The Brave Girl in Ohmes

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Farmers sat together in the pub in Ohmes in Upper Hesse and were in a good mood. They were loud and merry. Between all the speeches, bets, and toasts, they hit on the idea of drinking wine for once instead of schnapps and beer, even though no one in the village had the keys to a wine cellar.

When seeing their long faces after all their bold speeches, the publican’s daughter — who had listened to all this — said: “Why so disappointed? I will get some wine!”

The remains of a castle are on a forested height next to Ohmes, and this ruin is called the “Wüsburg”. Many walls and rooms still existed at the time. Nobody lived in this forlorn place, but, nevertheless, from time to time bright lights shone here at midnight, and old life reawakened within the castle.

Thus, the girl took a basket, and dauntlessly went into the night. She saw bright light shining in the holes of the old windows, and cockily went into the structure. Inside, all doors were unlocked, and a woman dressed in purest white intercepted the undeterred girl as a ghostly gatekeeper. She asked the girl what she wanted. The girl answered urgently and without any hesitation: She needed and must have wine. Then the gatekeeper took the basket presented to her, went away, and returned after a short while with the basket full of wine bottles.

The girl courteously thanked her, went home with the gift, and the farmers enjoyed the offered vintage with great merriment. But, since they quickly began to appreciate the taste of the beverage, the wine bottles were speedily emptied. The girl decided once again to fetch more wine, once more took the basket with the emptied bottles, and went back to the Wüsburg. The window holes were still shining, and the girl was only ten steps away from the building when, suddenly, all lights went out and deep darkness fell. No door could be opened now, and the girl had to leave empty-handed.

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!