冬夜里天上传来号角和狗吠，那是“狂猎”过境

Old people in Germany, Northern Europe, and Britain all have the legend of the “Wild Hunt.”

In winter, especially during the twelve nights around Christmas, when strong winds blow, horn sounds, barking dogs, horse hooves, and hunters shouting can be heard in the sky. A troop of ghosts rides horses, accompanied by hunting hounds, hunting in the sky. The leader varies by version: sometimes Odin, sometimes a dead king, sometimes the Devil.

Those who see them will suffer misfortune. Some say war will break out, some say plague will come, some say someone in their own family will die. If you meet them on the road, it is best to lie flat on the ground or hide inside a house and shut the doors and windows, and never call out after them.

The most dangerous thing is being summoned by them. Once you join, you can never return.

One of the earliest written records dates to Normandy in 1091. A priest named Walchelin was returning from a patient’s house at night when, on the road, he saw a long procession of people on horseback, on foot, and carrying things, passing by like ghosts. He recognized several deceased acquaintances among them. Later, a monk wrote his account into a book.

In the nineteenth century, the Brothers Grimm in Germany collected many such legends; each place told them differently, and who led the hunt and what was being hunted varied from village to village.

In Windsor, England, there is a similar hunter named Herne, who rides a horse at night wearing antlers and roams the Great Park.

#Ghosts #网络转载 #欧洲民俗