For this fairy and snake folktale we're travelling to Wallonia which is the French speaking part of Belgium. Because the region is known for its misty forests, enchanting waterfalls, streams crammed with mossy rocks and dark caves, it’s unsurprising that tales about fairies follow you everywhere you tread. The otherworldly beings who call The Ardennes …
Not far away from the Belgian city of Ypres there’s a small village called Beselare that has all the appearances of just being another, normal village where nothing unusual ever happens. There’s a town square, a flower shop, a church, a bakery and a lot of other ordinariness, but at some point you’ll start to …
Continue reading The Village Where More Witches Lived Than People Without Magical Abilities
For this folktale we’re meeting a nixie in the municipality of Lichtervelde in the province of West-Flanders, although it’s not a creature you would have liked to encountered in the flesh. The story goes that many moons ago there was a ditch that was feared and avoided by the locals who often woke up in …
According to a Flemish folktale a man no longer wished to be a werewolf. Howling at the moon and terrorising villages were no longer any fun. In fact, it had become boring. To cease to be transformed into a werewolf against his will the man had to revisit all the villages he had brutally attacked. …
Continue reading Short Folktale: The Werewolf Who Went on a Tour of Redemption
Besides the medieval facades, the cobbled alleys and the charming bridges, the city of Bruges is also well-known for the elegant swans that majestically swim in the narrow canals, and several folktales tell the story how these swans came to Bruges. The first tale is my favourite and the lesser-known narrative of the two. According …
In a small town near the Belgian city of Antwerp there once lived a free-spirited lady who was feared and shunned wherever she went. Not that she minded. The unnamed woman dragged her spinning wheel outside every day and spun until the sun went down while a black cat rested at her feet. The other …
In the city centre of Ghent there’s a stunning piece of 13th century Gothic architecture known as Geeraard de Duivelsteen or Geerard the Devil castle. The building was named after a knight who in all likelihood wasn’t as much as a villain as legend wants you to believe, but since I’m all about folklore this …
Naart Stuyck is a short piece of fiction that is based on ghosts who are said to haunt the Belgian city of Ghent. It is part of Ghostlore: An Audio Fiction Anthology produced by the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast and edited by Lyndsey Croal. You can find part one of the podcast which …
The Karnemelkbrug or buttermilk bridge in Ghent, Belgium is first mentioned in the city archives in 1199. The bridge was demolished in 1900 but fortunately the folktales that were set there didn’t disappear along with the bridge. It was a place where water devils lurked, a place associated with witchcraft and the spot where the …
Continue reading The Belgian Karnemelkbrug: Ghosts, Water devils and Witchcraft
Signe Maene 