From the southern Germanic lands, past the Swiss border come tales of der Türst, the dreadful huntsman who rides like a demon through forest and farmland. His raging host appears in stormy weather of late winter and early spring.
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Unearthly blasts of his horn reverberate through the hills. He storms through villages with a pack of baying creatures, hounds or a type of pig-dog hybrid literally a Schweinhund (Schweinhund is an insult in German). What does der Türst hunt? It's never quite clear.
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His call is that of chaos. Villagers rush to open their barn doors. If they don't, der Türst bursts through doors and wrecks the building. Let him rampage through the barns and leave, so humans and other animals may escape unscathed.
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Sometimes he and his wife Sträggele frighten cows so much the animals get sick or go dry of milk. If der Türst comes riding down from the sky to encounter a person in the woods he shouts 'drü Schritt rechts, gang uswägs' meaning 'step to the right, get out of my way'.
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One who doesn't move fast enough is transformed to a demonic pig dog creature to accompany him. Leaping and baying the unfortunate is drawn into the hunt. In the north a caller may precede the Hunt shouting "mitten des Weges!" or "middle of the way!"
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Whether the person shows up again after being drawn into the Hunt is unknown. In some tales the victim never comes back. Or, time is altered and the person may return to a changed world, to wander in blithering madness. Better to be a pig dog.
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Many animals who accompany der Türst have three legs. Three is a number often linked to supernatural magic. Three-legged birds may appear as harvest spirits in Germany.
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In China, Xihe the Sun Goddess is the mother of ten Suns, represented by three-legged crows living in a mulberry tree. Also from China comes the three-legged money frog or toad, Chan Chu. Three is the number of legs on the triskelion.
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Regional depictions of the southern Hunt vary. In some der Türst wears green hunting attire. In Walhusen citizens erect crosses. If a cross falls, bad luck follows until the cross is righted. In some areas barn doors are always left open in case der Türst blows through.
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Sträggele, his wife, is usually described as a hideous hag with powers of evil. She can curse cows and crops. Die Pfaffenkellnerin, a female spirit with glowing eyes, may accompany them.
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Die Pfaffenkellnerin sits like a Mare atop pines, fir trees and other conifers in raging storms, drowns out the howling winds with her shrieks of laughter and twists trees. She often appears on the Swiss Seebodenalp near Lucerne, and may lead her own Hunt.
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Der Türst is identified as a spirit with powers of destruction, while in other tales he's compared with the Norse god Wotan. His entourage can grow to a terrifying scale, including goblins, witches, werewolves, tormented revenants and furious spirits.
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Leaders of the northern Wild Hunt, a European supernatural phenomenon, include Frau Holle or Hulda; Diana of the Romans; Frigg, wife of Odin, or Odin; Gwyn ap Nudd of Welsh myth; Siegfried of Xanten and other legendary or historic figures.
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Wild Hunts and Raging Hosts appear from Scandinavia to England, France, Tyrol and Switzerland. In all cases the event is a riotous storm in the sky or sweeping through the land. It often occurs in winter. The object of the hunt is never defined.
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