The Klabautermann
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| Geographic Coordinates: 54° 10' 57.00" N, 7° 53' 7.00" E 54° 18' 28.12" N, 9° 40' 11.03" E 57° 50' 50.00" N, 9° 4' 23.00" E |
Some sailors believe in a ship spirit, the klabautermann. The following is said of them: If a mother murders her child and buried them beneath an oak tree, and if one day planks from this tree are used for a ship, then it is the soul of the murdered child which turns into the klabautermann.
As long as he knocks, he stays. However, once he starts to make rasping noises, he will leave, and that is not a good sign. He allegedly appears as a small boy clad in grey or blue. Whoever is born on the 22nd of February in the midnight hour can see the klabautermann face to face. If a ship departs on a Monday or Friday, then the ship spirit has power over all the crew on board, and fog, rain, and bad weather will accompany the ship on its entire journey. If someone on board is going to die, then a blueish light which constantly dances up and down will appear in the masts and yards a few days prior. Then the klabautermann will soon come and fetch his victim, or so the sailors say.
As long as such a ship spirit remains friendly with the crew, the ship will not sink, and every journey will succeed. Everything which breaks during the day will be fixed by him during the night. For this reason, he is also called “klüttermann”. He also prepares all sorts of labors for the sailors, or even does it for them. If he is in a bad mood, he makes an abominable ruckus, throws around firewood, unworked wood, and other things, knocks on the walls of the ship, obstructs the workers, and even gives the sailors invisible slaps on their ears. It is said that he is called “klabautermann” after this ruckus.
If he makes too much noise, or if he shows himself one night while sitting on the tops of the yards next to the masts and sails, then this is a terrible sign, and the sailors fear that their ship will soon come to an end. Shortly before the ship sinks, the klabautermann appears before the captain, bids him farewell, and then flies away before his eyes.
One such klabautermann once dwelled on a ship. He pranked the sailors in all sorts of ways and disturbed the sailors at night during their rest, but he usually remained invisible. Only once did he appear before the ship’s carpenter. The latter immediately grabbed a piece of firewood and threw it at the kobold. It hit the spirit, which had the appearance of a small, fat man, and broke his leg. The next morning, the carpenter likewise broke a leg in an inexplicable manner, and in the same moment laughter echoed down from the hold. The klabautermann had avenged himself.
Once, a sailing ship on a long journey was in the middle of the ocean. The crew had their usual labors, and the captain was in the cabin. Suddenly, he emerged on the deck and shouted towards the cabin boy: “Bring me a bottle of wine and two glasses!” — “Two glasses, captain?”, the surprised boy asked. The captain ordered him to go and do as he had been told. When the boy entered the cabin with the bottle and the glasses, the ship spirit sat with the captain, and both spoke with each other. The captain poured for him, and they drank together.
The captain furthermore ordered a decent snack. But before the cabin boy went to the cook, he first observed the kobold closely through the keyhole. And when he returned with the requested food, he could not refrain from secretly taking a part for himself. In the evening, he stood in an unobserved corner of the deck and wanted to eat the stolen snacks. Then he received such a powerful slap from an invisible hand that he fell down. When they heard his scream, sailors ran towards him, found the snacks, and the boy had to confess. Now the crew knew who had shared the slap.
Once, a cabin boy from Blankenese kept watch from the forecastle when the ship was near Helgoland. Suddenly, he dropped down from the forecastle with a lot of screaming, and could not utter a single word when he was questioned about this. The next morning, the helmsman sent him up to the rigging. As soon as he was up there, he dropped backwards on the forecastle and broke a leg. He said that he had seen a white figure on the bowsprit the previous evening, and the next morning he had seen it again up in the rigging. He had dropped because of this. But this figure had been none other than the klabautermann.
Once, a ship had reached its harbor after a long journey. In the evening, a sailor was standing on the deck and suddenly heard a delicate voice which was directed to a nearby ship. “Did you have a good journey?” replied the voice from the other side. “Yes, but I had a lot of work. If I hadn’t been there, the ship would have sunk. But I don’t want to stay here. The captain and the sailors ascribe the fast and easy journey to their diligence alone, and forget me. I will leave this ship tonight.” The sailor now knew that two klabautermanns had talked to each other, and that good fortune would leave his ship. The next morning, he left and looked for another ship to join. His previous ship left for the ocean some time later, but it did not reach its destination.
Once, a sailor from Delve was on the ocean with his ship. His son was standing behind the wheel. Then the klabautermann appeared at the bow of the ship, walked across the deck, and carefully looked at everything. Finally he approached the son and, without speaking a word, he put his hand on the wheel. Then he walked back across the deck and vanished. The ship sank on the very same night. But the sailor and his son were able to save themselves.
Once, a sailor from Friedrichsholm was moored at Rendsburg with his ship. The crew was on board, and everything was ready for departure. Suddenly, an enormous ruckus emerged from the hold. This is a terrible omen, and could only come from the klabautermann. All sailors except the cook left the ship. The skipper had to hire another crew. Then the ship sailed away, but it sank in the Skagerrak with all hands.