Whimper

A whimsy mother (also wailing mother ) is a legendary figure that appears in various regions of Germany, for example in the Ore Mountains , Vogtland and East Thuringia .

She is usually described as an older woman (a mother) who cannot find peace. In the stories she appears as a white figure or as a walking light. The creature is in uncanny places or in the house of the seriously ill and makes plaintive noises. The encounter with a whimpering mother is always considered a bad omen for the death of a person.

Examples of stories in which a Winsel Mutter appears are Die Winselmutter on Oswaldbach , Die Winselmutter in Mutzmühle or Die Winselmutter near Grünhain .

The appearance of the white woman , which according to the vernacular can be found in the Bavarian district of Ebersberg, is also similar to the Winsel Mutter. The White Woman or White Maria is said to haunt the Ebersberg Forest mainly at night.

The Winsel Mother from Oswaldbach / The Winsel Mother from Grünhain

When midnight approaches, a ghostly shadow scurries along the edge of the Oswaldbach , near Grünhain, whining and complaining . Then people know that the whimper is going around. And they know what to tell about her: She is the mother of a young man whose lover one day broke her loyalty. Deeply saddened by this, he went to the Oswaldbach and drowned himself in the deep water of the raging brook. The mother searched in vain for the body of her son for seven long days. And when she couldn't find him, she died of exhaustion and a broken heart. But because she quarreled with God during the search and rebelled against his decree and took an oath not to rest until she had found the son, there was no rest for her after death either. Now it is her lot to walk around the edge of the Oswaldbach at midnight and to search for the body of her drowned child amid loud wailing and whimpering.

Related figures

Figures related to the Winsel Mutter can be found in Celtic mythology:

• the banshee , Irish mythology
• the Gwrach y Rhibyn , Welsh mythology
• the Mallt-y-Nos , Welsh mythology
• the cailleach , Irish, Scottish mythology

Whispering mother : pappus of a field thistle

botany

The white seeds of the thistles floating in the air are also referred to as whelk mother in some areas of Germany.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Legends from the Erzgebirge selected and retold by Manfred Blechschmidt from Schwarzenberg, Erla district, 2003–2012 - hast-du-ahnung.de
2. ↑ after Ziehnert's poet. Adaptation from Grässer, Sagenschatz des K. Sachsen, no. 530, 1894