The Castle of Roiseux

The roe deer that had always been plentiful in the woods of the Roiseux estate suddenly disappeared. The lord was deeply saddened. For days he searched his forests but found no trace of the animals that had lived there for generations.

One afternoon, walking glumly along the banks of the Hoyoux, he encountered an old man. The stranger offered his help in bringing the deer back. But the lord of Roiseux, a man of keen perception, recognised the devil behind the wrinkled mask. He refused the offer with force and indignation.

The evil one returned shortly afterwards, this time in the guise of a fallen angel. Once again he made his proposal, once again he was refused. Furious, the devil hissed: “You will regret this soon!” And he vanished in a cloud of sulphurous smoke.

The devil’s threat weighed heavily on the lord of Roiseux. In his fear he sought counsel from an old hermit who lived deep in the forest, a man known for his ability to thwart the devil’s designs. The wise hermit listened carefully and nodded.

He cut a sturdy branch from a hazel tree, blessed it with holy water, and fashioned it into a pilgrim’s staff. “Go to the miraculous chapel of Borgharen, near Maastricht,” he said. “Pray there for three days and three nights. The staff will protect you.”

The lord of Roiseux obeyed. He travelled north, over the hills of the Condroz, along the Meuse, until he reached the chapel of Borgharen. There he prayed as the hermit had instructed, while the staff stood beside the altar, seeming to glow softly in the candlelight.

On the way home, the lord of Roiseux heard a voice calling him to rush to the valley at once. Below, everything lay underwater. The Hoyoux, normally a quiet stream, had become a churning torrent swallowing houses, stables, and fields.

The voice spoke again: “Plunge your staff into the water.” The lord waded waist-deep into the flood and drove the pilgrim’s staff into the muddy bottom. A deafening crack resounded, as if the earth itself were splitting apart. Instantly the waters subsided and retreated.

The lord raced to his castle and found his family hidden in the tower. Demons had blocked the Hoyoux with enormous boulders to drown the valley. But thanks to the hermit’s counsel and the power of the pilgrim’s staff, the entire family was saved.

On both banks of the Hoyoux, great chunks of pudding stone still lie today — the very stones with which the devil had dammed the water. The locals call them devil’s stones, and those who pass by can still catch the scent of sulphur when the wind blows from the right quarter.