Russian superstitions. White woman. The most famous ghosts Ghost of a woman in white torn

The White Lady (also known as the White Lady) in the Czech Republic is one of the most famous female ghosts. It has been mentioned for years in such detail that it would seem that even skeptics can believe in its existence. User lenaudenko on the LiveJournal service told the details of the mysterious and tragic story of the ghost.

Good ghost and cipher in the portrait

According to those who believe in this, a ghostly lady appears in the Rožmberk nad Vltavou castle (the first mention of it dates back to 1250), which belonged to the Rožmberk family. She is kind and usually does not try to instill fear; she is seen in a white dress with keys in her belt. However, if she comes wearing black gloves, it means that one of the descendants will die. If it's red, there will be a fire. There are legends that her soul can be freed by the one who deciphers the inscription on the portrait (see below).

Cursed by a cruel husband

According to legend, this is the ghost of Perchta Rožmberk, whose approximate years of life are 1429–1476. Against her will, the girl was forced at the age of 20 to marry the aristocrat Jan Lichtenstein, who had a very dark soul. He mocked Perkhta in every possible way, and also organized orgies in the castle. His evil sisters, like the relatives of Cinderella from the fairy tale, also humiliated the girl.

Perkhta could not escape from her husband: the customs of the 15th century did not allow her to return to her father's house. As a result, she lived with the monster for twenty years. Before his death, he asked her for forgiveness, but she refused to forgive. Then he cursed her.

“May you have no peace after death,” he stated.

And, as they say, this curse came true.

Phantom Nanny

After death, the soul of the White Lady did not calm down. As they say, she came to her descendants and protected them from evil. The ghostly guardian visited the children at night, and they were not afraid of her. The maids also knew about her visits. But one day an incident occurred with the new nanny: while the White Lady was rocking little Peter Vokov, the woman noticed her and started screaming. The lady slipped through the wall and never visited Peter again. He became the last owner of the castle.

Gift from a ghost

When Peter grew older, he was told about the incident with the White Lady. Out of curiosity, he ordered the wall through which the ghost had passed to be broken down. And they found a treasure in the wall. Since then, legends have begun to appear that the treasure can be found wherever the White Lady disappears.

The case of the students

It is said that there was an incident when a group of students staying at the castle began to laugh at its legends. One of them even said that he was ready to hug the White Lady and confess his love to her. Then she came to teach the uninvited guests a lesson. At the same time, the impudent one had the imprudence to actually try to hug her - and lost consciousness.

Goes out for a walk

According to rumors, the White Lady also likes to appear in the town of Cesky Krumlov, in which Perchta lived after the death of her husband until her death. Eyewitnesses said that she leisurely walked along the streets and helped people.

Seen during the war

According to legend, the White Lady was also seen during the Second World War. In 1944, the Germans organized a fascist school for girls in the castle, and she once appeared to the students and shook her finger at them. They ran away in fear, and the fascist flag they were trying to catch fell down.

Photo: lenaudenko.livejournal.com, Wikipedia, publy.ru

The Spanish-speaking population of the southwestern United States calls her La Llorona (la-yo-ro-na) - the Mourner. They say that the ghost of a tall young woman of extraordinary beauty with flowing black hair has been ringing the banks of rivers and lakes with her screams almost since the time of the conquistadors.

According to legend, during her lifetime the Woman in White was named Maria, and she was a loving wife and mother of two sons. Her husband was also crazy about her and surrounded her with constant attention and showered her with gifts. But soon after the birth of his children, he left her and returned to gatherings with friends over a bottle of wine or chasing another skirt. It seemed that he had completely lost interest in Maria and even talked about leaving her for the sake of a woman from his circle. When he returned home, he only interacted with the children, and Maria began to feel hatred towards her sons.

One evening, Maria and her children were walking along the shady bank of the river, and a carriage stopped next to them, in which her husband was sitting with an elegantly dressed lady. The man started talking to the boys, but didn't pay any attention to his wife, and then he hooted and didn't look back.

In terrible anger, Mary grabbed the children and threw them into the water. But when they disappeared into the waves, she realized what she had done and rushed to the shore, trying to save them, but it was too late. She wandered along the riverbank for days, hoping that her children would return to her, her white dress torn and soaked in mud, but all in vain, until she finally died.

Soon after her death, her restless spirit began to be seen at nightfall on the banks of the Santa Fe River or floating along its course in flowing white robes. Her screams and crying did not stop all night, and people began to be afraid to leave their houses. Gradually everyone forgot her name and called her La Llorona.

The story of La Llorona is told with minor variations. The Woman in White's husband leaves her either for another, or in search of work, or simply abandons his family. She kills her own children, almost always drowning them, either to lift them out of a life of poverty, to find another husband, or to take revenge on their absent father. Usually, her restless spirit wanders at night, looking for her lost offspring. Those unfortunate enough to see or hear the Woman in White are marked for imminent death. The differences are found mainly in the way the heroine is dressed. "She was dressed up like a whore, and this guy picked her up in El Paso, down by the river. He just gaped!" "She was wearing a nightgown, long and white." “She was wearing a wedding dress and a long white veil covered her face.” She always cries and sometimes her eye sockets are empty, sometimes her mouth is twisted like a horse's. There is also no consensus on the choice of her victims, some say that she kills only children, dragging them under water, others that men who were unfaithful to their families.

Hispanics in America believe that the Mourner follows them everywhere, wandering along the rivers and lakes, all the way to Montana and the Yellowstone River.

In the film "Frida", which tells about the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, the song "La Llorona" is heard. Here is her text:

La Llorona

Salias del templo un dia, Llorona,

Cuando al pasar yo te vi;

Hermoso huipil llevabas, Llorona,

Que la Virgen te crei

Ay, de mi!, llorona,

llorona de azul celeste.

No dejare de quererte, llorona,

Y aunque la vida me cueste.

Todos me dicen el Negro, llorona,

Negro, pero carinoso.

Yo soy como el chile verde, llorona,

Picante pero sabroso.

and translation:

Mourner

You were leaving the temple one day, Llorona,

When I was passing by I saw you.

You were wearing such a beautiful shirt, Llorona,

That I took you for the Mother of God

Oh my God, Llorona,

Llorona from the blue sky.

I will never stop loving you, Llorona,

Even if it cost me my life.

Everyone calls me Black, Llorona,

Black, but gentle.

I'm like a green pepper, Llorona,

Two very different versions of this song :))

Woman in white

One of the plots of the popular series "Supernatural" is dedicated to a woman in white - a ghost that appears on the roads of Europe and America and sometimes causes the death of unlucky motorists. It is based on legends that claim to be true.

Although extremely popular in the United States, the legend of the ghost traveler may have originated in Europe, as do legends of ghost travelers. In Asian folklore, a ghost companion appears in the form of a young woman whom a man escorts to her parents' house. She follows him, but when they arrive at the place and the man turns around, the woman has disappeared. In America, the legend of a ghost companion arose at the end of the 19th century. It occupies a prominent place among American lore because of the role played by the automobile and the romance of the road in American culture, especially since the mid-20th century.

There are several versions of the story about the ghostly stranger.

One of them tells the story of a young man returning home from a party late at night. On the way, he notices a young girl in a long white dress on the side of the road and gives her a lift. Noticing that the stranger is trembling from the cold, the young man invites her to put on his jacket. Having reached the girl’s house, he opens the door to help her get out, and then notices that his companion has disappeared. In the end, our hero decides that she just ran into the house. The next day, the young man remembers that his new acquaintance forgot to return his jacket. He goes to her house and meets the girl’s mother there, who says that her daughter died in a car accident 10 years ago. She shows him her daughter's grave. His jacket lies on the tombstone...

Another variant. At night, a young man, very drunk, returns home from the bar. He tries to hail a car, and eventually some girl offers to give him a ride. The stranger calls his name and brings him to her home... The next morning he comes to his senses at the grave. On the tombstone is the name of that same girl...
In some variations, the girl suddenly disappears from the car near the cemetery, and the driver notices his jacket, which he just lent her, on one of the tombstones... Sometimes he ends up at the house of the deceased's parents and sees photographs of her in which she is depicted in the same dress where he met her...
Another option. A group of youngsters go on a car ride in a car that belongs to the father of one of them. On the way they come across a girl and they offer to let her down. A stranger sits in the back seat between two guys. At one of the intersections, she asks to drop her off, but the idiots have other plans... The girl starts screaming and suddenly begins to decompose right before her eyes... The unlucky adventurers jump out of the car in horror. There is no corpse in it, but everything is saturated with the smell of decay...

Does the “woman in white” have real, non-folklore prototypes?

In the 60s last century, Maria Rua and her fiancé were driving in a car to the house of the girl’s parents, they were in a hurry to inform their relatives about their engagement. Along the way, the young man lost control. There was an accident and both died.
A short time later, another young man drove along the same road. He saw a girl in a white dress on the side of the road, stopped and offered to give her a ride. The girl silently sat down in the back seat. At some point, turning around, the guy discovered that there was no one behind him... Deciding that the passenger had somehow fallen out of the car and was now lying wounded on the road, he went to the police station for help. Together with the officer on duty, they searched everything around, but there was no girl on the road. And then both noticed that the car door opened and closed by itself...
In most cases, the stranger in white does not cause much harm to drivers, only frightens and puzzles them. Although from time to time such ghosts cause accidents.

So, in the mid-70s, on a steep mountain road near the American city of Klamath Falls, a young girl was hit by a car. Now from time to time her ghost votes on the road. If one of the drivers stops, the phantom beckons him along and leads him into the abyss... Sometimes the ghost suddenly appears in front of the car, and it swerves sharply to the side, falls into the abyss or crashes into a rock...

But legends about women in white are not always associated with the road...

Woman in White
NY

At the beginning of the 19th century, on the site where Durand Eastman Park is now located, the White Lady lived with her daughter. One day the girl disappeared. The White Lady was convinced that the girl had been raped and killed by a neighboring farmer. The unfortunate mother took two shepherd dogs and went in search of the child’s body. She walked around all the surrounding forests and swamps, but nowhere did she find even a trace of her daughter. Distraught with grief, Lady threw herself off a cliff into Lake Ontario and drowned. The shepherd dogs followed their beloved mistress.
After death, the mother's spirit returned to find the child. People say that on foggy nights a Woman in White emerges from little Lake Durant near Ontario. Accompanied by her dogs, she walks through the park and is still looking for her lost daughter.
The Woman in White is a hostile spirit. She hates men and pursues them, avenging her child. Sometimes she tries to push their cars into the lake. However, she never touches the women accompanying these men.

Mourner
California

They say she was a poor young girl in love with a noble man. She bore him three children. The girl wanted to marry the father of her children, but he refused. He said that he would have married if not for illegitimate children, whom he considers a disgrace.
Then the girl drowned the children to prove her love for their father. However, soon after this, the unfaithful lover married someone else. Mad with grief, the girl rushed back to the river. She walked on the water, crying and calling for her children. But it was too late. Then she climbed onto the bridge, jumped into the river and drowned.
Her spirit is doomed to wander forever along the river, crying and looking for her children. They say that every time a crying woman appears, someone dies.
They say that one day two young people were driving late on a summer night when they heard a terrible scream. It sounded like the desperate cry of a child or a wounded animal. Suddenly, the white roadside fog began to thicken. He soon took on the shape of a beautiful young girl, dressed in a white dress, her long black hair loose. She cried and wrung her hands. The young people realized that they were seeing the ghost of the Mourner. Frightened, they tried to pass by as quickly as possible, fearing that the rumors about her were true. However, nothing happened to them that night. They stopped at the nearest bar and drank to calm down. By morning, the young people were sure that they had just dreamed the ghost and laughed about this incident.
The next night the young people returned home along the same road. At the very place where they met the Mourner, the car suddenly lost control, they left the road and crashed into a tree. Both died on the spot.
However, the Mourner only predicts death, but never kills herself.

“Women in White” are seen not only on the roads of America. Here are the stories that changed the way some motorists think forever.

One spring night in 1977 in South Africa, a young man stopped on the side of the road near Uniondale. An attractive woman stood alone on a dark road. The man decided to give her a lift, and the woman climbed into the car. He drove about seven miles, then stopped at a roadside gas station. Only then did the man notice that his companion seemed to have disappeared into thin air. It was impossible to get out of the car unnoticed, since the driver had not made any stops since he picked up the mysterious companion. Shocked by what happened, he immediately reported to the police.
The police told the man that a similar situation had occurred several years earlier with another driver. To solve such unusual cases, an expert in the field of the supernatural, Cynthia Hayend, was invited. She recognized the ghost on the road as a certain Maria, who crashed to death in the spring of 1968 exactly where both drivers saw her for the first time. Later, these witnesses recognized the late Maria from the photograph provided. However, that's not all. It's funny, but the ghost of the deceased reappeared on the road. This happens exactly once a year and approximately coincides with the date of the girl’s death. Approximately - this means that the ghost may appear on the road a few days earlier, or it may appear a few days later. But it only comes across to young unmarried men driving around in cars.

Take the A229 south of Chatham in the UK. Notices of inexplicable and mysterious incidents began to appear from here as early as 1968. The root cause of this was probably the death of a woman in an accident near the foot of the mountain three years before the first news of a ghost on the road. Now she constantly slows down cars at the site of her death, asking drivers to give her a lift along the way.
After some time, the girl disappeared without a trace, puzzling gullible drivers. However, it happens that a ghost, instead of voting on the road, appears half a meter from a car rushing at full speed. For example, M. Godunau, heading past the ill-fated mountain in the summer of 1974, suddenly saw the silhouette of a woman appear in the headlights, and then disappeared under the wheels of his car. Beside himself with fear because of the impending responsibility for what he had done, Godunau slowed down and slowly walked out into the street. On the road lay the bloody body of the woman he had hit, completely motionless. The poor guy wrapped her in his jacket and dragged her away from the roadway. He then drove to Rochester, where he visited the first police station he came across.
Here he confessed everything. However, the police officers who went to the indicated place found nothing. The dead girl disappeared, but the same jacket in which the frightened driver wrapped her remained. And the blood at the scene of the collision seemed to evaporate. Surprised law enforcement officers went back for lack of evidence of a crime. There was no reason for them to detain the shocked driver.

Similar to "Women in White" White ladies- in the folklore of the Germanic peoples, supernatural creatures who are often identified with ghosts and forest spirits. The White Ladies treat people quite friendly - they lead lost travelers onto the road, turn ordinary stones into miraculous ones, point them to deposits of gold and silver, help women give birth and take care of the house, predict the future, calm storms, and so on. However, they are very easily angered by ingratitude and cruelty, and then they severely punish offenders.
People do not see them: only a person born on Sunday, or one who has an elven talisman with him, can see the white lady. Then a young woman of dazzling beauty with long blond hair, in a white dress with lace, will appear to him.

In the north of France there is a legend about "white ladies", sometimes called fairies, lying in wait for lonely travelers near bridges after dark. Having waited for such a traveler, the “white lady” asked to dance with her. If the person agreed, after the dance he was safely released. If he refused, the “white lady” threw him off the bridge or ordered her owls and cats to attack him.

The insidious ghost of a girl in white is found near the German town of Deggendorf, in the place where the railway passes through a tunnel. Late in the evening, it lures random passers-by into the tunnel, and they get hit by a train rushing at high speed...

What do all these episodes have in common? The ghostly stranger is always very beautiful and dressed in a white dress. When confronted with the living, she either disappears or, somehow influencing people’s consciousness, sets up accidents...

They have appeared from time immemorial, all over the world, and continue to appear to this day. We have encountered similar cases at least a dozen times since childhood. Most often it looks something like this: A young woman, in a fit of melancholy and hopelessness because of her husband’s cruelty and beatings, kills her children. Or she kills them because they prevent her from marrying the man of her dreams. Either way, when she dies, she becomes a ghost. The most famous version of this story most likely comes from Mexico:

A long time ago, the legend says, a beautiful Indian princess, Doña Luisa de Laveros, fell in love with a handsome Mexican nobleman named Don Nuno de Montesclaro. She fell in love deeply and sincerely, and bore him two children, but Montesclaro refused to marry her. When he finally left her and took another woman as his wife, Donna Luisa went mad with rage and stabbed both of her children to death. She was found wandering down the street, sobbing, her clothes stained with blood. The authorities accused her of infanticide and sent her to the gallows.
They say that after this the ghost of La Llorona ("the mourner") wanders at night in bloody clothes and mourns her murdered children. If she comes across a child on her way, she can take him with her to the Lower World, where her spirit usually lives.

But even this is only a modernized version of an older legend, perhaps dating back to the days when conquistadors rampaged along the banks of the Rio Grande - a clear indication of how long this type of ghost has been hanging around. Closer to home, in the Dallas area, they tell a different story. The local spirit is known as the White Rock Lake Ghost. The story of La Llorona combines here with another famous urban legend - the legend of the disappearing hitchhiker. Sometimes a driver (almost always at night) picks up a person voting on the highway, and then this person either suddenly disappears, if, for example, the car passes a cemetery, or gives an address that leads to an abandoned house. Our father had a very definite opinion about the disappearing hitchhiker:

This ghost is all the more dangerous because it plays on one of the best human qualities - the need to help out a person in need of help. The problem with the disappearing hitchhiker is that he doesn't always disappear without a trace, sometimes he leaves behind a souvenir - a burning desire to meet him again. Usually this search leads straight to the cemetery and there is one less Good Samaritan in the world. Some spirits just cannot get closer to the right place themselves, but others just love to playfully use the best sides of human nature.

Around White Rock Lake, you'll see mysterious lights, hear strange noises, and the locals will probably tell you a lot of stories if you stick around long enough to listen. You will learn about a pretty girl in a soaking wet white evening dress, voting on the road and then disappearing before the car takes her to her address. And about another girl who can be seen near the coast. She asks to make a phone call and then disappears, leaving behind only a puddle of water and a fading echo of screams.

We have heard of other sightings of La Llorona - in the cemetery area in Chicago, at Fort Monroe in Virginia, on the Mourner Bridge in Dublin, Indiana, on the Calumet Bridge in Gary, Indiana - and in general, they flock to the Chicagoland like flies to... honey. But we've heard that the woman in white/disappearing hitchhiker has been spotted as far away as Singapore. But all these ghosts are completely harmless. So we don’t bother with them yet, why: each of them is just a wandering ghost, a tramp, no harm from him.

The last time we met the woman in white was in Jericho, California, several years ago. Just like the White Rock Lake Phantom, she was a "vanishing hitchhiker." She asked to take her home and, if you picked her up, you would soon find yourself at an old empty house in a deserted place and no longer have to worry about returning home.

Furthermore, in this case the spirit - Constance Welsh - was suicidal. She drowned her children and jumped off the bridge. Sometimes suicides turn into evil ghosts, taking revenge on people who harmed them during their lifetime. They are confused and desperate, and over time the darkness becomes so overwhelming that they begin to haunt anyone who even remotely resembles the people who drove them to suicide.

Our father, after banishing the woman in white at Durant, Oklahoma in 1991, wrote in his diary that he thought La Llorona was a type of spirit called in Ireland bean cid, or banshee.

Sometimes they are dressed in white, sometimes in a shroud or other funeral clothing. They scream, scream, and sometimes they foretell the approach of death for one of those relatives who hears them. They usually appear in one of three guises, which correspond to the three degrees of femininity (and perhaps have something to do with the age of the person whose death they foretell). A banshee can appear as a beautiful young girl, as a mature woman, or as a decrepit witch. The latter appearance is likely distantly related to the infamous English witch known as Black Annie, a one-eyed crone who was physically strong and demon-like in appearance: long teeth, steel claws, and a blue face. She was hiding in a huge oak tree, the last thing left of the ancient forest. Like many other witches, she fed on human flesh, preferring children, which she chewed after flaying them alive. She hung these skins in her hole under the roots of a tree. Baba Yaga from Russian folklore is another type of witch who lives in a dense forest in a hut on chicken legs. She also loves children, but, unlike Black Annie, Baba Yaga, on occasion, could provide important magical assistance to the hero or find a child. If you ask her nicely and kindly or catch her in a good mood, then she can help you in your business instead of making a chop out of you.

The banshee was often seen crying while washing bloody clothes in the river - usually the clothes of someone who was about to die. She may appear as a raven, a rabbit, or a weasel.

Many noble families of Europe can boast of stories about the ghost of the White Lady. Many stories have been told about the appearance of the Woman in White in the castles of the Czech Republic, Germany, and France. I decided to make a selection of the most famous legends. The first story is about the White Lady from the Czech Republic. (Among the illustrations my photos of the town of Cesky Krumlov).

From the notes of Nikolai Verbin, 189*
This happened during my trip to Poland. The weather suddenly deteriorated sharply, the road to the nearest town remained long, and I decided to stay at a roadside hotel. I was not mistaken, a blizzard soon arrived. It was already evening when I settled into my room. Suddenly the door of my room opened slightly due to a draft. When I went up to close it, to my surprise I saw on the stairs the white silhouette of a female figure, which, slowly going downstairs, disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Thoughts flashed through my head: “I hope I’m not falling into madness? Did I really see a ghost?” It is curious that the mysterious figure did not cause me fear or any other unpleasant sensation that people who saw ghosts mentioned. Having settled down at the table, I tried to read in order to drive away obsessive thoughts. I couldn't concentrate on reading. In the shadows of the candle I began to imagine all sorts of devilish things, and the howling of the storm outside the window only intensified my excitement. I decided to go down to the living room, hoping to find company for conversation.

White Lady of the Rožmberk family
In the living room I met the military man Michael von Rosemberg, about whose noble family I had heard a lot (he descended from the wealthy Czech aristocrats of the Rožmberks). Mikhail was smoking a pipe, sitting in a chair at the coffee table. The captain's face looked thoughtful. Not afraid to seem crazy, I told him about my recent vision.
- And have you seen the White Lady? - the interlocutor perked up.
His question gave me hope that I was not the only witness to the supernatural.
- Yes, she came down the stairs... Did she come to you? - I suddenly realized.
The interlocutor nodded.
“She was wearing black gloves,” he added sadly and thoughtfully.

Castle "Rožnberk nad Voltavou", where the ghost of the White Lady appears. 19th century drawing

Not wanting to guess what "black gloves" means. I asked my interlocutor to tell a story about the ghost of the Rožmberk family. Fortunately, the situation was conducive, the illuminated living room seemed like a special safe place, and the dark corridor seemed like a gloomy road to another world. How darkness intensifies children's fears!

Modern view of the castle, photo from the guidebook

My new friend happily began the story.
The White Lady of the Rožmberks, more often called the White Panna, usually appears in the places of the former possessions of the Rožmberks, but sometimes she comes to representatives of the clan regardless of the distance.
She is kind and does not instill fear. Although sometimes it is a sad message. If she comes wearing black gloves, it means death awaits one of the family members; if she wears red gloves, beware of fire. But if there is a smile on the ghostly face, it means there will be good luck.
Now I understood Mikhail’s excitement; he was clearly worried about one of his relatives. Seeing me as an understanding interlocutor, Rosemberg continued the story.

Perchta Rožmberk (lived around 1429 - 1476) - White Panna.
According to legend, her soul will be freed by the one who can decipher the mysterious inscription on the portrait.
As a reward to the savior, the lady will indicate where the treasure is kept

Curse of the Villain
Her name is associated with the sad story of the Rožmberk family of Czech nobles, which occurred during the wild Middle Ages, in the 15th century. The noble girl Perchta from the Rozhmberg family was forcibly married to the evil aristocrat Jan Lichtenstein, who had influence in the royal court. The husband turned out to be a villain and in every possible way mocked his young wife, who turned 20 in the year of her marriage. He also dared to have orgies in the castle without being ashamed of his young wife. Liechtenstein's evil sisters also humiliated their new relative.

Perkhta tried to escape from her husband, but the wild customs of that era did not allow her to return to her father's house. The unfortunate woman was forced to stay with her husband. She lived with him for more than 20 years, enduring tyranny. Before his death, her husband asked her for forgiveness, but the honest, proud wife refused to forgive the bullying. Then the scoundrel cursed Perkhta: “may you have no peace after death,” after these words his black, sinful soul fell into Hell.

Drawing in the interior of the castle, 17th century

Alas, the curse came true. After death, Perkhta's soul did not rest. She appears in a white dress with keys in her belt.

Guardian of the family
The lady was always kind to the Rožmberks. She came to nurse the children of the family and protected them from all evil. The maids knew that the lady visited the children at night, and were not afraid of her. One night, while the ghost was lulling little Peter Vokov to sleep, the nanny, recently hired, woke up. The foolish woman screamed and the White Lady slid through the wall and disappeared. She did not visit Peter again. He became the last owner of Rožmberkov Castle. Perhaps a careless servant angered the keeper of the clan.

Portrait of Peter Vokov (lived 1539-1611) as a child

Treasure of the White Panna
The grown-up Peter Vokov was told about his childhood meeting with the White Panna. Out of curiosity, he ordered the wall through which the ghost had passed to be broken down. A treasure was found in the wall. Since then, foolish treasure hunters have been roaming the former possessions of the Rožmberks, wanting to meet the White Lady and find out from her about the treasure. Some people think that the treasure should be looked for where the ghost disappears. You can only laugh at human stupidity.

Coins of Rožmberk

Funny case
One day, the White Panna scared a group of students staying in the castle. After drinking too much local beer, they started making stupid jokes about the ghostly mistress. One said that he was ready to hug the lady and confess his love to her. Perkhta came to teach the impudent man a lesson, who, out of his stupidity, decided to do what he was told, and tried to hug the ghost. He got off lightly; the noble lady only knocked him unconscious. They say that there are ghosts more severe to such antics, and he could not avoid madness.

Interior of the castle "Rožmberk nad Voltavou", photo from the guidebook

White Panna in the town of Cesky Krumlov
In addition to Rozmberkov Castle, there is another favorite place for the appearance of the White Lady - the town of Cesky Krumlov. After the death of her husband, Perkhta remained in this city for the rest of her life. She was remembered by the townspeople for her kindness and mercy. When Perkhta died, the whole city mourned her. They say that the White Panna often visits her beloved town. There were stories of eyewitnesses who encountered a white figure leisurely walking along the narrow streets.

City of Cesky Krumlov, My photos are from 2005 (enlarge when clicked). Note lenarudenko

Rozmberkov Castle in the town of Mikulov, where the appearance of the White Panna was also noticed

The alleged narrator is Michael von Rosenberg, a military engineer who received the rank of major general (life 1861-1928). Representatives of the Rožmberk family appeared in Russian service in the 18th century under Tsarina Anna Ioannovna

A few days later I received a letter from Rosemberg in which he wrote that a close relative of theirs had died. The death of a relative occurred on the very evening when the White Panna appeared to him.

Addition to the story. The appearance of the White Lady was noticed during World War II in 1944. The Nazis set up a Nazi school for girls in the castle. One day, schoolgirls raising a fascist flag saw a ghostly woman who shook her finger at them. The frightened girls ran away, and the raised flag tore off the pole and fell to the ground. An explanation was quickly found for the incident, blaming saboteurs for everything. However, no strangers were ever found in the castle. So the ghost spoke out against fascism on her estate.

The picture is just about me :))
In summer, the castle hosts a night tour dedicated to the White Lady. No one met the ghost, but the excursion was very interesting. I hope that when I visit the Czech Republic again, I will definitely visit the White Lady.

Rolf MEISINGER, Germany

“...Do you hear someone’s cautious tread? And the rustle of a silk dress? Isn't this the ghost of the White Lady?! The world's first White Lady coin was released at the Royal Canadian Mint in early June. This is the famous ghost of the tragically deceased bride from the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. But this is not the most interesting thing!..”

A real medieval castle without its own ghost causes me sincere regret. And neither tapestries darkened by time, nor dusty hunting trophies, nor dimly shimmering knightly armor will change the situation. Well, seriously, it is the thought of the presence under the echoing arches of halls and corridors, in the creaking twilight of stairs and passages, in the musty emptiness of dungeons and dungeons of something mysterious, perhaps even sinister, that gives the family nests of the European nobility a thrilling human imagination charm.

Shhh... Do you hear someone's careful steps? And the rustle of a silk dress? Isn't this the ghost of the White Lady?!

Coin "Ghost Bride"

It can be called the numismatic event of 2014! The world's first White Lady coin was released at the Royal Canadian Mint in early June. Its reverse features a holographic image of a girl in a wedding dress. This is the famous ghost of the tragically deceased bride from the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. But that's not the most interesting part! Thanks to the lenses used in its manufacture, the phantom... “comes to life”! When the coin is tilted, the girl either opens or closes her eyes. It looks creepy, but very impressive!

They say that in the 1930s, in a hotel located in the mountains of Canada's Banff National Park, a young bride died during a wedding ceremony. She stumbled on the stairs. Since then, the ghost of the unfortunate woman has been shown to guests and hotel employees every now and then. A girl in a wedding dress is seen either dancing alone in the corridors of the hotel, or thoughtfully going down the ill-fated steps. True, the hotel administration does its best to deny rumors of visions. By the way, you don’t have to go to Canada to admire Fairmont Banff Springs, which looks like a medieval castle. The moment the phantom on the coin opens its eyes, the mysterious hotel appears beneath it in all its glory.

The Ghost Bride coin opens the Ghosts of Canada series. There will be five coins in total. These coins are presented as postage stamps on the souvenir booklet for the first 25 cents in the series.

Restless souls from the German notgelds

European legends are replete with references to ghosts. And the White Lady plays an important role in them. She was often found where someone's life was unnaturally cut short. Something similar happened at Dreifels Castle in the German town of Berg...

The structure, founded in the 12th century on the tops of three rocks, could be admired at the end of the 20th century. Until a terrible fire happened on March 8, 1994. The castle was badly damaged, and most of it was demolished during restoration work in 2012. It was then that they remembered the ghost of a woman in white, which had terrified the inhabitants of Dreifels for centuries. It seems that it was his fault that the castle burned down several times before. According to eyewitnesses, the ghost was enormous. As shown on one of the town’s notgelds, printed back in 1921.

It should be mentioned that German ghosts do not wear wedding dresses, but funeral attire. In the old days, noble women were buried in white clothes.

An extremely rare image in the world of money on 75 pfennigs is accompanied by the quatrain:

Seeing a ghost in the castle,

Everyone lives in fear and confusion.

Know that someone will die there soon...

This is how it has been done since time immemorial.

All night long the ghost of the White Lady wandered around Drifels, slamming doors and sighing sadly. Knowledgeable people claimed that her baby was stolen from her and sacrificed, walled up in the base of the main tower. Dying, the unfortunate woman cursed the owners of the castle and vowed to visit them after death.

By the way, on the notgeld you can also see the silhouette of the murdered man. The artist depicted him as a ghostly man. Matches our brownie. That is, we can assume that a poltergeist was also playing pranks in the castle chambers...

An equally interesting picture adorns 25 pfennigs of the same series. Where another ghost of Berga is presented - the Headless Horseman.

And the corresponding poem on the boom:

Headless at a crossroads.

From dark night to dark night,

He guards the milestone stone,

It’s impossible to remove the curse from yourself.

Here he fell in battle when he tried

He will take the castle by force,

He remained on the battlefield,

We don't know his name.

Legends involving a beheaded man have been known in Germany for centuries. This creepy character played the role of a kind of omen, appearing to someone who intended to commit a crime. They say, don’t even dare to sin, otherwise they will not treat you in the best way! It is interesting that the milestone stone immortalized on the notgeld and mentioned in the poems has survived to this day. It is located at the base of the mountain. On the road leading to Dreifels Castle.

Poor, poor Countess Orlamünde

Today, at least six paper coupons are known, the drawings on which illustrate one or another story about the adventures of the White Lady. All of them were printed in Germany in the 1920s, during a time of severe inflation. Hence their name - notgelds. That is emergency money. This circumstance is unique. For nowhere else in the world were banknotes dedicated to people from the other world issued.

The most famous are the Notgelds of the town of Orlamünde in Thuringia, who tell the most popular of the legends about female ghosts in Germany. The widowed Countess Cunegonde von Orlamünde fell in love with Count Albrecht von Nuremberg, nicknamed the Handsome. Marriage to one of the Hohenzollerns would solve many of her problems. But Albrecht hinted that “two pairs of eyes interfere with this.” The Count had in mind his parents, who would not be very happy with such a daughter-in-law. However, Cunegonde decided that her two children were to blame. Desperate, she killed both of them. When the monstrous crime was revealed, Albrecht the Handsome turned away from Cunegonde forever. And then the Countess cursed the Hohenzollerns, turning into a fatal omen after her death. Since then, she allegedly more than once foreshadowed the death of the offspring of this dynasty of German electors, kings and emperors.

On one of the bonds with a face value of 50 pfennigs, the ghost of the countess is depicted hovering over the outskirts of the family estate of the Frankish Hohenzollerns - Lauenburg Castle.

But several inaccuracies crept into the image of the next notgeld! The inscription on it tells that the ghost of Countess von Orlamünde appeared to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia - (1772-1806) before the famous battle of Saalfeld on October 10, 1806. As you know, he was killed in that battle with the French. But, firstly, eyewitness accounts do not report that the White Lady was the harbinger of the death of the son of the last German emperor. Many saw a strange woman in white, along with others, accompanying Prussian soldiers to the war. Her face was hidden by a veil, from under which sobs could be heard. The prince was the first to notice her and pointed her out to his adjutant. And, secondly, the evening before, the ghost of the White Lady had already visited Louis Ferdinand at his residence. Lieutenant Nostitz (depicted immediately behind Ferdinand on the notgeld) pursued the ghost along with the prince through the corridors of the palace until the phantom disappeared into the wall. “So, this is not a dream! - said the pale Ferdinand. “I really saw her... A white woman!” And, having taken the adjutant’s word to remain silent, he returned to the interrupted party.

Nowadays, the ghost of a White woman is mainly present in the stories of truck drivers and car enthusiasts who spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Almost always in such stories events unfold in the dark. An eerie phantom suddenly throws itself under the wheels or onto the windshield, voices on deserted stretches of roads, or floats like a foggy silhouette in the headlights. At the same time, drivers all over the world are complaining about frightening road mirages!

In the meantime, while ghost hunters and scientists are breaking spears in an irreconcilable dispute about whether paranormal phenomena and phenomena should be considered something real, let's once again admire the ghostly creatures that have firmly settled in the world of money.

Rolf MEISINGER, Germany