The White She-Ghost

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Geographic Coordinates: 53° 11' 22.13" N, 7° 30' 48.71" E

There are female monsters, female devils, female spouses, female fiancées, so why shouldn’t there be female ghosts? A long time ago, there used to be a castle between Breinermoor and Backemoor, whose owner was a chieftain. He was also a connoisseur of the arts. He had not found a wife that suited his preferences and, thus, lived as a bachelor from one day to the next without a care. One day, he encountered a painting, a portrait of a young and beautiful maiden. To see her and to fall in love with her was the same. The painting did not leave his side, and the more he gazed at the maiden, the more he was consumed by desire for her. Thus he pledged: “This beautiful girl shall be my wife, no matter the cost!” He also intended to honor the painting in the same way as the original until he found her.

But, as it happened, the noblewoman was already dead and, thus, could not find peace in the grave due to the sinful idolatry of the knight. As a white ghost, she floated around the castle every night and tried to make the admirer of her beauty understand her predicament. But oh, the pain! The besotted man couldn’t leave her alone and instead decided to unite with her in death. Thus, he took the painting with him and set himself aflame along with his castle without going through the rite of confession before the act. As he had died in sin, the unfortunate maiden cannot be released and must now haunt the site of a castle as a white ghost. She appears to wanderers during the twilight of the morning and evening, clad in a white, woolly dress shining like phosphorus. Whoever is touched by the dress is hit by blindness or receives burn-like wounds at the point of contact.

Source: Sundermann - Sagen und sagenhafte Erzählungen aus Ostfriesland, p. 55f

Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles 1E 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!

Volume 01: Lurkers at the Threshold Note: This story was published in the book Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles Volume 01: Lurkers at the Threshold. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary!