One of my favorite pastimes is looking through old
newspapers. I was looking through the May 4, 1933 edition of The Monroe Journal
the other day and a short item under the headline, “Spirits of the Woods,”
caught my eye. It read as follows:
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In ancient and medieval times, and even at the present in
some localities, a widespread belief existed that each forest, and each tree in
it, had its own particular spirits. According to the Alabama Commissioner of
Forestry, a frequent conception was that these spirits were green in color with
a skin of mossy texture, and at times they appeared as actual men and women.
Such beliefs were very common in the northern countries of
Europe. It was believed that these spirits were vested with the duty of looking
after the forests in general and protecting the trees from harm.
Local belief held that a woods spirit named Pulch haunted
the Kammer Forest. A second type of woods spirits was known as the Waldgeister
and was believed to inhabit the ancient forests in large numbers. Most of the
Waldgeister were of a benevolent disposition, but some were regarded as the
reverse. It was claimed that they alone of all forest spirits were familiar
with the secrets of medicinal plants.
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The fact that Alabama state forestry officials were
mentioned in the story really piqued my interest, so I decided to delve a
little deeper into the subject matter. Come to find out, most of the
information above was pulled almost verbatim from two books by Alexander
Porteous called “The Forest in Folklore and Mythology” and “The Lore of the
Forest.” Both books were published in the 1920s.
The Kammer Forest is said to have been located near Trier, a
city in Germany with a modern population of around 110,000. Located near
Germany’s border with Luxembourg, this city was originally founded by the Celts
but was later taken over by the Romans. Many consider Trier to be the oldest
city in Germany.
Sources say that Pulch was a nature spirit that guarded the
trees in the Kammer Forest. Anyone who walked through that forest with nailed
shoes, took wood without permission or harmed a tree were subject to have to
deal with Pulch. Despite my best efforts, I found no descriptions about what
Pulch is supposed to look like.
“Wald-geist” literally means “Woods-ghost” in German.
Sources say that these spirits often looked like people, but had leaves and
twigs for hair. Even their beards were said to be made of twigs and leaves.
Folklore says that these spirts would protect forest travelers while other
tales say they were mischievous pranksters.
Many of you in the reading audience have no doubt spent a
lot of time in the woods in and around Conecuh County. Hunters sometimes report
seeing things out of the ordinary or getting strange feelings while in the
woods alone. While they may not have a Pulch or Waldgeister on their hands,
perhaps it’s something a little closer to home.
In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading
audience who knows any folk tales or spooky stories about forested areas in our
neck of the woods. No doubt many pioneer settlers and early Indians had their
own beliefs about the woods, so let me hear from you if you remember any of
these tales. You might find out that you’re not the only one who has seen
something out of the ordinary or heard some of these old ghost stories.
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