The Basilisk in the Well of Vienna
On a narrow street in Vienna, a house still has a statue of the creature found in its well in 1212: a basilisk, whose look could kill.
What was reported
Legend says that in 1212, a baker's apprentice went down the well behind his master's house in Vienna to find out why the water stank. At the bottom he saw a creature with a rooster's head and a toad's body, with a crown and a serpent's tail, and glowing eyes. He fainted and was pulled up.
A wise man said it was a basilisk, whose gaze kills. A brave young man went down with a mirror. The basilisk saw its own reflection and burst, and the well was filled in with stones.
Explanations offered
The foul smell and the 'creature' were probably gases from rotting matter at the bottom of the well, which could make a person faint, along with an oddly shaped stone or deposit. The 'Basilisk House' at Schönlaterngasse 7 still has a carving of it.
- When
- Said to be 1212
- Where
- Schönlaterngasse, Vienna, Austria
- Witnesses
- Viennese legend
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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