by Colleen Mart

Created on: April 14, 2010

Wild Hunt myths 

Wild Hunts were witnessed by reliable persons of the clergy as well as the general populace in early Europe.  Indeed it is said that an English monk observed a Wild Hunt when he was in Normandy in 1091.  What is a Wild Hunt?  It is a mob of phantom hunters, mounted upon ghostly steeds following their ghostly hounds across the sky, on the ground or slightly above the earth in a wild pursuit of their prey.  But some believe that the purpose of the hunt was more about the

chase itself than the hunt of prey. 

The myths say that the hunters are fairies, supernatural beings or perhaps the souls of the dead.  Sometimes the leader of the hunt was identified as a supernatural god, a nobleperson or even a king.  One such phantom was even identified as King Arthur.  It was said that the leader of the hunt would be followed by as many as twenty or thirty other ghostly beings, sometimes more.   

According to a common myth, witnessing a hunt could be deadly.  There were tales of living persons that found themselves in the path of the hunters.  It was believed that if you got in the way of the hunt, that you would be kidnapped and taken to the land of the dead.  The same fate would befall anyone who was foolish enough to try to follow the hunt.  Even if you were asleep you were still not safe.  Some myths say that a person’s spirit could be swept away by the hunt while they were sleeping.  It was also believed that seeing a chase signified an oncoming catastrophe like war or the death of the witness. 

But what were the hunters hunting?  Some myths say that the hunters are chasing after Moss Maidens while some German myths say that it is a young woman.  In Scandinavia it is sometimes a troll or an old female elf that is prey of a hunt.  In fact one myth tells of a jötunn-like female named Slattenpat that is the prey of the hunt.  It was said that she would throw her long hanging breasts over her shoulders in order to run faster. 

In Sweden, it is said that Odin is the leader of the Wild Hunt.  The myth claims that Odin led a hunting party across the sky during the Yule season.   Odin’s hunt was usually heard not seen and to hear it meant that the weather would change.  Surprisingly Odin’s mythological chase has many similarities to our modern day St. Nick’s travels around the world and the stories tell of children being rewarded with gifts for their kindness to Odin’s eight legged horse.  

Celtic mythology tells that powerful members the Celt tribes were able to summon a Wild Hunt for whatever purpose they needed it for.  The Celts also believed that wizards and priests could summon a hunt.

The myths about the Wild Hunt are, in most instances, so horrific that it is a good thing that our modern world does not believe in the myth of the Wild Hunt, except for St. Nick of course.

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