The Black Woman of Avelgem

A nine-year-old girl from Avelgem was attending the celebration of the bridge construction to Ruien with her father. Her father, standing on a hay wagon and out of tobacco, sent his daughter to the shop in the village.

On the way, the girl encountered a tall woman around a bend, dressed entirely in black with black hair. The woman spoke to the child: «You are pretty, your hair is so beautifully curled!» A man from a nearby house saw what was happening, took the child by the hand, and warned: «Girl, you must not speak to that woman.»

That afternoon, the girl suddenly fell gravely ill. Her mother tried every possible remedy, but nothing helped. The child grew sicker day after day. The parents were desperate and feared the worst.

Someone from the village whispered that the black woman was known to be a witch and that the child had been bewitched. The parents sought a healer who could help them undo the curse.

The healer told the parents they must be patient. The girl would be ill for exactly nine days — no more and no less. On the ninth day, the spell would break on its own, provided the child did not come into contact with the black woman again.

The parents watched over their daughter day and night and kept every stranger at a distance. On the morning of the ninth day, the girl opened her eyes, asked for a sandwich, and got up as though nothing had happened. The black woman was never seen in Avelgem again.