El Muerto - A Texas Ghost Story

Bigfoot Wallace

Here's a headless horseman tale, from a true life Texas legend.

El Muerto

A Texas Ghost Story

retold by S.E. Schlosser

After getting the lay of the land, so to speak, frontier man Bigfoot Wallace moved from Austin to San Antonio, which was considered the extreme edge of the frontier, to sign up as a Texas Ranger under Jack Hayes. In them days, Texas was as wild as the west could get. There was danger from the south from the Mexicans, danger to the wet and north from the wild frontier filled with Indians and desperados, and to the east the settlements still had problems with the Cherokee Nation. General Sam Houston himself had appointed young Captain Hays, a hero from the battle of Plum Creek, to raise a company of Rangers to defend San Antonio. Hayes had high standards for his men. They were the best fighters in the west, and they had to be, considerin’ the fact that they were often outnumbered fifty to one. A man had to have courage, good character, good riding and shooting skills and a horse worth a hundred dollars to be considered for the job. Captain Hayes knew all about Bigfoot Wallace and signed him on the spot.

So armed with Colt pistol and a Bowie knife, Texas Ranger Bigfoot Wallace once more took on the Wild West, and quickly made his mark on Texas folklore. In them days, the Rangers tended to handle stock theft at the end of the rope, so to speak, stringing up the bandits, forcing a confession out of them, and then leaving the bodies swaying in the wind to deter other outlaws. Only it didn’t work, and the bandits kept right on stealing, sometimes passing right under the bodies of their fellow outlaws to do it.

Now Bigfoot’s fellow Ranger, Creed Taylor, had a big spread lay west of San Antonio, in the cedar hills clear on the edge of Comanche territory, and he was constantly losing stock to bandits and Indian raids. The last straw came for Taylor the day famous Mexican raider and cattle thief Vidal and his gang rounded up a bunch of horses from his ranch and took them south toward Mexico. Most of the Rangers were heading north to pursue some Comanche’s out on a raid, but Taylor and a friend went immediately in pursuit of the thief, and when they bumped into Wallace just below Uvalde, he joined them.

Bigfoot was always ready to hunt horse thieves and desperados, especially those of Mexican descent, never forgetting what happened to his brother at Goliad. Bigfoot decided it was time to put an end to Vidal’s gang once and for all. He would track the wiry Mexican bandit to earth. The three men located the camp where the horse thief and his gang lay sleeping, and snuck in from downwind, so as not to alert the horses. Vidal was wanted dead or alive, so all the thieves were shot and killed in the gunfight that followed.

That was when Wallace got an idea. Obviously, hanging horse thieves hadn’t gotten the message across to the outlaws raiding the ranches of the good folk of Texas. Perhaps a more drastic example of frontier justice would do the trick. Severing Vidal’s head from his body, Bigfoot and his fellow Ranger tied the body to the saddle of the wildest mustang in the stolen herd and secured the severed head to the saddle horn so that it would bounce and flop around with every step taken by the mustang. Then Wallace gave a shout and sent the horse running away with its headless, dead rider, hoping the gruesome sight would deter future cattle thieves.

What he managed to do was frighten everyone in South Texas. Folks would be peacefully walking down the road of an evening when a terrible headless rider would gallop pass on a midnight black stallion with serape blowing in the wind and severed head bounding on the saddle horn beneath its sombrero. Nothing could deter the terrible specter – not bullets, not arrows, not spears. It was years before a posse of cowboys finally grew brave enough to bushwhack the horse and release the withered corpse from its back.

But on moonless nights, the ghost of El Muerto continues to ride across South Texas to this day with his long black serape blowing in the wind and his severed head bumping on the saddle beside him.

You can read more Texas folklore and ghost stories in Spooky Texas by S.E. Schlosser.

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Strange places in the U.S., Part I

The mysterious hand-print of the Carbon County Jail


There is a permanent marker on the wall of cell 17, of the Carbon County Jail, in the town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Each day, a hanged man proclaims his innocence, by the imprint of his hand. The permanent marker on the cell wall has resisted all efforts to clean, repaint, and even re-plastering. Not long after each attempt to cover it up, the hand-print becomes visible again.

Alexander Campbell, a recruiter for the Molly Maguires, said, "I am innocent, I was nowhere near the scene of the crime." Then he slapped his hand against the wall of his cell, and continued, "There is proof of my words. That mark of mine will never be wiped out. It will remain forever to shame the county for hanging an innocent man."

And indeed, that mark remains.

Read more here and here.





The Ghosts of Robbers Cave

Unexplained voices, cries, screams, and unintelligible laughing and talking can be heard in "Robber's Cave". Below the summit of Pahuk Bluff, near Lincoln, Nebraska, this network of caves is said to be haunted by the spirits of Pawnee tribes-people, runaway slaves and escaped prisoners, all long dead.

The cave passages are said to have connected the local penitentiary and the State Hospital for the Insane. One story claims that this tunnel was used as an escape route for prisoners, until it was finally sealed off.

The cave is no longer in existence, as the site was filled in and a business constructed on top of what was once the cave entrance. If you can find the location, you might still hear the sounds of the past.

Read more here.

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The Devil's Tramping Ground


According to those that seem to know, no one has ever been able to spend the night in the circle, tramped out by the Devil himself, as he eternal paces, pondering new evils for mankind.

Known as the Devi's Tramping Ground, the 40 foot x 40 foot barren circle in the midst of the forest near Siler, North Carolina lies cold and infertile, yet beckons the fool-hearty soul to camp in it's dark center.

Compass readings change in and out of the circle, showing there is some type of disturbance in and around the Devi's Tramping Ground, causing even the birds and bugs to be silent. Soil testing gives no particular reason as to it's apparent 'dead state'.

Animals refuse to tread across it, birds won't land on it's ashen surface. What is it, what created it so long ago? Settlers of the 1700s knew of it and the local Native Americans claim it is a sacred place.

Is it a landing spot for UFOs, or a vortex, a paranormal doorway to alternate realities? Objects placed in the circle will be moved or gone by morning and no one will spend the entire night in the circle. Would you?



Read more here and here.

Click on any image for larger view.
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Africa's Living Dinosaur

Living Dinosaurs; the Mokele Mbembe

Jurassic Albatross- The Mokele Mbembe, known by different names around Africa is a large dinosaur like monster said to be aggressive, but not carnivorous. It has a long neck and mainly lives in rivers, hibernating in caves during the dry season. With the small head and big body it seems to resemble a sea serpent, but no sea serpent has for columnar legs capable of supporting its weight on dry land. Is the Mokele Mbembe a living Sauropod dinosaur?

The first references to the Mokele Mbembe; the one who stops the flow of rivers, can be found in French missionary Abbé Lievain Bonaventure's 1776 book where he describes animals of the Congo. One passage describes a set of footprints possible referable to this cryptid; "must have been monstrous: the marks of the claws were noted on the ground, and these formed a print about three feet in circumference."

Other documents of footprints show consistency in having been large, at around 3 feet wide and three toed;
1919-1920, expedition into Africa conducted by the Smithsonian Institution; "African guides found large, unexplained tracks along the bank of a river" (Field Guide To Lake Monsters by Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe) ***
1927; Alfred Aloysius Smith, a trader working in Gabon during the 1800's wrights in his memoir Trader Bon where he refers to an unknown creature that leaves round three clawed footprints.
1966; Yvan Ridel photographs a set of three toed footprints near Laubomo.

Sightings showing the Mokele Mbembe to be long necked and large bodied;
1909; Lt Paul Gratz refers to a native legend in Zambia of a Sauropod like creature.
1909; Big game hunter Carl Hagenbeck in his autobiography Beasts and Men refers to multiple sources including other big game hunters and natives in the Congo area informing him of a creature "half elephant, half dragon" or "some kind of dinosaur, seemingly akin to the brontosaurs".*
1913; German Captain Freiherr von Stein zu Lausnitz includes descriptions of a beast sighted by natives in Cameroon; "The animal is said to be of a brownish-gray color with a smooth skin, its size is approximately that of an elephant; at least that of a hippopotamus. It is said to have a long and very flexible neck and only one tooth but a very long one; some say it is a horn. A few spoke about a long, muscular tail like that of an alligator."**

1939; in the German Colonial Gazette (Angola) a letter by Frau Ilse von Nolde describes encounters with a long necked monster called "coye ya menia" ("water lion").****
1976; botanical expedition into Zaire lead by James Powell, monster called the "n'yamala" described to him by natives. When they were shown pictures of animals alive and extinct the natives said that of the long necked Diplodocus dinosaur most resembled the creature.*****

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Black-eyed Beings- Aliens or Demons?

Have you ever met someone that you just felt was not entirely human, maybe not human at all? Well that's how people say they feel when they have met up with black-eyed people.

A sense of evil, dread, or some aura of alien presence is felt by anyone confronted by a black-eyed being. So just what are they, these coal-orbed creatures and what do they want?

One thing is for certain, do not let them into your home, your car, office or wherever you are! It seems they must obtain permission to enter your "personal space", so just don't give it.

I've personally never seen a black-eyed being, such as the witnesses in the stories below. I can't say that I'd ever want to.


The Coffee Shop

Missy will never forget the black aura of the stranger at Starbucks. It was a cold November day when she stopped at the coffee shop for a hot tea. She ordered her drink and was reorganizing her purse when she felt someone staring at her.

"I turned around to give 'whatever' to the perv that I assumed was watching me, and the smart aleck remark died in my mouth as I caught sight of him," Missy remembers. "I did not see anything unusual in his manner of dress. It was the eyes and the aura coming off of him that scared me. The eyes, blacker than black, no white at all, wall-to-wall black, and I just felt a darkness around him, an evil. As I looked in his eyes, I somehow knew that was not a human soul occupying that body… and I felt that he knew that I knew that he was not human."


The Apartment

Tee is a 47-year-old apartment manager in Portland, Oregon. After 20 years on the job she's used to meeting people of every description, however, you won't soon convince her that the young man who came to her door one day was normal.

"He was young boy of about 17 or 18, approximately," Tee says. "He asked me about an open apartment for rent. I remember feeling very scared and shaken by his appearance. He did not look weird by his dress or such. It was his eyes. I remember feeling the hair on my neck stand up, and I was shaking just from looking in his eyes."

Like Chris, Tee also felt that deep sense of malevolence. "I could not look him straight in the eyes," she says. "I felt like I was about to die. Now, some people may think that I was just over-reacting or something, but the eyes were completely black – like there was no real pupil. He spoke normally to me, but I had to just shut the door in his face and get as far from him as I could. I felt like I was in extreme danger."


At Home Comes 'A Knocking'

Adele was in her home when she had an experience with black-eyed beings that appearerd to be small children.

"I was sitting in my bedroom reading a book," Adele says, "when at about 11:00 p.m. I heard a knocking… a slow, constant one. I got up out of bed to see what it was. I looked out of the window and to my surprise saw two children. I opened the window and asked them what they wanted at this time of night. They replied by saying simply, 'Let us in.' I said no and asked what for. 'We want to use your bathroom.'

"I was quite shocked that children of about 10 years old wanted to use a stranger's bathroom at this time of night. I told them no, closed the window, but looked at them through the glass. I glanced at their eyes... and I have never ever seen eyes like them. They were black, completely black. I got the feeling of evil and unhappiness. It surrounded me. It was horrible."

True Story- Black-eyed Waitress
by E. Forster

First, I just want to say that I have never been a believer in the supernatural, paranormal, etc. I think that everything has a logical explanation that maybe only seems "bizarre" because of a certain kind of over excitement that many people have about "an experience from the other side," or what have you. There is absolutely no explanation for what I'm about to share with you, and it absolutely scares the crap out of me. Just recounting this is giving me a really creepy feeling that I don't think I'll be able to shake, maybe ever.

About three years ago, I was sitting in a local coffee shop in upstate New York during a little road trip. The restaurant was empty except for me and the night waitress. She was really pleasant and talked a lot; she was offering places to check out while I was in town and seemed amazingly astute. In fact, she seemed almost prescient, even guessing my age almost to the day and month and even certain things that I was actually planning to do the next day. It was so light-hearted, I thought I really lucked out by meeting a easy-going, smart young lady quite out my my normal way.

At closing time, she went to the back to, I guess, put some cash in the safe or something. As I was sitting there wondering what time I wanted to get up and hit the road again the next day, I momentarily thought I might even invite her for a few hours of "R&R." I decided instead to just remember the store and next time I passed through the area, to remember to stick my head in a say "hi" (no reason, I just wanted to play it cool and not seem overanxious at very first).

So, I got up and knocked on the door in the back of the coffee shop where she went in. At this time, there were only two dim lights in the main eating area, and barely any lights in the back room where she was. I opened the door. This woman who I just finished talking to was standing facing me, JUST STANDING THERE in the back of this dark room when I opened the door. Her skin was suddenly a clammy, cracked olive color, and her eyes were just BLACK. I mean, no white at all. Her eyes and mouth was open really wide, and she was screaming in the most spine-chilling sounds, something I couldn't understand, but it definitely wasn't sounds of goodwill.

I literally SCREAMED myself, and she started moving from one spot to the other through the room. Not running, just MOVING. Her clothes now looked all old, and she moved so fast; the back of the room must have been 15 feet or so back, and she just DARTED from one side of the back of the room, still facing me, to the other side, at an IMPOSSIBLE speed. Then she ran directly straight at me as I was now standing away from the door in the middle of the restaurant.

I got the hell out of there, and jumped in my car still seeing her nightmarish face in the restaurant, darting it seemed to every window at this impossible velocity. The worst thing was, as I tore out of the parking lot ... I looked in my rear view mirror ... and she was SITTING IN THE BACK SEAT, still with that nightmarish expression, still screaming. Then she just vanished as I was panicking around. Just gone. I don't know what that was that spoke to me in the restaurant that day, but I know that it wasn't a prank. I swear at night sometimes I see her shadow moving in the dark in my room, just grinning a really ugly, evil grin. I haven't slept properly since.

The Marine and the black-eyed kids

There isn't much that's tougher than a U.S. Marine, trained in combat, survival and able to face the threat of imminent bodily harm or death. That said, maybe they aren't quite as prepared, when it comes to encounters with the unknown. Using the name Reaper 3-1, this is a Marine's account of an unexpected and unnerving experience with black-eyed people. To make it even more harrowing, these black-eyed entities appeared to be small children.

I'M A MARINE stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I live in the infantry barracks off of River Road. I recently had a rather strange encounter with a pair of black-eyed kids.

I live on the third floor of the barracks that have open walkways on the outside and the rooms on the inside. This happened on a weekend back in November, 2009. It was a weekend, so almost every Marine was out, either home, drinking or sleeping; only a handful were left in the barracks awake. I'd stayed in that weekend because I was broke and had no money to go out.

I was watching a movie when I heard a knock at my door. Figuring it was my roommate who'd lost his key again, I went and opened it. Instead of a drunken roommate, I found two little kids standing on the walkway - only these kids freaked the hell out of me. I don't know what it was about them, but as a Marine we're always told to listen to that little voice in your head, because it just might save your life from an IED (improvised explosive device). Right then that voice was screaming at me to shut the door and lock it.

THE PLEA

There was also the fact that these kids had absolutely pitch-black eyes. I mean no white or any other color to them whatsoever - just black. But I pushed those things aside and asked them what they were doing there so late. They responded by saying that it was really cold out and they wanted to come in and read. I was confused as hell, because I've never met a kid that wants to read. Also, there was no mention of any parents or anything else you'd expect a lost couple of kids to say.

I couldn't take my eyes of their pitch-black eyes; it was like they were sucking me in. I felt horrible and was suddenly frightened for my life, like I needed to immediately take cover. They just stared at me, with those goddam eyes.

I took a quick look up and down the walkway to see if any other Marines were out, but there was nobody in site. I turned back to the kids who I noticed had taken a step forward toward me. I got the feeling like I was being hunted, like these kids where predators and out for their next meal or something. Instinct gave way to reason and I decided to listen to that voice and shut the door and locked it.

I heard soft constant knocking for the next five minutes before I heard my window rattle and then nothing. I went down to the officer on duty the next morning and asked him about it and he said he hadn't heard of or seen any kids in the area at all, and dismissed it saying that I'd probably had too much to drink last night. Only I hadn't been drinking at all or anything like that that night. I don't know what or who those kids were, but I doubt any of the families here would let their kids wander around at night on a military base.

These are but a few of the eerie stories of encounters with black-eyed beings. There are many more, from around the world.

Some of the common characteristics of black-eyed beings are as follows:

* Some of the adult or child-like black-eyed beings dress in a manner that attracts attention, be it clothing that is either extremely neat, appearing from a by-gone era, strange color combinations, or wearing all black or dark clothing.

* Contact with these beings often take place at night, or inside buildings.

* The black-eyed children do not act shy but may be forceful about what they want. They may try to intimidate or persuade, demanding entry into a home, or a vehicle. However, they do not seem to act physical.

* A common theme among the children with black eyes, is to ask for permission to enter a home or a car. Could there be certain laws these beings must follow, such as being invited in? This is much like the legendary vampire, or a demon that waits to be invited in before it can accomplish it's evil deeds.

* Witnesses sometimes claim that both black-eyed children and adult beings are evil, or that they note an evilness abouit them.

* After making eye contact with these beings, most people will shy away from them, even in public places.

* These beings have been reported by people world-wide. Where they come from is not known.

* Black-eyed beings appear to have solid form, unlike ghosts and they can and do communicate.

* By some accounts, at least some of these beings have olive colored skin.

List source

Paranormal.about.com
Paranormal.about.com
Paranormal.about.com
Davidicke.com

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It's been suggested that these black-eyed beings are really hybrid aliens, or "Men in Black", those MIBs that show up after a Close Encounter with a "UFO". Well, I've witnessed a black helicopter up close but can't say as I have ever seen an MIB, so I'll have to leave those speculations to someone else.

What might have happened to these witnesses had they stayed around, or allowed these beings to enter their homes? No one knows.

Could these stories of encounters with black-eyed strangers be true? Well, the universe is vast and there are so many unknowns. Stories like these are just a small part of what makes up our Phantom Universe.
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"Once In A Blue Moon" New Year's Eve 2009

"Blue Moon" to Shine on New Year's Eve
Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News
December 30, 2009







National Geographic News-For the first time in almost 20 years, a bright "blue moon" will grace New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide. (Take a moon myths quiz.)

If the skies are clear, revelers looking up at midnight will get an eyeful of the second full moon of the month—commonly called a blue moon. The last time a blue moon appeared on New Year's Eve was in 1990, and it won't happen again until 2028.

A blue moon isn't actually blue—as commonly defined, the name reflects the relative rarity of two full moons in a month and is linked to the saying "once in a blue moon."

With this New Year's Eve blue moon, "there is nothing scientific about it, and it has no astronomical significance," said Mark Hammergren, a staff astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.

"But I believe it does give us some insight into history and makes us think of how our calendar system has derived from motions of objects in the sky."

Blue Moon Error

The popular definition of a blue moon isn't the only one—and it's one that's based on an editorial error, astronomers contend.

The widespread definition of the second full moon in a month stems from errors made in an astronomy magazine, when a writer misinterpreted how the term was used in the Maine Farmer's Almanac.

Later studies of almanacs published from 1819 to 1962 revealed that the term "blue moon" actually refers to the "extra" full moon that can occur in a year due to differences between the calendar year and the astronomical year.

(Related: "Leap Year—How the World Makes Up for Lost Time.")

Most years on average have 12 full moons, with 1 appearing each month.

That's because the lunar month—the time it takes the moon to cycle through its phases—corresponds closely to the calendar month.

But the calendar year is actually based on the solar cycle, or the time it takes Earth to make one trip around the sun. This means a year is not evenly divisible by lunar months, so every three years or so there are 13 full moons.

The farmer's almanac further divided the year into four seasons, with each season lasting three months. When a given season saw four full moons, the almanac dubbed the third moon as a blue moon.

Ultimately, a blue moon as defined by the calendar isn't that rare, added Hammergren. The term's significance instead lies in the way it links people to the motions of the cosmos.

"Just being able to recognize that we can have a full moon twice in a month and have [folklore] attached really highlights the fact that humans have been astronomers their entire existence," he said.

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Full Moon Brings out the Werewolves, Not So Far Fetched

How that full moon really can turn you into a werewolf

By Richard Shears

dailymail- You thought werewolves were nothing more than terrifying mythical monsters with a spinechilling howl, be prepared to think again.

A study suggests that a full moon really can bring out the beast in us, turning us into biting, spitting and scratching animals.

While we may not actually transform into the bloodthirsty creatures of fables and movies such as An American Werewolf In London, research suggests we do display worrying symptoms.

A study conducted in Australia found that in the year to July, 91 emergency patients with violent, acute disturbances comparable to werewolves were admitted to one hospital north of Sydney.

And a quarter of these occurred on the night of a full moon, double the number for other lunar phases, according to Leonie Calver, a clinical research nurse in toxicology.

'Some of these patients attacked the staff like animals, biting, spitting and scratching,' she said.

The patients had to be sedated and physically restrained to protect themselves.

Miss Calver's study, reported in the Medical Journal of Australia, said: 'One might compare them with the werewolves of the past, who are said to have also appeared during the full moon.'

Werewolf mythology, she pointed out, included reports of people rubbing 'magic ointment' on to their skin or inhaling vapours to induce the transformation from man to beast.

The main ingredients of the ointment, said Miss Calver, were belladonna and nightshade --substances that could produce delirium, hallucinations and delusions of metamorphosis.

However the 'modern day werewolf' used a different 'potion' - more than 60 per cent of the patients reviewed in her study were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

'Our findings support the premise that individuals with violent and acute behavioural disturbances are more likely to present to the emergency department during full moon,' she said.

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Author Collects Texas Ghost Stories

Collecting ghost stories

Bob Bowman’s East Texas

(Bob Bowman, East Texas Historian)

jacksonvilleprogress.com- For years, the good people of East Texas have shared with us their stories of ghosts, haunted houses, unexplained events and other morsel of the macabre.

One lady even told us a story about a alien buried in a cemetery in Wise County — an event backed up by a story in a respected Texas newspaper.

Now, it’s time to put the ghosts into a new book.

And if you have a favorite story, here’s your chance to see it in print, whether you believe it or not.

You can call us at 936-634-7444, send us an e-mail at bobb@consolidated.net, or write us at 515 South First Street, Lufkin, Texas 75901. Our Web site is bob-bowman.com

Here are some of the ghosts of East Texas.

• In 1843, Milt Andrews built a splendid plantation mansion near Karnack. Sometime later, Andrews’ nineteen-year-old daughter, Eunice, also known as Oonie, sat alone in her upstairs bedroom when a bolt of lightning from a storm struck a chimney and raced down to a fireplace and struck Oonie. She was burned to death.

Over the years, stories rose that Oonie’s ghost never left her bedroom. Eerie noises, odd happenings, and ghostly apparitions soon became common. When the Andrews family sold the mansion to T.J. Taylor, Lady Bird Johnson’s father, in 1902, the ghost went along with the sale.

Lady Bird said she never saw the ghost, but admitted feeling a sense of apprehension and unease in the house as a child.

• At Patriot’s Hill, which stands beside the Sabine River near Hemphill, soldiers in the Civil War guarded the hill to keep Union soldiers from entering Texas. The men stayed at their posts until the war’s end, but many died from starvation and sickness.

Some people in Sabine County say the soldiers’ voices can still be heard on the hill and others claim they have seen men in Civil War uniforms silently standing guard in the woods.

Now that we’ve grabbed your attention, we’re waiting on your story.

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Bob Bowman of Lufkin is the author of 42 books about East Texas. He can be reached through his website.
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Gnomes- The Tomte of Sweden

A Gnome By Any Other Name

The Paranomalist- October 23, 2009 by John Carlson

My paternal grandmother was born in a rural area of Sweden in 1891, and when I was a boy she told me stories of the Tomte (as I understand it, Tomte is plural and the singular is Tomten), small beings that took the appearance of old, bearded men. The Tomte were no more than 3 feet tall and wore pointed hats, which we’ve of course come to associate with gnomes and similar creatures. Legend tells that the Tomte were capable of invisibility and could shapeshift, sometimes taking the appearance of a large, grown man.

Also, according to legend — and Grandma Alice’s stories — Tomte would usually be found on a farm and would carry out chores at night and help care for the farmer’s animals. It was thought to be bad luck to see a Tomten, but my grandmother claimed that she would often find his small footprints in the snow or mud around her home.

(Video capture of a possible gnome- Video on The Paranomalist)

Although basically a benevolent spirit, the Tomten was easily offended and could be vindictive. If, for example, the Tomten felt that the farmer was mistreating his livestock, heard swearing in the barn, or neglecting to clean up a mess, the Tomten would become incensed and cause mischief. Items around the house were found broken, the milk curdled, even the cows’ tails tied together. Tomte would also become angered and would seek revenge if they were sighted or if the farmer and his family failed to leave a bowl of porridge and butter out for him on Christmas Eve. My grandmother and her family used to follow this tradition, leaving out porridge with butter for the Tomten each Christmas Eve.

My grandmother was quite insistent that the Tomte were not merely the stuff of fairytale and legend, but real beings that occupied the farms and rural landscapes of Sweden. It was these stories that contributed to my lifelong fascination with tales of diminutive humanoids. Originally coming out of the pagan traditions regarding “earth spirits” and the worship of the natural world, the Tomte later became associated with ungodly or heathen beliefs after the Christianization of Scandinavia. However, despite the sometimes negative association, the Tomten has remained a popular figure in Swedish folklore.

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