#aufhocker

In the German city of Aachen, a local folktale concerns an aquatic monster that supposedly once inhabited the old drainage canal, specifically of the Büchel and Kaiser springs. The creature somewhat resembled a monstrous calf, so the locals took to calling it ‘Bahkauv’, meaning something like ‘creek calf’.

Accounts on the appearance of the Bahkauv tend to vary. While it always resembles a calf with monstrous characteristics, accounts disagreed on the details. Common characteristics for the Bahkauv are a thick shaggy fur, glowing eyes, sharp teeth, bear-like paws that ended in sharp talons, and a long tail that dragged behind it.

It was known to bite people: at least one account claims that a victim was bitten in the neck. It is also known that the monster was equipped with chains around its legs and neck. The rattling of these chains was often heard in the vicinity of the city’s waterways.

The Bahkauv was strictly nocturnal and preferred to attack drunkards at night. While there are accounts of the monster mauling its victims, it was actually more of a trickster than a real danger: the monster never killed people. Instead, it played a particular and supernatural prank: when the Bahkauv spotted a suitable victim, usually a drunk man trying to get home after a night out, the creature jumped on the victim’s back in order to be carried. As soon as the victim reached their home, the Bahkauv released him and disappeared. Interestingly, the creature would inexplicably become heavier if the victim tried to pray while carrying the unwanted rider. Conversely, if the victim cursed the monster, it would become lighter.

While this might seem like a strangely particular thing, the concept of a supernatural monster that hops on people’s backs and demands to be carried is actually a recurring trope in European folktales. In Germany, there are stories about a different bogeyman that does this, which is called Aufhocker. Usually, these unwanted piggyback riders have a wolf-like appearance but that is not always the case. In Austrian folklore, it was a witch, and yet another version featured an undead wandering spirit who needed to be carried to a church in order to redeem his soul.

Interestingly, it has been hypothesized in recent years that these mythological creatures were actually phantom-body connectomes, a neurological phenomenon in which the brain incorrectly believes that a heavy load is being carried, which is caused by the activation of the brain’s temporo-parietal junction. This would explain why a strangely specific premise is so common in folktales across several cultures.

For what it’s worth, the Bahkauv eventually disappeared. The locals theorized that when the entrances to the city’s underground waterways were closed, the creature ended up locked inside.

Finally here is the masterlist for my new Bang Chan x OC fanfic. Here is everything you could be interested to know before getting into this story.

Cover

Art by JadeMerient

Synopsis

Ailith: Enemies? Hardly.. He's just fucking annoying in his big alpha headspace and dire need to protect his pack like a good alpha pup trying to please his mom.. Or is he? Is there more behind this? Either way I can't get rid of him now because apparently he's my fated mate and has this frustrating impulse to cater to my every need and understand why I'm so distant to him and other alphas. Why I never trust alphas in the first place. But what happens when he learns about my Shadow curse and that I lost my wolf or that I can't give him an heir? Will he still be so determined to make me his? Christopher: I can't shake it ever since that encounter in the woods. Her runes, her eyes going full black and the touch on her scarred skin. I could feel my wolf howling in pride to have discovered my fated mate. It is a great blessing to discover that the sister of the pack alpha my pack is helping in this war is my fated mate. Why does she keep pulling away then? Why does she not trust her wolf and the bond between us? I will get to the bottom of this and I will make sure that she learns the safety and love I can offer her. Not only is my pack my first priority now, but also my mate who keeps refusing me.

Prompts and warnings

Prompts: morally grey fmc, witch!fmc, shadow monster fmc!, germanic foklore monsters and werewolves, overcoming past trauma in the form of a divine curse, werewolf omegaverse, slowburn, strangers to lovers, happy ending MDNI!!

Warnings (now please go through these, because there is triggering stuff and it's *heavy*): past trauma, abusive father, abusive brother, classic abuse of patriarchal male alphas in wolf packs, past rape/non con, sexual trauma, sexual insecurity, murder, violence, blood and horror, dismembering by a beast's jaw, war, explicit sexual content, explicit language, abuse from a romantic partner (not mmc to fmc!) and last but not least side character death

An Aufhocker (top sitter), also called Huckup, is a pressure spirit and shapeshifter in German folklore. It is a kind of goblin, who jumps onto the shoulders or backs of hikers who are still out at night, becoming heavier with each step.

The hiker is paralyzed, suffers from feelings of oppression and anxiety and is unable to turn around. The Aufhocker remains sitting on the hiker until he is released by the approaching light, a prayer or the ringing of a bell.

The nightmarish experience often takes place in three phases. The hiker is first approached or accompanied by a sinister being, then the demonic companion grows to supernatural size and finally jumps onto the back of the victim. The Hackestüpp from Düren is one such Aufhocker, who initially accompanies the victims as a playful little dog, then jumps onto their backs, cannot be shaken off and becomes heavier with each step.

Typical haunted places such as streams, bridges, lakes, forests, ditches, crossroads, ravines, churchyards and sites where murders or executions happened are the usual places for an encounter with an Aufhocker, which can result in physical and mental illness and sometimes even death for the hiker. The Bahkauv ("stream calf") of Aachen is an Aufhocker who is said to frighten drunken men at night and ask them to carry him on their shoulders.

Sometimes an Aufhocker first appears as pitiful old women; but they can also take on animal forms such as a bear, a calf (as in the Bahkauv), a werewolf (as in the Stüpp of the Western Rhineland) or a dog (as in the Sürthgens Mossel of the Hürtgenwald forest). Elemental beings such as mermen or will-o'-the-wisps also act as Aufhockers. What is important is not the shape of the Aufhocker, but the oppressiveness of the situation. Aufhockers are not limited to German folklore. An Aufhocker in the shape of an old man is also mentioned in the oriental fairy tale collection One Thousand and One Nights, in which he meets "Sinbad the Sailor" on a deserted island.

Mermay Day 13: Aufhocker

The aufhocker is a shapeshifting, vampiric creature in German folklore. Though it has no definitive form, it is often said to appear as an enormous black dog.

The aufhocker is known for attacking travellers at night, particularly at crossroads. Some say it stands on its hind legs when it attacks. It viciously tears out the throats of its victims, and is believed by some to be unkillable.

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Monster master list.

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AUFHOCKER