The Ship of Hell

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There have long been complaints that the chancellors serving the lords of East Frisia did not work to the land’s weal, but to its woe. But the reign of no other chancellor has ended with such hearty cries of “Farewell” as the one of Justus von Wetter. Wetter was a true plague, a scourge on his subjects. The people of Harland, the stepchildren of the East Frisian noble house, in particular suffered under his rule. Therefore, a heavy weight was lifted from their hearts when they heard the news: The chancellor’s black soul had left his body.

However, the following tale is told about his death and journey to the Hereafter: In the night when the chancellor was lying on his deathbed, the Devil appeared. He demanded from the dying man’s next of kin that they should leave, as he alone had the right to receive his soul and lead it to Hell. After this was done, the Devil snapped the neck of the helpless chancellor, pulled his soul out of his throat, and flew away with it into the air — towards the coast where the Ship of Hell was waiting for its departure.

At this time, nobody in Harland knew about the death of Wetter. But in the morning, sailors from the islands Langeoog and Spiekeroog appeared in the harbor of Harlingersiel and reported with deeply disturbed frowns: “During the night we were on the Wadden Sea, trailing our nets, and slowly moved towards the coast while fishing. When it it turned midnight, a completely black ship sailed past us. It had full sails that were black as well, and sailed directly against the wind while not making any kind of noise. There was strange activity on board, and, even though it was darkest night, we were still able to see the crew clearly. They consisted of many hundreds of devils moving about their tasks both on the deck and in the rigging. And behind the wheel there was a devil who was more terrible in countenance than the others. In his dreadful claws he held a white thing which whined and writhed back and forth, and occasionally cried out loud when Satan pinched it. And we were terribly afraid when our ships were first tossed to the side and then pinned in place as if bewitched, and then a shrill voice called out to us: ‘Tell your compatriots that the Devil has fetched the chancellor this night!’ And then the devil’s ship was suddenly out and beyond on the high seas, and a mocking laughter arrived with us from a great distance. And we hurriedly moved to get away from this haunted site.” And there was great joy in the land after hearing this news, and even today people say: “Great justice was done to the chancellor!”

Source: Sundermann - Sagen und sagenhafte Erzählungen aus Ostfriesland, p. 25ff

caption Note: This story was published in the book Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles: Commentaries on German folklore. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary!