Buzz
On February 6, 1127, the residents of Peterborough, England, were startled by the sounds of “an entire group of hunters in full pursuit” thundering through the night. Monks in the area reported hearing the eerie blasts of the hunters’ horns, which they believed indicated their otherworldly and sinister origins.
This legend is also prevalent in Scandinavia, Wales, France, Germany, and the Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe. However, the Wild Hunt tradition remains poorly documented, leaving room for widespread speculation and interpretation.
10. The Legendary Leader Of The Hunt Evolved Over Time
In Scandinavian lore, the arrival of the hunt was heralded by the fierce howling of Odin’s dogs. This ominous sign was often interpreted as a precursor to impending conflict. In Germany, the deity associated with wind and death often replaced Odin as the leader of the spectral procession.
Beyond Germanic regions, various legendary figures were believed to guide the hunt. In Brittany and Wales, King Arthur was commonly seen as the hunt’s commander, while in central France, a legendary figure known as the Great Huntsman of Fontainebleau was said to have forewarned locals about the assassination of King Henry IV and the upheaval of the French Revolution.
9. Real-Life Historical Figures Were Also Linked To The Wild Hunt
A tale from the German Rhineland, dating back to around 1250, recounts how Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogoth king who governed a subdued Italy during the fifth and sixth centuries, faced the Wild Hunt while attempting to save the maiden Babehilt from Fasolt, a forest-dwelling giant who commanded a ferocious pack of hounds. For medieval Germans, Theodoric’s triumph over the malevolent Fasolt symbolized their own valiant ancestry.
In later interpretations, the Wild Hunt assumed a far more sinister tone. Often, the devil himself was depicted as the leader of the hunt. When not the devil, notorious figures such as Sir Francis Drake were cast in this ominous role.
8. The Chariot of Hell
In medieval England, the Hell Wain was a spectral carriage that mirrored the behavior of the Wild Hunt. As described by 16th-century writer Reginald Scot, the author of The Discoverie of Witchcraft, one of Europe’s earliest skeptical texts on witchcraft, the Hell Wain was believed to be a wagon emerging from hell, visible in the night sky on specific occasions. On Earth, it was said to gather the souls of the damned, transporting them to eternal suffering.
In Ireland, the Coiste-Bodhar served a similar purpose. During the 19th century, West Virginians recounted stories of a ghostly black hearse pulled by two headless white horses, and by the 20th century, the hearse had transformed into a black car.
7. The Gathering of Witches
Ronald Hutton, a history professor at the University of Bristol in England, offers a distinctive perspective on the Wild Hunt. He suggests that the most prevalent portrayal is a blend of various myths popularized by Jacob Grimm. Additionally, Hutton posits that the ancient legend of the Wild Hunt significantly shaped the concept of the Witches’ Sabbath in Early Modern Europe.
Hutton specifically contends that the origins of the Wild Hunt are deeply embedded in northern European history. He cites Tacitus’s account of the Harii tribe, who would blacken their bodies and launch nocturnal assaults on their foes. This practice was meant to evoke either the Einherjar, the phantom warriors of Odin, or vengeful spirits. Medieval records from northern Europe also describe spectral or demonic armies traversing the night sky. These tales, long circulating in European folklore, laid the groundwork for the Witches’ Sabbath, often involving the abduction of children by airborne witches.
6. The Benandanti
The legend of the Benandanti werewolves is particularly unusual. These individuals transformed on four specific nights each year to venture into hell and combat malevolent witches called the Malandanti. Historian Carlo Ginzburg notes that their mythology bore similarities to the Wild Hunt. For example, the Benandanti claimed that during their sleep, their spirits roamed the night to safeguard their communities from danger.
Similarly, like the Benandanti—many of whom faced trials for Satanism and witchcraft in Italy’s Friuli region during the 16th and 17th centuries—those who reported witnessing the Wild Hunt were often prosecuted for supernatural offenses.
5. A Broader Secretive Cult?
In his study of the Benandanti, Ginzburg identified them as part of a pre-Christian tradition prevalent across rural Europe. He highlights that before the Inquisition and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, northwestern Italy had a rich indigenous folk magic tradition deeply connected to nature. Similarly, Austrian scholar Otto Hofler proposed that the Wild Hunt reflected a continuity between Germanic paganism and Christian-era German folk practices.
Although Hofler’s theories have diminished in popularity due to his ties to Heinrich Himmler’s Ahnenerbe project, his idea that the Wild Hunt represented a form of ancestor worship, akin to Mediterranean mystery cults, remains intriguing. Hofler suggested that those involved in Wild Hunt rituals formed a secretive society, comparable to the Mithras mysteries.
4. The Legend of Herne The Hunter
A somewhat ominous character in English folklore, Herne the Hunter is believed to be the master of Windsor Forest and Great Park in Berkshire. Shakespeare references him in The Merry Wives of Windsor, where Mistress Page describes Herne sounding his horn, turning milk to blood, and rattling chains at midnight during winter. Certain Anglo-Saxon versions of the Wild Hunt legend suggest that Herne led the hunt on specific nights.
Margaret Murray argued that Herne the Hunter was a manifestation of an ancient Celtic deity associated with witches. She believed he was part of a widespread pre-Christian religion that included fertility rituals and the Wild Hunt.
3. The Wild Hunt and Yule
Long before the Christian Yuletide, which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, ancient Germanic pagans observed Yule. This festival involved gift exchanges, offerings to deities, and grand feasts. The 12 days of Yule, spanning roughly from December 25 to January 6, were seen as a period of profound magic and a time when destiny shifted. Notably, Odin was believed to roam freely during Yule, as the boundaries between the living world and the realm of the dead were blurred and easily crossed.
During this time, Odin and his spectral riders would traverse the skies in search of lost souls. Intriguingly, modern traditions with parallels to the Wild Hunt, such as Krampus and the Perchta/Berchta festivities in Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and other regions, all occur around the Christmas season.
2. The Furious Host
In medieval Germany, the Wild Hunt was often referred to as the Furious Host. Legend has it that the fury stemmed from both the howling winds and the thunderous gallop of Wotan (or Wodan) alongside the spirits of the deceased. The phrase “joining the old host” was once a euphemism for death, emphasizing that the Furious Host was deeply tied to death rituals.
Kadmon draws a connection between the Furious Host and black metal, which also originates from northern Europe. He suggests that part of the Oskorei ritual involved creating terrifying sounds, much like other ceremonies linked to death, violence, and rebirth. In many ways, the nighttime activities of the Oskorei participants would fit right into a modern Halloween celebration.
1. Corpse Paint?
While bands like Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Arthur Brown popularized corpse paint—the striking combination of white and black greasepaint to create a ghastly appearance—its origins are shrouded in various tales. Some suggest it traces back to the Black Death, where performers portraying plague victims wore heavy, macabre makeup. However, Austrian black metal artist Kadmon proposes that corpse paint stems from the Oskorei, or Wild Hunt traditions, prevalent in Scandinavia and the German-speaking Alpine regions.
Kadmon specifically claims that Oskorei participants were young men who roamed the winter nights, punishing those who defied local traditions. Though his theories lack broad support, he also highlights how contemporary Perchten parades in the Alps reflect remnants of the Wild Hunt.
