The Cursed Officers
A captain of the soldiers who were once quartered in Osterode now haunts this town in the form of a dog. Every evening, around eleven o’clock, it appears at the upper mill666 at the part of the city wall called the “Schildwache”, and slowly walks along the Schildwache until it reaches the Johannistor gate, and turns around at the Johannisbrücke bridge and walks down past the depot, finally vanishing at the Kreits Steg. If you encounter it on its patrol, it will pursue you until you reach your own destination. However, it normally doesn’t harm anyone, and will only bite those who tease or even beat it. When there were still soldiers stationed in Osterode, the dog always woke up the soldiers standing guard when they were asleep, and did not stop with its scratching, knocking, and barking until they were awake again. It was allegedly a very large dog, and had the shape of a bulldog.
The following is also told in Osterode about an officer. Once, there was a man whose house was supposed to be sold against his will, since he had more debts than hairs on his head. Then he said that his creditors might as well get his house, but no one would be safe from the haunting within it. “Well”, the authorities said, “we will be sure to put an end to this”. They therefore sent a man to stand guard there. They also told the man — who was armed with saber and pistols — to shoot immediately if the ghost approached. When the clock struck twelve, a jangling noise came down the stairs, something opened the door to the main chamber, and entered the room. It was a wall clock, which made a horrible noise and almost deafened the guard. The guard took aim, but was unable to fire due to some damage his gun had suffered. The second night, another guard was sent there who was promised a nice sum of money if he was able to take down the haunt. The guard remained stout-hearted throughout. When the large clock approached the guard around midnight, the guard took aim and, by accident, shot off one of the weights powering the clock. The clock fell apart, and an officer was standing in its place. This officer had been cursed to haunt this house for a long time. The guard received his promised reward, and the officer was likewise grateful for his rescue.
 Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Volume 01: Lurkers at the Threshold. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary! |