The ghost of the Lady in White is said to appear in the ruins of the former Rouelbeau Castle in Switzerland during the Christmas season. As one of the Weiße Frau of Germanic folklore, she is believed to have been the lady of the castle until she was thrown out for failing to give birth to a son.
Nestled in the marshes and forests of western Switzerland, the decaying ruins of Rouelbeau Castle stand as a lonely reminder of medieval ambition and restless spirits. The name Rouelbeau commonly used today may consist in part of a French verb roller which means “heavy rain” and in the aged local dialect is translated as “to strike”. And partly bota, which means “frog”. One explanation for the importance of Rouelbeau built on the Marian Plain near the Seymaz River is that the rulers of the castle could not sleep at night because of the thunderous croaking of frogs and therefore ordered their servants to strike the water.
Although there are few stones left from the fortress, it is not the cracked walls that attract the anxious glances of passers-by, but the enduring legend of La Dame Blanche, or in German called Weiße Frau, the White Lady – a melancholy spirit whose presence is still feared on the winding path called Chemin de la Dame Blanche and around the ruins of the castle.
The tragic story of the White Lady Rouelbeau
Ghost stories of the Lady in White have been told in Europe since pre-Christian times and have been part of folklore for centuries. Today, there are hundreds of so-called Ladies in White that haunt Europe's decaying castles, archaic forests, and deep waters.
The origins of this particular legend of the Lady in White of the Château de Rouelbeau date back to 1318, when the knight Humbert de Choulex ordered the construction of the Rouelbeau Castle in the present-day commune of Meinier in the canton of Geneva. He was a vassal of Faucigny-Baron. Although the castle was intended to serve as a defensive stronghold against rival factions and the troubled borders of medieval Switzerland, the castle's history quickly darkened.
According to oral tradition, Humbert's first wife was rejected and cruelly divorced when she failed to provide him with a male heir. Her name has been lost and what happened to the abandoned woman remains a mystery. Some say she died of grief, others say she was locked up or suffered a brutal, unrecorded death. It was her tormented spirit, as legend has it, that took the form of La Dame Blanche, forever associated with the castle grounds.
For generations, travelers and villagers have reported sightings of a pale woman dressed in flowing white, with a glittering diadem on her head, gliding silently through the foggy fields surrounding the castle ruins. Most terrifyingly, her appearance is said to coincide with tragic or unexplained deaths in the area.
A haunting presence on Christmas night
Local accounts vary depending on when the White Lady is most vigorous. Some say it emerges under the darkness of a modern moon, while others say it walks in the ethereal glow of a full moon. But one thing is certain: Christmas Eve remains the most sacred and sinister night in the legend of La Dame Blanche.
According to lore passed down since the 19th century, it is on this night that the entire castle is reborn from the ruins, bathed in a ghostly featherlight, and the ghostly inhabitants return to recreate scenes of long-forgotten feasts and torments. The Lady herself seems dazzling, and her unearthly beauty becomes even more terrifying thanks to her noiseless, melancholy look.
There is even an compelling twist in this story. One solitary account from the early 19th century describes a destitute orphan, lost and starving in a winter forest, who encountered La Dame Blanche on Christmas Eve. Instead of disappearing in terror, the child accepted the spirit's beckoning hand and was led to a hidden cache of gold and silver, a reward for his pure heart and desperate situation. The treasure is said to have lifted the boy out of poverty, but he is forbidden to reveal its source except to the dying.
The following year he punished one of his greedy relatives by locking him in the castle treasury to die.
Path of the White Lady: Path of Shadows
The path running along the ruins is still ominously named Chemin de la Dame Blanche and locals approach it with particular caution, especially in the chilly months. Strange lights are reported to flicker in the trees and unexplained chilly drafts creep through the swamps even on tranquil summer nights.
Hikers and amateur ghost hunters claim to have heard a subdued cry near the scene or seen a pale figure moving in the gloom just out of reach. Some state-of-the-art researchers suggest that the humid and foggy conditions of the swamps may explain these phenomena, but those who know the Rouelbeau legend know better than to tempt the unseen.
The legend of the black cat
The second legend surrounding the castle ruins concerns a black cat, black catwith glowing eyes. It is said to wander the earth, especially on foggy days at dusk, suddenly attacking its victims with its razor-sharp claws, tearing them to pieces. It is said that this is the devil himself, who can only be repelled by a powerful blow of a club. If the cat successfully defends itself, it should not be given a coupotherwise he would regain all his strength and take his victim underground.
This story is partly related to an event from 1567: then the brothers Claude and Jenon Dexert, living on the edge of the swamp, were accused of witchcraft and executed after confessing under torture. According to tradition, the cat is their avenging angel.
Whether it is a cautionary tale or a true haunting, those who walk the path past the ruins of Rouelbeau on a winter's night should keep their distance should the Lady in White emerge from the mist – because her intentions, like the history of the castle itself, will forever remain shrouded in sadness and mystery.
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The ruins of the White Lady's castle in Rouelbeau appear on Christmas Day
The ghost of the Lady in White is said to appear in the ruins of the former Rouelbeau Castle in Switzerland during the Christmas season. As one of the Weiße Frau of Germanic folklore, she is believed to have been the lady of the castle until she was thrown out for failing to give birth to a son.
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