Water Spirits and River Mysteries

The Rhine and its tributaries flow through Alsace-Lorraine carrying more than water. These rivers link the region to ancient trade routes and older mysteries.

The Loreley's Lesser Sisters

While the famous Loreley sings further north, the Upper Rhine has its own treacherous maidens. The Nixe (water sprites) of Alsace-Lorraine differ from their German cousins in significant ways:

- They age with the moon—young at new moon, ancient at full - Their songs change language based on the listener's heart-tongue - They can only drown those who harbor secret guilt - They must return any object dropped in their waters if asked properly

The proper asking requires ritual precision: standing with back to water, speaking the request thrice in three languages (French, German, and dialect), throwing a silver coin over the left shoulder. Even then, the returned object might carry a curse if the asker's need isn't genuine.

The Ill River Mysteries

The Ill River, Alsace's internal waterway, harbors unique beings:

The White Washerwoman of Strasbourg: Not the death-omen washerwomen found elsewhere, but a specific spirit who appears at the Ponts Couverts. She washes white cloths that never seem to get clean, supposedly the burial shrouds of plague victims thrown in the river during the Black Death. Those who help her fold the washing receive prophetic dreams—usually warnings of coming disasters that can be avoided if heeded.

The Golden Fish of Sélestat: A massive pike with scales of gold lives in the Ill near Sélestat. Catching it brings either fortune or doom, depending on the fisher's character. The last confirmed sighting was in 1947, when a fisherman named Auguste claimed to have hooked it. He cut the line rather than land it, saying later, "I looked in its eyes and saw my grandfather, my father, and my son. I understood then—some fish are meant to swim forever."