Legend
< “Veritable and Singular Account of an Apparition, and the Saving of a Soul, in Castle Weixelstein, in Krain.” (continued from page 10-40) >
“The ghost replied, ‘I want thirty masses.’ It added, ‘This castle was once mine,’ and it disappeared.
“On the 19th of January the ghost was present, but nothing unusual occurred.
“On the evening of the 20th,
“The servant wenches being still affrighted, the B steward (Schreiber), one Antoni Grlanitschingg, and B the man Hansche, before mentioned, with six other persons, were in the chamber. When all lay down to rest, the steward locked the door and put out the lamp. The ghost at once came and violently dragged a chair backwards. Whereupon quoth Antoni: ‘I confess that I am a great sinner;¶ nevertheless, I dare address thee, and ask thee, in God’s name, what more dost thou want?’
“To this question no answer was vouchsafed by the ghost, although the steward repeated it a second and a third time. He then rose up and advanced towards the apparition, which was seen standing near the window, thinking to discover whether it was a true ghost, or some person playing a trick. It vanished, however, before he could lay hand upon it. The steward went out with one of the servant wenches to fetch a light; and, whilst so doing, he heard the ghost speaking in the room he had left. When the lamp came nothing was found. Then all those present knelt down and prayed. After their devotions the light was extinguished, and the ghost reappeared, crying out, with weeping and wailing, ‘Ankha! Ankha! Ankha! help me.’ The wench asked, ‘How can I help thee, O good spirit?’ Whereupon the ghost rejoined, ‘With thirty masses, which must be said at the altar of St. Anthony in the Church of Jagnenz’—which church is in the parish of Schaffenberg.”
Jagnenz is a church in the valley of the Sopotka, a small stream which falls into the Save river, about half a mile west of Weixel stein. Schaffenberg is the hereditary castle of the well-known county of that name. Wrunikh is another little church, remarkably pretty, near Weixel stein. Apparently the ghost served to “run” Jagnenz against all its rivals.
“Hearing these words from the ghost, the steward again inquired, ‘O, thou good spirit! would it not be better to get the masses said sooner by dividing them; part at Jagnenz, the other at the altar of Saint Anthony in Wrunikh?’ Whereto the ghost made answer, ‘No! Ankha! Ankha! only at Jagnenz, and not at Wrunikh!’ The steward continued, ‘As this ghost refuseth to answer me, do thou, Ankha, ask it what and why it suffers, &c.’ Then Ankha addressed it: ‘My good spirit! tell me wherefore dost thou suffer?’ It replied, ‘For that I unrighteously used sixty gulden (florins). So I, a poor widow body, must endure this penalty.’ Ankha further said, ‘Who shall pay for these thirty masses?’ The ghost rejoined, ‘The noble master’ (of the castle), and continued, ‘Ankha! Ankha! I am so weary, and dead-beat, and martyred, that I can hardly speak.’
“Then cried the steward, ‘My good spirit! when the thirty masses shall have been said, come back and give us a sign that they have helped thee.’
The ghost rejoined, ‘Ankha! to thee I will give a sign upon thy head.’ Ankha replied, ‘God have mercy upon me, that must endure such fright and pain!’ But the ghost thus comforted her: ‘Fear not, Ankha. The sign which I will show to thee shall not be visible upon thy head, nor shall it be painful.’ It added, ‘Ankha! Ankha! I pray thee, when thou enterest into any house, tell the inmates that one unjust kreutzer (farthing) eats up twenty just kreutzers.’ Then the ghost began to snateh the wench’s cap, or coif; and she, in her terror, took to praying for help. The ghost comforted her, bade her feel no fear nor anxiety, took leave (sic), and was seen no more that night.
“Late on the 21st of January the ghost reappeared, and made a terrible noise with a chair in presence of the lord of the castle, Sigmund Wilhelm, Freihen (Baron) von Zetschekher,* and of two ecclesiastics, Georg Andre Schlebnikh and Lorenz Tschitsch. Several others, men and women, were present, and nothing took place till the candles were put out. Whereupon the said Schlebnikh began to exorcise the apparition, beginning with the usual formula, ‘All ye good spirits, praise the Lord.’ The ghost replied, ‘I also.’ It would not, however, answer any question put by the ghostly man, but began to speak with Ankha, saying, ‘Ankha! help me!’ She rejoined, ‘My dear good spirit, all that lies in my power will I do for thee: only tell me, my spirit, if the two masses already said have in any way lessened thy pain.’ The ghost answered, ‘Yea, verily’ (freilich). Ankha continued, ‘How many more masses must thou still have?’ and the reply was ‘Thirty, less two.’ Then Ankha resumed, ‘O, my good spirit, tell me thy family name.’ Quoth the ghost, ‘My name is Gallenbergerinn.† The wench further asked for a sign of salvation when all the thirty masses should have been said; the ghost promised so to do, and disappeared.
“On the night of the 22nd of January, when the lights were put out, the ghost reappeared, passing through the street and tied door. This was in presence of Wollf Engelbrecht, Baron Gallen, of the lord of the castle, and of four priests, namely, Georg Schiffrer, curate of Laagkh;‡ Andree Navadnikh, ex-vicar of Ratschach;§ Georg Andre Sehlebnikh, and Lorenz Tsehitseh. There were several others. This time the ghost did not make a frightful noise, as before, the reason being that eight masses had been said. So, at least it appeared from its address, ‘Ankha! Ankha! I thank thee: I shall soon be released.’ The wench rejoined, ‘O, my good spirit! dost thou feel any comfort after the eight masses?’ The apparition replied, ‘Yea, verily, my Ankha;’ and, when asked how many were wanted, answered, <... continues on page 10-42 >
¶ We wish English investigators would do the same,— Ed.
* The name is also spelt “Zetschkher.” This family, the old owners of Castle Weixelstein, which passed into the present hands some thirty years ago, is either extinct or has disappeared from the neighbourhood hereabouts: the population also may be called “floating.”—R. F. B.
† The family has disappeared. Valvasor gives a view of the Castle of Gallenberg. The termination, inn denotes that the ghost was one of the members. It is not so used in modern days.
‡ Now Laack, a village in sight of Weixelstein, on the left bank of the Save river, belonging to Baron Fellner, a permanent Chef' de Bureau, Vienna.
§ Bar, in Slavine, is a crab; itchi natrazhre, to go like a crab. Ak is the sign of the locatur case: “in the crabs,” or “among the crabs land crabs, of course.