Feeling like a sudden and imperceptible burden, the life force of cautious travelers was long subjected to the terror of the Aufhocker. The creature between the ghosts of the vampire, the werewolf and the goblin, in the legend of the empty road, has long been haunted by something bulky.
In the archaic forests of Central Europe, travelers once told of the terror that lurked on lonely paths after shadowy. In German folklore, this creature is known as the aufhocker, the creature of fear and fatigue.
The name aufhocker comes from German words meaning “to perch” or “to climb on”. It is sometimes also called Huckauf. Although the term appears in various regional traditions, the most terrifying aspect of aufhocker is its similarity to vampire lore. This is not a vampire that drinks blood from the neck. It is a predator that feeds on life force through constant pursuit and physical contact.
There was a step
In folk tales, this creature often appears at night on forest paths, river crossings and isolated roads. A lone traveler returning home behind schedule in the shadowy may not see anything until someone suddenly appears over his shoulder. Aufhocker doesn't just come into view. It arrives in traces that echo the traveler's steps, as if it were entering the world, attaching itself to a living person.
Once latched, it remains on the victim's back. Physical burden, constant pressure, growing fear. Some descriptions say that the creature physically climbs onto its prey and refuses to move, resting all of its weight on the traveler. Others portray it as imperceptible but overwhelming, like someone riding on sheep that only the victim can feel.
The result is the same. The victim becomes exhausted, panicked and unable to escape. In some stories, the victim falls or collapses from exhaustion. In others, pressure fractures wear off and the spirit leaves the person in a state of constant terror or illness. The person sitting on the wanderer remains in a seated position until the wanderer is released by incoming airy, prayer, or the ringing of bells.
Werewolf Connection
But what exactly is Aufhocker, what does it look like? Some say it looks more like a shape-shifting goblin, a werewolf-type creature. It is also sometimes seen as a giant demon dog. These characteristics are similar to those of the Black Dog in British folklore and Kludde in Belgian tradition. These creatures are also sometimes said to be a black horse that lures people on its back and then throws them into a swamp or water.
The Aufhocker legend, widespread in west-central Germany, the Rhineland and the adjacent Dutch and Flemish regions, reflects local beliefs related to the historic werewolf trials of the 16th century, where such back riding behavior may have replaced earlier ghost riding traditions.
In western Germany, an Aufhocker combines with a werewolf to create Stüpp, a unsafe monster that jumps on people and makes them carry him until the victim dies of exhaustion. So could this be more of a werewolf than a vampire legend?
A vampiric creature
Other variations of the legend would argue that it is much closer to our current understanding of the vampire. The parallels with vampire lore become clear when the aufhocker is seen as a hunter of life rather than a consumer of blood. Where the classic vampire drains the physical body, the aufhocker drains strength, breath and will. It attaches itself as a parasitic shadow. It grows in the shadowy rather than in daylight.
The descriptions vary by region, but the theme remains the same. Some variations describe the creature as a shapeshifter or ghostly figure, while others link it to local vampire traditions in which the undead come out at night to feed and appear to travelers as corpses who approach to examine them. When a lone traveler is close enough, it latches onto its prey.
Scholars interpret Aufhocker as a regional variant of broader European rear-riding spirits, such as the more vampiric Mare. Although werewolf stories really started in the 16th century, since the 12th century there have been stories about how the weight of something pulls you down like an Aufhocker.
And in some version it is just that, a ghost, disembodied and imperceptible to the naked eye to the cautious traveler.
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Aufhocker: Heavy vampiric ghost of Germany
Feeling like a sudden and imperceptible burden, the life force of cautious travelers was long subjected to the terror of the Aufhocker. The creature between the ghosts of the vampire, the werewolf and the goblin, in the legend of the empty road, has long been haunted by something bulky.
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http://centre-for-english-traditional-heritage.org/TraditionToday4/TT4_SmithJ_Dobbies.pdf
Der Aufhocker – Working Group on Comparative Mythology or
Image Source: Pixabay.com
