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Halloween step aside: Dušičky rules in Bohemia
In most of Central Europe, All Souls’ Day is a family affair. For much of the English-speaking world, October is spooky season, with ghost and cobweb decorations already going up. It culminates…
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The unlucky black cat of the Křížalova Street inn
A murder plan during the plague had long consequences for an evil servant Prague’s menagerie of supernatural critters of course includes a black cat. The tale is one of the most gruesome,…
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Terror of a bald ghost haunting Wig Maker’s Hill
A wildly unlikely tale attempts to explain the odd name of a local park. A hill overlooking Prague’s largest cemetery, Olšanské hřbitovy, has an undeservedly shady reputation but is now home to…
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The mysterious White Lady of the Záběhlice Chateau
A ghost at what was a rural castle near a vineyard never revealed her secrets Parts of what is now Prague used to be villages separated by dusty and seldom used roads.…
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Mystical gold coins gave rise to two of Prague’s synagogues
Rather fanciful tales put a colorful spin on the origins of some buildings in the Prague’s historical Jewish quarter
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Legendary Czech entry Guardian of the Flooded Village wins European Tree of the Year
A devil sat beneath the tree to play his eerie violin at night before the village was covered by dam water Legends surround a 350-year-old Scots pine called the Guardian of the…
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Warning! Don’t try robbing a grave in Prague
The failed attempt of the Swedish army to conquer Prague at the end of the Thirty Years’ War has been back in the news, as a Baroque-style Victory Column that was toppled…
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Morana, the Czech goddess of winter and death
Each of the seasons in Slavic folklore is overseen by a god or goddess, though the names and attributes vary greatly from region to region. In Bohemia and Moravia, the female force…
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A mermaid found love at a long-vanished Prague pond
A village once stood outside the Old Town walls, and a pond there was home to a sad but beautiful mermaid The Czech word for a little pond is Rybníček, and in…
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Ruprecht the headless ghost of a trumpeter haunts the Senate
One of Prague’s finest palaces is home to a headless ghost who missed an important command Some people like to sleep in late, especially after a night of partying. And isn’t it…
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A practical guide to Moravian vampires
In the early 1700s, the Czech Republic was the center of activity for suspected vampires and the undead There was a “vampire panic” across much of Central and Eastern Europe in the…
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Native American and African ghosts haunt far from home
Two of Prague’s sadder ghost legends tell of people who died while on tour with traveling shows Prague has two resident ghosts – a Native American and an African – who died…
