Glowtail

As Gluhschwanz (also Glühschwanz , Gluswans , Glûswanz or Gluuschwanz ) is a German Nachtgespenst and mythical beast called, like a glowing dragon looks. The legendary figure is said to have flown over the houses with his long glowing tail at night. It was reported that he visited the witches through the previously open chimneys and brought them grain or money so that they could put sweet milk on the stove for him to drink. If they hadn't, he set their chimney on fire.

It was said of the strange creature that if a farmer did not pay his servants the right wages or a day laborer did not serve his employer properly and stole grain or eggs, the glowtail would come to them at midnight and fly over their houses. His glowing tail lit the roofs of the villains so that all could see their atrocities. Now and then he would sit on the chimneys and let something fall into it so that the meat that was hanging in the chimney for smoking could no longer be enjoyed. For many days or weeks there was a beastly stench in the whole house.

For honest people, on the other hand, he shook thalers out of his glowtail through the chimney into the house.

In earlier times it was sighted in today's Peine district in the localities of Oberg (part of the community of Ilsede ), Handorf (part of the district town of Peine ) and the community of Lengede . But it was also seen in many other regions, such as the area around Schöppenstedt , Wehrstedt or the Helmstedt district , and can be found in their legends.

Shooting stars were thought, among other things, for the appearance of the fiery, glowing "dragon".

literature

• Glowtail. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 8 : Glibber – Gräzist - (IV, 1st section, part 5). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1958, Sp. 464 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
• Sagenschatz des Kreis Peine by Robert Bartels, Der Gluhschwanz pp. 39-40, 2nd edition, February 1965, printing and publishing company Löffler und Diehl KG, Peine.

Web links

• Heimatverein Wehrstedt eV: The Chronicle. Chapter 5: the glowtail

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} The glowtail. In: Robert Bartels: Sagenschatz des Kreis Peine. 2nd edition, February 1965, Buchdruckerei and Verlag Löffler und Diehl KG, Peine, pp. 39–40.
2. ↑ elmsagen.de ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ elmsagen.de ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ heimatverein-wehrstedt.de
5. ↑ http://www.ostfalen.de/Kalender/calendar.php?show=details&id=223  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Shooting Star. In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 18 : Stehung – Stitzig - (X, 2nd section, part 2). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1941, Sp. 2517-2518 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).