Elbst

The Elbst is a water spirit that is said to live in a mountain lake near Seelisberg in Switzerland . The name is probably derived from the word Alb or Alp .

It is described as drifting wood, like tree trunks or an island that drifts on the surface and it is supposed to pull people into the depths. But it can also take on other shapes, such as that of a snake, a dragon , a black sow, a fish, a fire wheel, a fiery ball and the like. In any case, its appearance should always be interpreted as a bad omen. The council clerk Renward Cysat described the Elbst as follows: There one had too many cythes and recently in 1585 on the same Sew by hällem day there were two ghosts floating around in ungly form ... now like a big sawwood, now like a Höwburde.

literature

• Leander Petzoldt : Small lexicon of demons and elemental spirits , 3rd edition Munich 2003, page 61 ISBN 3-406-49451-X