The Witches' Ball of Osenau
|
| Geographic Coordinates: 51° 2' 3.35" N, 7° 6' 29.66" E |
The upper Dhünn valley, or the Lordship of Odenthal or Odindarne which used to have its own jurisdiction, is infamous because of its bloody witches’ trials, and is still called the “Hexenohnder” among the locals. For a long time, Strauweiler Castle still stored the piles of documents which were supposed to provide testimony about the guilt of the murdered. But only a single bundle of documents has survived by accident, as it was printed by a newspaper in the Rhine region. Sometime in the last few decades, a priest supposedly burned all the others out of pious outrage against the travesties of justice committed in this domain.
It is understandable that, as so many victims of the belief in witches were laid low in this valley, there are still local legends of a fantastic nature circulating there which seek to justify this belief. Among others, it is told that once two fiddlers came from Paffrath in the evening in order to travel home through the Odenthal valley, and that one of these two people was allegedly the famous Spielkässer of Birkhahnenberg near Steinbüchel. But the musicians lost their way before they had reached the river Dhünn. And, after much walking back and forth, they finally headed towards the direction of a light which led them to a lone hilltop. When they reached this height, which was located above Osenau and the Dhünn valley, they were surprised that the trees which surrounded a bare clearing were adorned with lights as if they were Christmas trees. Beneath the trees, a multitude of slender women moved around, and they were all clothed in shining, fluttering gowns.
When the two fiddlers stepped closer, they were soon surrounded by the strange apparitions and welcomed in the most friendly manner as if they had foreknowledge about their arrival. They were then asked to open up the circle dance with their music. The two fiddlers were initially rather anxious about this strange apparition. But since these beings did not ask them to do anything other than what was part of their trade, they did not hesitate for long before they reached for fiddle and cello, and the dance was soon in full swing. The companions could not get enough of watching the dance circle, where the long veils and gowns were fluttering around, and the limbs were visible behind their wraps as they were bobbing up and down. As beautiful the figures were, as delicately they bowed and pirouetted, their countenances were even more enchanting and their cheeks were smiling even more beautifully.
Furthermore, it seemed as if the two maestros had entirely different instruments, as these sounded utterly fantastic beneath the green canopy of leaves. As long as they had wandered and fiddled, they had never found any chamber where their music had been welcomed with such enthusiasm as out here in the open. They were even further encouraged in their efforts by the friendly manner of the dancing women. Not only did they lead the musicians to softly-cushioned seats where they could recline in the most comfortable manner, the woman also competed with each other to bring them foaming wine in large golden containers and pour the tangy froth into their high, thin cups. The artists had never tasted such fantastic refreshments before, and they partook of them until their eyes became befuddled, the instruments sank from their hands, and their heads sank against the tree trunks which their instruments leaned against.
The fiddlers were only woken by the chill air of morning. They were still lying on the same spot, but instead of thick cushions they were sitting on bleached horses’ skulls, and instead of the silver cups over which they had nodded off, they held long, hollow horses’ bones in their hands.
However, they claimed that this elves’ or witches’ party did not cause any greater hangover than any other.
Source: Waldbrühl - Die Wesen der Niederrheinischen Sagen, p. 27f