Riding the Walrider
In the parish of Wildeshausen, there were two farmhands serving a farmer who slept in a single bed. The senior farmhand, who slept at the front of the bed, became very skinny even though he was otherwise healthy. Thus, the other one asked him why he became so skinny, for “you are not ill, as you eat as much as I do”. The senior farmhand answered: “If you experienced the same thing as I did, you would become skinny as well.”
Then the other farmhand didn’t let up questioning the senior farmhand until the latter had told the whole story. Whenever they were lying in the bed, a walrider came each evening and put a halter on him. Then he was immediately transformed into a horse, and she rode on him all night. Then the other one said: “If it is nothing more than that, I shall lie at your position in the evening, and, when she comes, I shall be able to deal with her.” The senior farmhand was content with this, but they didn’t tell anyone so that the walrider wouldn’t learn of this plan.
Then, as they went to bed in the evening, the senior farmhand lay at the back end of the bed and the other one at the front. The senior farmhand, who had been ridden the night before, immediately started to sleep. But the other one did not sleep and only stayed quiet. After some time had passed, he heard something approach, and, as soon as the walrider was next to him, she attempted to throw the halter over his head. But he quickly grasped for it, managed to grab the halter, and threw it over the head of the walrider, who was immediately transformed into a horse. He sat on it, quickly forced it to gallop to a smith, and then had the smith shoe the horse. Then he rode back home, removed the halter, and allowed the walrider to leave. When they rose the next morning, the farmer’s wife did not want to leave the bed. When she was lifted out of it by force, by the farmer she was unable to walk, for she had horseshoes on her feet. Thus, the woman was exposed as the walrider. The farmer couldn’t understand how this could have happened until the farmhand told him everything. Then the farmhand had to hand the halter over, and the farmer put it on his wife and led her to the smith as a horse. The smith then had to remove the horseshoes again. But the farmer did not give her the halter back.
Source: Strackerjan - Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg - Erster Band, p. 471f
Geographic Coordinates: 52° 53' 35.00" N, 8° 25' 53.00" E
 Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles: Commentaries on German folklore. Get the book for further context and explanatory commentary! |