The Witte Wieven
On misty nights on the Dutch heaths, people said white women drifted over the ancient burial mounds.
What was reported
Witte wieven, 'white women', are spirits of Dutch folklore, told about especially in Drenthe, Overijssel and Gelderland. They were said to live in the old burial mounds on the heath and appear in the mist at dusk, tall and pale in white robes.
In older stories they were wise women, healers and seers, who were honoured and could help people who treated them well. Later tales made them more frightening: they led travellers astray into the bogs or carried off children.
Explanations offered
The obvious explanation is the low mist that gathers over wet heathland in the evening, drifting in shapes over the mounds. The figures may also remember real wise women of the past. Some of the mounds are prehistoric graves.
- When
- Told since the Middle Ages
- Where
- Drenthe, Netherlands
- Witnesses
- Dutch folklore
- 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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