The Goat Riders of Meeuwen

In a tavern near Hasselt worked a man who posed as a dance master. He taught young men from the area, showing them modern steps. They loved it. They danced late into the night, drinking his beer and wine.

But after several weeks it changed. The dance master spoke quietly to the most trustworthy young man. “Would you like to earn more than you have ever seen?” he asked. The boy nodded. That was his first mistake.

The drossaard of the district became aware that young men in groups were robbing the roads. He sent soldiers. After months of hunting, the leader was finally captured. He sat in the dungeon, bound with heavy chains.

But in the town were his mother and sister. They were witches, and they refused to let their son and brother go to the gallows. In the night they cast a spell – a spell that blasted the door open and made the chains rust. The leader escaped, and the goat riders rode on.

For years afterward, the goat riders remained active. They robbed wealthy merchants and nobles. They disappeared in mist, leaving no trace. People whispered that they were not truly riders, but ghosts on spectral goats.

Eventually the Goat Riders of Meeuwen disappeared – not because they were captured, but because magic called them back to the other world. To this day, farmers see strange riders galloping across the heath at night, and no one dares ask them who they are.