Ghoststories of Herborn
In the spring of 2004, I created a series of illustrations for a collection of historical ghoststories researched and written by Rüdiger Störkel, the historian of my hometown Herborn. The stories are based on the memoires of Alexander Pagenstecher, a resident of the town in the early 19th century, who as a child enjoyed listening to what his relatives would tell about encounters the mysterious and often dangerous ghosts of cursed citizens, of hidden treasures and strange nocturnal appearances.
The illustrations are 20 x 30 cm in format and were executed in watercolour and pencil. The were published in the "Herborner Tageblatt", the local newspaper, on a weekly basis throughout February and March 2004.
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Greatuncle Otterbein tells young Alexander of Herborn's ghosts and hidden treasures.
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One of these is the ghost of a church-servant from the Middle-Ages who nightly spooks around Herborn's church, carrying a lightless lantern.
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Two hunters encounter an ominous "hellhound" in the forest.
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In an old house in the "Chaldäergasser" the ghost of a miser, chained to his treasure-chests, is cursed to count coins every night.
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Riding at night was regarded a dangerous undertaking as one might encounter the ghost of a counterfeiter whose head had been turned upon his back. |
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One of Herborn's judges was famed for his bursts of outrage. After his death he was doomed to haunt the mills and channels of the watercourse feeding them as the "Minotaur of Herborn".
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