories about it as the legends were quite notorious when she visited Germany. 

The biggest connection is the rumors surrounding one of the alchemists living in Frankenstein castle that the rumors said he also created a monster. 

The Alchemist and the Elixir of Life

Once there was a man named Johann Konrad Dippel (1673-1734) who was born in the castle. This man would later become a professional alchemist and he created an oil said to contain the ‘Elixir of Life’ meant to grant eternal life. 

The animal oil, which is known as Dippel’s Oil is a dark, tar like liquid with a horrible smell from distillation of bones. It was used mostly as an animal and insect repellent. In World War II it was used to make wells undrinkable.  Dippel tried to buy the castle in exchange for the elixir of life, but was turned down. 

Fountain of youth: Near castle Frankenstein you will find the fountain of youth. // Source: Pascal Rehfeldt

During his stay at Frankenstein castle there were many rumors going on about the man. He supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for secret knowledge. They also said he did not only practice alchemy, but also anatomy, a practice strictly forbidden more so than the magic of alchemy.

They said he performed experiments on dead bodies he dug up and took back to the castle. The local cleric warned his parish that Dippel created a monster that he brought to life with the help of a bolt of lightning. 

Although none of these experiments have been proven there are local people claiming to this day that this happened within the castle walls.  

This is not the only connection the place has with eternal life though, as it is said the place is also where you can find the fountain of youth. According to legend, on the first full-moon night after Walpurgis Night, which is on the night of April 30. Old women from the villages closeby went to test their courage. Those who succeeded would become as young as she had been on her wedding night. 

Lord George and the Dragon

According to legend, there lived a dragon in the garden of the Frankenstein Castle near the well in the 1200s. The villagers in the neighboring village Nieder Beerbach lived in fear from this monster who snuck into the village at night to eat them and their children in their sleep. 

The Gardens of the Castle: Nature is slowly taking over the castle. According to myth, there was a dragon near the well in the Frankenstein Castle garden// Source: Frank Vincentz

One day a knight named Lord George came by and the people were desperate for his help, which he promised. 

The very next day he put on his armor and got his shield and sword. He rode up to the Frankenstein Castle gardens, straight to the well where the dragon was resting in the sun. 

The battle that ensued lasted for hours, and Lord George nearly gave up from exhaustion while the dragon spat fire and steam. But Lord George managed at last to pierce the underbelly of the dragon with his sword, giving him a killing blow. But just as the dragon was dying, he clung to the knight with his poisonous tail and stung the knight, leaving them both to die. 

The villagers were relieved and happy though and gave the knight an honorable burial for his sacrifice. They took him to the Church of Nieder Beerbach, in a valley east of the Frankenstein Castle, making a tomb for him. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Uncategorized

The Lost Castle of Hollerwiese

2 Comments
Advertisements

The story of the lost castle of Hollerwiese on Mariahilfberg Hill is still a mystery to this day. It is said that the ghosts of those living in the castle are still seen on the meadow where the castle once stood. 

East of the city of Amberg in Bavarian Germany, there is a forest-covered ridge, reaching the top called Mariahilfberg Hill and has many mysterious legends surrounding it. The hilltop is crowned with a beautiful church, surrounded by a vast forest. Behind the church is a meadow known as the Hollerwiese or Hollow Meadow. 

It used to be an unwooded area up until the 1800s but is now covered with trees like the rest of the hill, hiding away the name and the legend. But according to legend, the ground sounds strangely hollow when you throw stones on it. 

Read Also: This is not the only mysterious forest in the world. Read about the haunted Romanian forest Hoia Baciu as well.

The Two Sisters

There is a legend that once there was a castle standing where two very wealthy sisters lived. They had also inherited the monastery in Amberg and the towns of Raigering and Neumühle from their father and had more than enough for both of them. 

Their wealth was stored in huge barrels and chests in the basement of the castle of Hollerwiese. The two sisters decided to share their wealth with each other and together they promised to help each other and live in harmony. 

One of the sisters was blind and the seeing sister was the one counting the money and keeping track of their fortune. In the beginning the blind sister trusted her sister without questions. 

The Church on the hill: Here you see Wallfahrtskirche Maria Hilf in Amberg. The lost castle and the meadow are supposed to be right behind it. //Source: Campiana/wikimedia

The seeing sister got greedy however and started to keep more and more to herself, giving her sister less. This was something the blind sister started to suspect. 

One day, the blind sister felt with her hand on the uneven stacks of gold and realized how her sister had deceived her. She cursed the castle, making it sink into the earth, still with both of them inside where none of them would have the opportunity to spend their fortune. 

In some versions of the legend, the blind one got out of Hollerwiese and spent the rest of her life in Neumühle. 

It is said that during holy celebrations many see the two sisters, sitting in the meadow, waving at those passing, reminding them about the barrels of gold that sits just underneath the surface. 

The Robber Baron

Another version of the story of the lost castle of Hollerwiese is about the thief that supposedly lived in the castle on the mountain. He stole goods from merchants and harvests from farmers. His daughter was grieved by their fathers criminal acts and tried to undo everything he did wrong by giving back to those he robbed. 

Often did she beg her father to stop, but he only laughed at her. And when she warned him about the Heavens vengeance, he only ignored her. But in the end, his greed was punished. 

Under a terrible thunderstorm the entire castle was washed away with all the residents. According to legend, there can still be sound remains of it under the meadow. 

Ever since that fateful night, a maiden in a white robe is seen sitting on a stone near the Hollerwiese on the evening of the solstice. Next to her is a black dog with a golden key in his mouth. This key is said to be able to open the treasure chambers of the sunken castle. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Downloads

Ghostly encounters transpire close to Grafenwoehr | Article | The United States Army

Die gruseligsten Orte in der Oberpfalz | Galaxy Amberg-Weiden

Ein seltsames Geschichtsbuch

Ukategorisert

The Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens New Jersey

4 Comments
Advertisements

Enter into centuries-old folklore of the legendary Jersey Devil from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. Uncover its sinister past, how it has been remembered, and why so many theories persist today.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is a place in New Jersey in the USA. The place is shrouded in mystery and steeped in more than one legend, the most famous one being that of the Jersey Devil who has been a source of fascination for centuries. 

Dating back to the 18th century New Jersey folktale, the Jersey Devil has inspired a multitude of theories — some plausible, and some outlandish. Learn more about this legendary creature and its continued cultural significance today.

The Origins of the Jersey Devil

According to local legend, the Jersey Devil, sometimes known as the Leeds Devil, often described as a flying biped with hooves. The Jersey Devil was born in 1735 in Estellville, New Jersey. The story goes that a woman named Deborah Leeds, known as Mother Leeds gave birth to a child cursed with the form of a dragon or other fantastical beast. 

She already had twelve children, and when she found out she was pregnant with the 13th one, she cursed the child in her womb, calling the child the devil himself. Mother Leeds gave birth on a stormy night, and the child was born as a monster. 

In some variations of the legend, Mother Leeds was a witch herself and the father of the Jersey Devil was the Devil himself. 

The Jersey Devil: Here are several depictions of the creature known as the Jersey Devil or the Devil of Leeds throughout the years.

The creature soon escaped and began terrorizing the locals, swooping down from the sky and stealing farm animals, destroying crops, and even reportedly attacking some people. To this day, it remains an enduring element of local folklore — as well as a source of mystery and enchantment for many.

Sightings and Reports Throughout History

Since its first sighting in 1735, the Jersey Devil has been reported to have been seen in various forms and places in and around New Jersey. Before the 1900s, it was mostly referred to as the Leeds Devil or the Devil of Leeds, either because of the family name of Leeds or because of the New Jersey town called Leeds Point. 

Sightings of the legendary creature have been reported throughout the centuries, most often as a winged demonic creature that walks on two legs and is able to fly. According to these sightings, it was blamed for killing many livestocks, and even Napoleon Bonaparte was said to have seen the Jersey Devil when he was out hunting in 1820.  

Reports of its presence grew after a wave of sightings occurred near Camden between 1909 and 1910, leading to widespread newspaper coverage when the Jersey Devil allegedly attacked a trolley cart as well as livestock and the police themselves supposedly opened fire at the creature. 

People reported footprints in the snow looking like the Jersey Devil as far as Delaware and Maryland. According to the writer Gordon Stein in his book Encyclopedia of Hoaxes, a man came forward as the culprit behind the mysterious footprints. 

Nevertheless, there were organized manhunts and in the woods and people were advised to stay in their homes. Although these reports tapered off over time, tales of its exploits continue to be told among local residents today.

The Blue Hole

But where does the Jersey Devil really live? The Pine Barrens is a large area, but there is one particular place that is talked about more than others. In the middle of a dense forest there is a lake with a very unusual color that is often connected to the Jersey Devil called the Blue Hole.

As well as being a popular party spot, it also contains countless legends. For instance it is supposedly bottomless with powerful currents. In real life the Blue Hole really has some cold spots, but the legend tells that the water is freezing cold all year-round. It is around these parts that the Jersey Devil is most active.  

Modern Theories and Beliefs About the Jersey Devil.

There are various theories and beliefs about the Jersey Devil that have been held throughout history. These range from mythological explanations such as the creature being the Thirteenth Child of Mother Leeds to more scientific concepts like a rare species of mammal surviving in an area where it is not known to exist. 

More down to earth explanations have also been put forward saying the Jersey Devil is nothing more than the figment of imagination that came from the fear of the isolated place the Pine Barrens was at the time. It was considered dangerous and inhospitable with highwayman, fugitives, and outcasts like poor farmers, Native Americans and runaway slaves. 

Some people believe that the Jersey Devil is actually an alien or interdimensional being, while others speculate that it may be a form of cryptid capable of shape-shifting. Regardless, speculation and legends surrounding the Jersey Devil continue to this day.

Captain Kidd

One of the other legends from the Pine Barrens is that of Captain Kidd. His real name was William Kidd and was a Scottish sea captain who turned into a pirate. He was executed in London in 1701 for both murder as well as piracy. 

According to legend he buried a treasure that has yet to be found. It is not only in the Pine Barrens, but also in Nova Scotia, Connecticut and Long Island that have legends and myths about there being buried treasure around those parts. 

According to legend from Pine Barrens though it is around Barnegat Bay that CAptain Kidd is haunting as a ghost, often reported about being a headless ghost. 

Captain Kidd is often seen in company with the Jersey Devil himself, walking along the beach. 

The Black Doctor of the Pines

The ghost of the Black Doctor is said to be the spirit of a man known as James Still. Still was said to be forbidden from practicing medicine due to his race, and he went to the Pine Barrens to practice medicine in the isolated communities of the Barrens. 

There he studied medicine from textbooks and according to some legends, learned herbal medicine from the Native Amercans as well. 

How he died is still debated. Some say the locals in the Pine Barrens tells the story of how he was lynched when they found out he practised medicine. 

Others tell the story about how he was a hero in the isolated community and died of a heart attack, which is the true story of how James Still died. 

He is said to be a helping ghost and is said to still come to the aid of lost or injured travelers in the Pine Barrens woods. 

The Girl With the Golden Hair

Another ghost that haunts these parts is said to be a woman dressed in white found by the seaside, staring out into the sea as she is still mourning her lover she lost out there. 

Her ghost stories are often mixed with the Jersey Devil as well, as he is said to sit next to her. 

The White Stag

Something less menacing than the Jersey Devil is the spirit of a white deer that is said to show up when lost travelers need aid in the Pine Barrens. It is also said that the spirit is a warning of danger ahead. 

This comes after a story where a stagecoach nearly fell into the Batsto River. The coaches reached Quaker Bridge and the horses refused to move and go over it. When the driver investigated further, he saw the white stag on the road before it disappeared before his eyes. 

A closer inspection showed that the bridge was destroyed and since then it is said to mean good luck if you ever spot it. 

The Black Dog

Another animal spirit around these parts is that of the Black Dog. Most often, seeing a Black Dog is a bad omen in European mythology, but in this instance, it is a good luck charm. It roams on the beaches and forests from Absecon Island to Barnegat Bay and is considered a harmless spirit. 

It is said to be the ghost of a dog that was on board a ship that was attacked by pirates on Absecon Island. They killed the crew on the ship and among the killed were the cabin boy as well as hin trusted black dog. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Ukategorisert

The Haunted Black Forest of Fairy Tales

3 Comments
Advertisements

The Black Forest in Germany is known for its haunted dark fairy tales from the brothers Grimm and the magical place has more than one legend about something magical and strange happening. But how haunted is really this place?

The Black Forest in Germany is not really a single forest, but a whole forested mountain range covering a large part of the country of dark fairy tales where around 60 % of the area is covered with some form of woodland. The Black Forest or Schwarzwald in German goes from southwest in Germany, down the Rhine Valley to the west, almost reaching the border to France and Switzerland, covering over 6000 km2. 

The place is mainly rural with a few large towns and many scattered little villagers around and has become a place where legends of the supernatural and fables are allowed to live between the brooding thick woodlands with miles and miles of a forestry trail. 

The Most Haunted Places in the World?

The place often pops up on lists of Most Haunted Places both in Germany as well as worldwide, but what exactly makes this entire place haunted as it is known as this dark and magical place for any outsiders? Calling the entire place haunted in the strictest sense doesn’t quite cover it all as the world enchanted does, with both the good and the bad. 

Read also: Check out all the haunted places around Germany: Here

The Black Forest with its ominous sounding name is said to house everything from wicked witches, hungry werewolf, beautiful nymphs and forest goblins between the dark trees. Many of the stories sound like they come from one of the Grimm brother’s fever nightmare, and a couple of the stories of the Grimm brothers actually take place in a place that looks a lot like the Schwarzwald. 

Stories like Hansel and Gretel losing their way in the forest and being captured by a witch, the menacing Pied Piper leading the children away from the urban town into the wild or the Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf knocking on the door. But do they actually take place here like the tourist guides would like you to believe? Have a bite of the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, and finish your glühwein, because many of these legends is like a super dark fairy tale.  

Background of the Black Forest

Walking through the landscape of the Black Forest you will see the romantic part of Germany with stout timber farmhouses and remnants of Baroque fortification from the 17th century, especially on the mountain passes. The highest peak is the Feldberg at 1493 meters above sea level before drooping down with its deeply carved valleys and rivers like the Danube river starts and continues through Europe. 

In ancient times, The Black Forest was known as Abnoba Mons after a Celtic deity, Abnoba. She was worshiped in the Black Forest and the surrounding areas and couldn’t encapsulate the spirit of The Black Forest better. She was of course a forest and river goddess, showing just how much of an importance the thick woodlands with its wispy waterfalls and evergreen meadows had for the people living there.

Historically the people living in this forest area were known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits. Today however it is tourism that is the primary industry. 

It was the Romans that gave the mountain range the name The Black Forest because of the densely growth of the very dark green conifer trees. 

Because of its long history, it is easy to believe like The Black Forest area has been this unchanged and wild place forever without any disturbances. However that is not the case and the area has been through many changes and has been thoroughly cultivated by the human hand.

It used to be a mixed forest until the 19th century, when the Black Forest was almost completely deforested by too much forestry. It was replanted, this time, mostly with spruce as the only type of tree. Then in the 90s, a series of windstorms, among them Hurricane Lothar in 1999, swept over the Black Forest and destroyed much of the replanted forest. Large areas were left to nature and have since grown into a natural mixed forest again, showing how nature always finds a way. 

Myths and Legends of Schwarzwald

Deep and dark forest landscapes create mysteries and legends and Schwarzwald is no exception. Legend has it that the forest area is haunted by werewolves and witches and in some cases, the devil himself. 

Read more about the haunted forests around the world: Here

There are also stories about a headless horseman riding on a great white steed, a mythical motif we see in many instances in countless ghost stories and written horror like the famous Sleepy Hollow for example. 

We can also find dark fairy tales of an evil king who kidnaps women to take them to his magical underwater lair where he lives among the nymphs. 

The Black Forest is not short of stories that tell about the dangers of the wild and what will happen to those that step outside from the path. And none more of them than what we can find in the Grimm brothers collected stories. But did the brothers really find some of the stories among the dark pine cone trees?  

The Stories of The Brothers Grimm

This is a place where magic is everyday, the birthplace of Cuckoo Clocks ticking away on walls, fairy tale is real life and the people use tarot cards as playing cards. The Black Forest is also were most people connect the often bizarre and dark fairy tales of the Grimm brothers, and many of them can be traced back to the area.

Stories from the Black Forest: The Brother Grimm’s Fairy Tales definitely helped making the Black Forest a place of magic and wonder.

Brothers Grimm set many of their most scariest folk tales to the Black Forest as this was one of the places where they collected them throughout Germany. The brothers didn’t actually write the fairy tales themselves though. The stories themselves had been told orally for ages locally, they simply put them down to paper. 

Like Hansel and Gretel’s encounter with the witch were well suited as the place had a reputation for witches and witchcraft long before any of these tales were written down. Fairy Tales like Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty are also said to have been set inside of the Black Forest. But is this true?

How accurate it is though is hard to say, as many of the stories are also said to be from northern part of Germany, especially around Hesse. Although the fairy tales doesn’t really have a super specific location attached to them, and many are reworks of tales that have been told all over the place, locating these fairy tales to this specific mountain range is difficult.

Although the marketing of the tourism in the Black Forest will tell you another story, because many parts of the area really fits perfectly for the more darker tales.

If you are looking for a fairy tale which explicitly plays in the Black Forest is the more under the radar fairy tale called “Heart of Stone” by Wilhelm Hauff.

The Modern Myth of Der Grossmann

There is a particular creature that shows up today on many listicles online about the Black Forest being one of Germany’s most haunted places. This is the story of Der Grossmann and it looks like it originated online together with the urban legend of Slenderman, not in the forest as a fairy tale to keep children out from the dark forest. 

Der Grossmann tells of a tall and ugly man, badly disfigured with bulging eyes and too many arms. He is associated with woodcuts carved in the 1700s by an unknown artist in Germany and has as of today a pretty extensive backstory. According to ‘local legend’ bad children were sent into the forest, and they had to confess their sins to der Grossman. It is said that the worst children never came out from the forest again. 

This particular story looks like it didn’t originate in the depth of the Black Forest because all information about it comes from articles discussing the historical aspects of the urban legend, the slender man. And in no place does the old legends from Germany mention a creature like this.  

Even though it isn’t necessarily an old folk tale, the story is a pretty good one.

Hauntingly Beautiful

Whether a modern ghost story from one of the small towns, or an ancient legend that over time turned into one of the darker fairy tales, the Black Forest holds the macabre and haunted together with the whimsical and magical. 

It has and probably will continue to draw people that wish to disappear in between the trees and off the beaten path that leads into the wild. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Abnoba – Wikipedia

Black Forest – Wikipedia

Werewolf Legends from Germany 

Werewolf Legends from Germany

article

Edinburgh Castle Ghosts and Legends

5 Comments
Advertisements

Witches, dragons and ghosts, Edinburgh Castle are said to have it all. The sound of bagpipe and drummers can be heard without anyone playing, and those accused for witchcraft as well as prisoners of wars are said to haunt the old castle.

Although the castle as we know it today wasn’t built until the 12th century, the Castle Rock has been lived on for more than 2000 years. It is built on top of an extinct volcano formed 350 million years ago. The castle itself has been built and rebuilt over the years but you can still find traces of the castle that are over 900 years old. 

It is also the place in Britain that has been attacked most times with a record of 23 attempts to take over the castle. It has a story filled with wars, bloody battles and tortured, and is said by many to be a haunted landmark that watches over the old town. 

Edinburgh Castle: There are so many alleged ghost stories coming from Edinburgh Castle perched on Castle Rock. Among them is the Grey Lady, the missing Piper and little drummer boy. There are also ton of older legends about dragons, black hounds and ties to ancient romans and Arthurian legends. How much of it is really true?

History of Edinburgh Castle

Nine Maidens: Morgan le Fey is said to be one of the Nine Maidens in Arthurian legend. By Anthony Frederick Sandys from 1864.

The castle holds many legends to its name. According to the origin story, the first castle that was built on the hill was named The Castle of the Maidens, built as a shrine to the Nine Maidens, a mysterious and old cult of religion that can be found throughout many countries in Europe. One of these supposed Nine Maidens in Scotland are often attributed to being Morgan le Fay, a mythical figure in Arthurian legend that are said to hold magical abilities.

Even if there are no real substance to her being a real figure, the legends of fantastical magical things keeps being told around the castle grounds. Another legend from older times is the dragon. As far back as 1558 there were several reports about a dragon that was supposedly seen on one of the biggest towers at the time.

Even if there are no more reports about dragon sightings, there are still many urban legends about the castle that lives on to this day. There is also an urban legend that if students pass through the castle gates, they will never pass their exams. Many students are following this rule, and never visit the castle during their stay here, just in case.

Ghosts of the Castle and Haunted Legends

As well as fantastical rumors about dragons and mythical sorceresses, there are legends of ghosts and hauntings. Among the many haunted rumors of the castle, there are reports of the strange sound of drums and music. You can also hear the vague knocking sound you can never be sure to be the wind or something more ominous. 

People report of A sensation of being touched, pushed as well as a feeling of dread and despair can follow you when walking along the stony walls. There are also reported sightings of curious lights and flaky figures in the shadows. It is said a black dog is haunting in connection to the pet cemetery on the castle grounds as well as a man in an apron. But there are some ghostly legends more told than others:

Ghosts from the Witches Burned at the Stake on Castle Ground

One thing the castle was in the lead for was for burning more witches during the 16th century than the rest of the country. Over 300 women were tortured before being burned at the stake at Castle Hill, everything from simple peasants to noble women.

Among them, Dame Euphane MacCalzean, accused of witchcraft in the North Berwick witch trials. She was found guilty and burnt alive on 25 June 1591 on the southern slope of the Castle Hill below Edinburgh Castle.

The North Berwick Witch Trials: Dame Euphane MacCalzean was a notable figure in the North Berwick witch trials of 1590-1591, one of Scotland’s most infamous witch hunts. A well-educated woman of noble birth, she was accused of conspiring with witches to raise storms against King James VI’s ship during his return from Denmark.

Some believe the spirits of these women linger still, their pain echoing across time. if we are to believe the haunted legends, there are perhaps one or two of the accused witches that are haunting the castle.

Red More: Check out Agnes Sampson — The Wise Wife of Keith to read about another haunt from one of the victims who were convicted and killed in the North Berwick Witch Trials.

The Lone Piper Boy Playing Under the Royal Mile

Walking in the historical city of Edinburgh, the sound of bagpipes is heard on every occasion. On a random street corner, from the tourist shops, during a parade or as a part of the historical landmarks. Bagpipes are the thing, perhaps even from the ghosts of the city.

The Piper: The Bagpiper by Johann Christoph Erhard.

The most famous ghost that is said to haunt the castle is the piper that was sent down to explore some tunnels they found ran under the castle towards Holyrood Palace a couple of hundred years ago. A young and small boy that would get through the network of tunnels. 

According to the legend, the regimental piper played his pipe as he ascended down the Royal Mile, stretching through the old town from the castle. Halfway down the mile to Tron Kirk the music suddenly stopped.

A search party was sent down to investigate after the music stopped, but the piper was never found again, and they sealed the tunnel’s shut so no would could get in… or out… According to legends though, he was certainly heard. He is said to walk the royal mile to this day and the unmistakable sound of bagpipes can be heard from underground. 

So perhaps walking down the Royal Mile, the sound of the bagpipes echoing throughout the whole city might as well be from the ghost piper?

The Headless Drummer Boy

Another ghost that has been sighted on several occasions is that of a little drummer boy without a head. He was first seen in the central courtyard of the castle in 1659, a year after Charles I was beheaded. He was walking in circles, drumming his drum playing an Old Scottish war tune. When the castle servants looked closer, they saw that he didn’t have a head. It is said that he drummed all through that night and continued until the morning. 

Although he has not been seen again, he is considered a bad omen if he ever appears again. The same year he showed himself, Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and laid siege to the castle. Is this enough to give credit to the legend?

Even though no one has seen him since that fateful night, the servants working at the castle have throughout the years claimed to have heard his drumming in the quiet hallways of the castle from time to time. Who knows… Perhaps the next time someone sees the drummer boy, the castle will once again come under attack?

The Grey Lady Haunting the Halls of Edinburgh Castle

A mysterious lady has been reported staying in the older parts of the castle. Sometimes she is just seen wandering around in her 16th century dress and sometimes she is reported to weep. 

Janet Douglas: Lady Glamis was a noblewoman accused of witchcraft, who was executed by burning during the reign of James V of Scotland.

There are several real nobles she is thought to be: The first one is Janet Douglas or Lady Glamis. She was accused of witchcraft and burned to the stake outside the castle on July 17th in 1537 with her son watching it all. It is said that even back then, they knew that the accusations were wrong, but King James V held a grudge towards her brother and took it out on her. 

Janet also haunts Glamis Castle as The Grey Lady of Glamis, wandering through the family chapel and clock tower.

Read Also: Check out Lady Janet Douglas, Ghost of Glamis Castle to read more about Lady Janet Douglas and how she is said to haunt the Glamis Castle as well.

Others think that the Grey Lady haunting Edinburgh Castle could be the French Marie de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots. She died a catholic and the Protestant nobles held her body inside the castle for nine months before returning her to France, wrapped in a cloth inside a lead coffin. She was then secretly taken to France for a proper burial in the Convent of Saint-Pierre in Reim.

The Prisoners in the Dungeon and Towers

There are also the castle dungeons where they housed criminals for centuries that are supposedly haunted. There were many wars that the castle dungeon saw: the Seven Years War, The American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars just to mention a few.  

According to legend, from one of these wars, the ghost of a prisoner is said to haunt the castle to this day. In 2003, construction crew members restoring the Queen Anne Tower claimed ghosts of prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars harassed them and refused to work there. Who knows what they really saw, but there are certainly rumors. The hazy blue orbs mentioned earlier are said to appear more frequent in this tower than in the rest of the castle.

But who was this prisoner? The legend tells of a prisoner who tried to escape in a wheelbarrow filled with dung that were taken out of the castle. The cart was dumped over the high castle walls and the prisoner broke his neck when he hit the rocky ground below. He now haunts the place and tries to push visitors down Castle Rock. What gives him away is the lingering smell of dung in the air. 

The Legends Living on in Edinburgh Castle

That was some of the ghosts that are said to be haunting the castle. Old places like these will have its history, and through all the bloodshed and Even today, myths surround Edinburgh Castle. Students avoid crossing its gates, fearing it may curse their exams still to this day.

But it’s the ghostly activity that chills the hearts of visitors. Phantom touches, flickering lights, and shadowy figures have been reported. The sounds of drums, faint knocking, and whispers stir something restless in the castle—perhaps spirits that will never truly leave. legends surrounding the place since the first people arrived on the rock, the place will hold its stories.

More like this

Newest Posts

References

The Most Haunted Places in Edinburgh’s Old Town – Dickins

Edinburgh’s most haunted locations | The Scotsman

The Headless Drummer Boy – Folklore Scotland

Edinburgh Castle Ghosts

Facts, Fiction And Urban Legends About Edinburgh Castle

Ghosts of Edinburgh Castle

The Most Haunted Place in Scotland | Ghosts of Edinburgh Castle | My Macabre Roadtrip 

Spooky sightings at Edinburgh Castle and the ghosts that are claimed to haunt the halls 

Edinburgh Castle Ghosts – Is Edinburgh Castle Haunted? – Wandering Crystal 

Ukategorisert

The Legend of La Sayona

2 Comments
Advertisements

On the Venezuelan plains, the vengeful ghost of La Sayona hunts down cheating men that don’t get from it alive. She is cursed to make her revenge on them after she murdered her whole family.

La Sayona is a Venezuelan ghost story about the vengeful spirit of a woman haunting the roads, the jungle as well as the Venezuelan plains. She is after cheating men and appears mostly on the roads, asking men for a ride on the vast Venezuelan plains known as Los Llanos. 

Read all of the ghost stories at haunted roads here:

When the man she has chosen as her victim is looking more closely at her, her face is just a skull with terrible teeth. Her name La Sayona is referring to the type of clothes the ghost is supposedly wearing and is a long white dress, and referred to a medieval undergarment. It basically means something along the lines of ‘Sackclothed Woman’. 

La Sayona: The ghost has been described as a woman in white haunting the roads in Venezuela. She is like a crossover between the vanishing hitchhiker and the woman in white. But this version is a very dangerous and deadly one.

This is an old legend in Venezuela, similar to many women in white ghost stories from Europe with a hint of The Vanishing Hitchhiker urban legend mixed in with it today. She is also somewhat similar to other vengeful ghosts from across the globe, like the Japanese Onryo or the Korean Virgin Ghost.

Most similar though, will she be of other South American legends about vengeful women on a mission in their afterlife and the story of La Sayona is often mixed with the famous La llorona legend from Mexico. Especially because in these legends, the woman was the violent one. She is also a part of Colombian folklore that has its own spin to it that we will come back to later.

Read the about the Mexican legend of La Llorona

La Llorona the Mexican Weeping Woman Ghost

Along the rivers in Mexico a wailing woman wearing white can be see and heard as she comes up drenched from the waters. She is desperately looking for her children she herself drowned. And according to the legends of La Llorona or the wailing woman, you are next.

Keep reading

The Legend of La Sayona

In the legend of La Sayona there supposedly was a woman named Casilda that lived on the Venezuelan plains in a small town were life was peaceful and without much to worry about. She was the prettiest girl in town and married to a loving husband. Together they had a son and it seemed like she had a perfect life together with her family. But that was all surfaced level though as she had one fault, she was violently jealous. 

Once, Casilda was swimming in a river near the village naked where a man from the village spotted her. She told him to get lost and leave her alone, but the man didn’t listen. He would start to follow her and watch her bathing in the river. He then told her that he was there to warn her and said her husband was having an affair with her mother. It was nothing more than a rumor from a random man watching her bathe, but the rumor filled her with an immense rage so she couldn’t think clearly. 

Wet Season: La Sayona is known to roam on the Venezuelan plains in search for cheating men she can punish as part of her eternal curse. // Photo: Haroldarmitage

Casilda then ran home to her husband and found him inside the house with their son sleeping in his arms. She was blinded by rage and set the house on fire without asking him for the truth. The villagers heard their screams as both the husband and the son burned to death inside the house. 

Meanwhile, Casilda was on her way to her mother’s house that sat on her patio. She would not get the chance to explain either as Casilda attacked her own mother with a machete and stabbed her to death in the stomach. 

The mother bled slowly to death, but not before she managed to curse her daughter. She told Casilda that from then on she would avenge all of the women with cheating husbands. And whether her mother and husband really had an affair, she would never get an answer to, driving her mad.  

She was from then on known as La Sayona that hunts cheating men by conquering them and then killing them. 

The Different Variations of the Legend

There are many variations to this tale today in Venezuela as well as the rest of South America. She sometimes shapeshifts to animals or even monsters or sends out a scream almost like a Banshee that can be heard from a long distance. The variations of the legends have all in common that it is the men who has to pay the ultimate price of her wreath.  

The legend of La Sayona is also grouped together with several ghost stories about female spirits haunting the roads and highways after men to take their anger out on. Much like in the case with the story of La Descarnada of the Highway.

La Descarnada of the Highway

On the highway in El Salvador, be vary of who you stop for along the way. Especially beautiful women that asks for a ride to a nearby place. It might very well be the vengeful spirit of La Descarnada.

Keep reading

In some versions of the legend, La Sayona comes out from the jungle where men are working. She comes when the men are talking about sex or about women they left behind. When she appears she either takes form as a beautiful woman or a loved one and manages to lure them into the forest were she has her revenge. There she devours them in an animal-like shape or mangles them, and leaves their body for the rest of them to see as a warning. 

In the Colombian version from the plains, they tell that La Sayona was a beautiful woman named Sarona that turned into a monster. In this legend she was not really a violent woman, but a cursed one nonetheless.

She lived as a normal person until she ruined the holy clothes of a priest and was punished for her sin. God condemned her to live an eternity of great hunger because of this. She turned from a beautiful woman to a monster with big teeth and eyes and with an appetite for human flesh.

Sarona’s punishment was something she couldn’t control and she was consumed by it. In her hunger she then devoured her own brother before escaping out on the lonely plains in Columbia where she lives more like beast than man. She comes at dawn and takes drunk men wandering alone she devours. 

More like this

Newest Posts

References

Sayona – Wikipedia

La Sayona – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

article

The Caleuche – The Chilean Ghost Ship

Leave a comment
Advertisements

Outside the shores of Chile, there a tales of a ghost ship that will take you away if it gets you to make you one of their crew. Could you join to sail the sea forever with The Caleuche?

Outside of the Chiloé Archipelago, the group of islands outside of mainland Chile, rich folklore and mystical myths of the sea that surrounds the islands thrives. Here they believe in the great battle of the two serpents of earth and sea that created the area. 

Fishing and sailing were the main thing the locals did for a living, and the mythology of the place reflects it. And when the fog comes creeping up to the shores of the canals, bright lights and the sound of jolly music can be heard from the sea. Just a fishing boat passing playing loud music? Or can it be The Caleuche, a ghost ship that collects the drowned and enslaves people to work on the ship forever?

Background of the Mythology

The Caleuche is a ghost ship from Chiloé mythology in southern Chile that has a pretty distinct mythology different from the rest of Chile as a mixture of the indigenous people and the Spanish settlers. It in particular reflects just how important the sea is in the life of Chilotes. 

Advertisements

The word Caleuche comes from the Mapuche word Kalewtun, meaning to transform or to change and che, meaning people. It is also called The Enchanted Ship, Barcoiche or The Warlock Ship and has many different variations to the legend. 

It has many similarities to the Flying Dutchman in the sense of being a ghost ship you can sail with for an eternity. 

According to Chiloé mythology, it is Millalobo that is both the creator and owner of the ship, the second most important being of the sea after Caicai, God of water. 

Ghost Ship of Never Ending Partying

The Caleuche is a ghost ship of music and light that sails along Chiloé canals. It has an extraordinary speed. You can not always see the ship, but in certain weather, like on a foggy day, you can both sense as well as see the ship. 

People have always had a fear of being captured by The Caleuche and there are particular trees that you can hide behind that will give protection of being spotted, such as the Chilean wineberry and the olivillo. The reason being that in some versions of the legend, you can be enslaved and cursed to work on the ship forever. 

The Caleuche: From the fog light can be seen and the sound of music can be hears. According to Chiloé mythology and folklore it is the ghost ship The Caleuche, filled with enslaved sailors, drowned bodies or evil sorcerers depending on what version you hear.

One of the things the ship is known for is the music and sound of partying. In some legends, it is to lure the people to them so that they can be forced to work as a crewmember for eternity. 

It is not always for a sinister reason that the party music is so loud from the ship however. In many of the versions it is a ship that recovers the dead bodies from those who drowned at sea, and offers them a place as a crewmate on the ship. They will then be able to spend the rest of eternity partying and celebrating. 

Making Pacts with Sorcerers

Another version of the tale is that it is in fact a ship that transports the sorcerers. It is said that they make a voyage every 3 months to gain more power. It is from this legend the idea of merchants trading with these sources to gain wealth quickly, and explaining when a person in Chiloé becomes rich quickly, they have made a pact with the crew on The Caleuche. 

It is not a very old myth that never gets told anymore. In the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, or the Great Chilean earthquake, there were many fires, landslides, tsunamis and floods in the area after the initial shock of the quake. Many houses were left untouched by the natural disasters and rumors and talks about a pact having been made with The Caleuche were told. 

In the same decade stories about the sound of an anchor being dropped outside of the houses of many prosperous and rich merchants in the area. According to the legends they would lend out their houses to The Caleuche for a party location and other dark purposes. Although many could probably put the blame and the reason for getting rich on normal and mortal smugglers.  

Advertisements

More like this

Newest Posts

References

article

The Accursed Mountains of Albania

1 Comment
Advertisements

The mysterious mountains in Albania is a place known for its myths and legends. Strange tales are told of this place and has been named The Accursed Mountains. 

“I could not help feeling that they were evil things– mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss.”
– H. P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness

The Albanian Alps, officially called Prokletije is a breathtaking sight in the Balkans with glacial features, pointed peaks and weathered landscape, stretching from northern Albania, all the way to Kosovo and Montenegro. The lush green valleys and thick forests filled with wolves, old traditional stone villages makes you feel you really are in a fairy tale like place.

But the beauty of the accursed mountains comes with a bittersweet aftertaste when learning what the translated name of the mountain is. In English Prokletije is roughly translated to the Accursed Mountains and has a legend and myth that rests amongst the mountain peaks. And according to legends, it was the devil himself who created the mountains. As the name suggest, the legends surrounding The Accursed Mountains are more sinister than fairytale like.

For more mystical mountains, read about Fengdu Ghost City:

Fengdu Ghost City

The Fengdu Ghost City in China is steeped with the paranormal and cultural afterlife as well as being a big tourist attraction. Weird?

Keep reading

It is difficult to understand why such a serene place has been dubbed a cursed one, because how could the devil create such a beautiful thing? Anyway, that is the tale, and that is the mountains origin story.

From then on, the mountain range has been cursed and synonymous with blood feuds and bandits as well as natural disasters like avalanches. From 1946 to 1992, the country was under a harrowing communist regime with closed borders to keep people out as well as in. The Accursed Mountains were used as patrolling spots with buried landmines and bunkers for wars. So it’s not only because of its legends they are known as the accursed mountains, but because of their history as well.

It is a sparsely populated place, home to Albanians as well as Serbs, Bosniaks and montenegrins. It is a secluded place that is cut off from the rest of the world for weeks during the winter months. This is a place where the shepherds take their flock during the summer rather than staying for a the whole years.

The Legend of the Brothers and the Fairy

The legend of it being the devil himself who created these mountains is not the only legend of why this mountain range is supposedly cursed. The other legend is steeped much more in Albanian folklore than Christian religion and really comes out from a fairytale.

The Fairy Myth: According to legend, the name is from that one fairy tale were the mother of hunters cursed a fairy from Albanian folklore.

A long time ago three brothers went out hunting. Up in the mountains they met a fairy. The brothers found her so beautiful and wanted her. This turned into a fight about who saw her first, who she belonged to and escalated to become quite violent. So violent that it ended in their death.  

The fairy was watching from afar, but had no way of helping and couldn’t choose for them. She hoped for an agreement, but when her brothers died, she ran and hid behind the peaks of the mountain.

The Accursed Mountains

Days went by for the mother without a word from the sons. When none of the brothers returned from their hunting trip, their mother took up the search. She went up to the mountains and found all of her sons dead. She wailed as she buried her sons, her cries echoing through the mountain range. 

The fairy heard her and went to her and told her what happened, that it was because of her that they had argued and died. But the mother didn’t want to hear the reason and only looked at the fairy as the cause of their death. The mother cursed both the fairy and the mountains, blaming them for her son’s deaths. And ever since then, the place has been called the Accursed Mountains and known for its mystery. 

Advertisements

More like this

Newest Posts

References

An interesting story hidden under the name of Prokletije Mountains 

Ukategorisert

A Ghost Tale Of Two Sisters — The Legend of Janghwa and Hongryeon

3 Comments
Advertisements

The tale of the two sisters, Janghwa and Hongryeon that turned into virgin ghosts, is a classic Korean ghost story that continues to inspire and scare those who hear it and are trying to look down upon the seemingly innocent and helpless. 

The Korean Folktale and ghost legend of Janghwa Hongryeon jeon is one of Korea’s most well known ghost stories. The story means The Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon (장화홍련전) and originate in the Joseon-era, a five century lasting kingdom from the 1300s all the way to 1897 in Korea. When and who wrote the tale is unknown. 

Read Also: Check out all of our ghost stories from Korea

The tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon is a classic tale of an evil stepmother like in fairy tales like Cinderella, Snow White etc. But this Korean ghost story does not ending in the two sisters becoming princesses in any way, but how they died and became ghosts. The story is also a story about wrongly accused looking to set things straight, and that karma always will get you in the end. 

A Tale of Two Sisters Movie Adaptation

A lot of the reason why the ghost story is well known today, at least on a global scale is the critically acclaimed movie A Tale of Two Sisters.

Famous Story Turned Critically Acclaimed Movie: Many adaptation of the Korean ghost story about Janghwa and Hongryeon has been made over the years, showing that the story is an enduring and timeless one. // Screenshot from the movie, ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’.

The legend of Janghwa and Hongryeon has been remade to both k-dramas and movies many times with a new movie adaptation of the legend coming out almost once a decade. The most famous adaptation of this Korean ghost story is perhaps ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ from 2003 by Kim Jee-Woon.

Read Also: Top Korean Horror TV-Series

Although it is based on the legend of Janghwa Hongryeon jeon, it is a very different story and situation with a more psychological emphasis on the story than the haunting elements. This also got an American remake in 2009 by The Guard Brothers called ‘The Uninvited’. 

But let us now have a look at the origin story about the two sisters from the classical folktale dating back to the Joseon area.

The Legend of Janghwa Hongryeon jeon

The Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon starts with a classical once upon a time. There once was a man named Bae Mu Ryong that lived in Chul-San-Gun in the Pyong-An province. This province is found in today’s North Korea. Bae Mu Ryong was a man of means and his business was going well. The only thorn in his side was that there were no children to pass his name onto. 

Bae Mu Ryong wife, Jang, once had a dream where she was given a beautiful flower by some form of celestial being. The wind blew and the flower turned into a beautiful girl. That is why she named her first born daughter, Janghwa, meaning Rose flower. Two years later they had another daughter they named Hongryeon, meaning red Lotus. And although the parents desperately wanted a son, they loved their daughter all the same. 

Read More: Check out more ghost stories about siblings like in The Lost Castle of Hollerwiese and The Wizard of West Bow and His House of Horrors

The mother died, however, of an illness when Hongryeon was only five years old without giving birth to a son. Their father chose to remarry to continue the family line. According to most versions, the new stepmother was both ugly and extremely mean to the two girls. She hated them, but hid her feelings away and pretended in front of the father that she loved the girls like her own children. That was until she had given birth to three sons and now had the upper hand in the household. Having sons gave her a great deal of power and she started to torment and abuse the daughters.

Joseon Family: During the Josean period, the clan structure became stricter and bloodline was very important. Family life was regulated by law and the most important possession for a Korean family was the firstborn son, or jangja (장자). It had always been the case, but neo-Confucianism strengthened the idea even further. It was so important that no man could die without having a male heir. If they were unable to produce one, they had to adopt as daughters like Janghwa and Hongryeon couldn’t inherit. Most of the wealth and land of the family was inherited by the firstborn son, with the other sons getting small portions; girls were denied any such rights.// Here a family portrait of a Korean family from ca. 1910.

Janghwa and Hongryeon never told their father about the abuse because they didn’t want him to worry, and the years went by under this torture and they constantly being in the shadows of their brothers. And like their mother, the sons followed in her evil steps and treated Janghwa and Hongryeon horribly.

The Wedding Plans and the Evil Plan

The torture of Janghwa and Hongryeon continued until Janghwa came of age and she got engaged to be married. She was told to be a great beauty, inside and out. She had fallen in love in her betrothed and she was thinking of planning the wedding soon. The stepmother was instructed to help her plan the wedding ceremony, which was something she refused to go through with. She couldn’t bear the idea that the family money that she considered her son’s future to be spent on those girls as their dowry. 

That is why the stepmother made her eldest son and confidant put a skinned and bloody rat in Janghwas bed while she was asleep. The eldest son was eager to help as it was he who was to inherit the money and felt as his mother, that they were wasted on his sisters. And the less that went to his sister, the more for himself.

Strict Rules: The rights of women in the Joseon area were reduced compared to previously areas. Women had to conform to Confucian ideals of purity and obedience. They were obliged to listen to their fathers, husbands, fathers-in-law and firstborn sons and couldn’t inherit. The reason was that marrying daughters off required expensive dowry and daughters were called dodungnyeo (도둑녀), “thieves”.

The next morning the stepmother brought the father to Janghwas room and showed the bloody mess to him. Without knowing the truth, the sight could have seen like a bloody miscarriage and that Janghwa wasn’t as pure as she perhaps seemed. The stepmother accused Janghwa for becoming pregnant out of wedlock and leading a sinful life. The father believed this no matter how much Janghwa tried to explain and took the stepmothers side. 

The stepmother showed the so-called fetus to the whole village so they could see what kind of woman Janghwa truly was. Without knowing what to do after being confused and humiliated, Janghwa ran out of the house to a small pond in the woods to calm down. The eldest son followed per the stepmother’s orders to push her into the pond to drown her. But as the brother was watching his little sister drown, suddenly a tiger attacked him, taking both a leg and an arm in the attack. 

So the stepmother got what she wanted, the death of her stepdaughter, but at the cost of her son’s well being. So she was far from pleased and turned her anger to Hongryeon, and the abuse got worse than ever. The little sister couldn’t bear the torment, especially without her sister and drowned herself in the same pond to join her sister and escape her hell. 

The Ghosts of Janghwa and Hongryeon

Strange happenings started to befall on the village after the death of Janghwa and Hongryeon. Whenever a new mayor was appointed to Chul-San-Gun to uphold justice, he was found dead soon after. Often even the following day after his arrival.

The virgin ghosts: Poster from the 1972 movie adaptation of the Korean ghost story, Janghwa Hongryeon jeon of the two sisters Janghwa and Hongryeon

These strange and mysterious deaths kept happening and although no one knew for sure about what was happening to the mayors of the town. Rumours started to spread throughout the village and most of the rumours were about Janghwa and Hongryeon that drowned in the pond and they were sure the sisters were the cause of it all. 

But things were about to change when the young mayor came to the village of Chul-San-Gun. The young mayor was well aware of the deaths of Janghwa and Hongryeon that had occured, but had no fear for his own life.

Sitting in his room at night, the candle was suddenly blown out, even though there was no windows or doors open. Horrible noises and screams from nowhere filled the room and the door flung open. The air itself became damp and a smell of moss slithered in like he was in the bottom of the pond himself.  

First he couldn’t see anyone in the darkness, but then the mayor saw two girls as the ghosts they were in front of him. He thought Janghwa and Hongryeon looked just like living human beings at first, but realised soon it had to be them haunting the place.

When the mayor asked them why Janghwa and Hongryeon had killed his predecessors, they started weeping, sick of people spreading false rumours about them, even after their death.

Janghwa told about the lies the stepmother had told about her and that all she wanted was the truth to be known. She had not been an unchaste woman that committed suicide out of shame, but that she had in fact been killed. The mayor asked for evidence and Janghwa told him to examine the fetus of the supposed miscarriage. 

The Truth of Janghwa and Hongryeon comes out

The very next morning the new mayor did just this and followed Janghwa and Hongryeon’s advice. When examined more closely, it was revealed that the supposed human fetus was in fact a rat. Both the stepmother and the eldest son that had played a part in her evil plan was sentenced to death. The father on the other side was let go as they thought he had also been deceived. And the tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon ended with justice, even though they had to die before it happened.

Read Also: Another Korean ghost story about a woman trying to solve her murder in her after life is in The Legend of Arang

Many years later, the father of Janghwa and Hongryeon remarried again, still not giving up on family life. In a dream he had on his wedding night, he saw his two daughters and they told him that everything was alright and as it should be, that they missed him and wanted to come back to him very soon. The wife of the third wife delivered twin girls and the father named them Janghwa and Hongryeon, and according to legend of Janghwa Hongryeon jeon, they lived happily ever after. 

The Korean Virgin Ghost of Janghwa Hongryeon jeon

The Tale of the two sisters Janghwa and Hongryeon is one of the most well known tales of the quintessential virgin ghost in Korean folktales. It is when unmarried women die before their wedding and the remorse of it all makes them into a vengeful ghost. Read more about them here:

The Korean Virgin Ghost

The Korean virgin ghost may be based on the ideals that all a woman needs is a husband, but the anger of these spirits tells of a woman with another purpose. And that is mostly vengeance. 

The ghost itself has gone through many changes throughout the ages since Janghwa Hongryeon jeon, and if anything, become more violent and bloody than in this classical Korean ghost story.

But nonetheless, the tale of the two sisters in Janghwa Hongryeon jeon keep on lingering in the back of Korean culture as an undying story with the two sister as a reminder that the truth will come out no matter what.  

More like this

Newest Posts

References

JangHwa HongRyeon | USC Digital Folklore Archives

Janghwa Hongryeon jeon