An old story goes there was once an apparition haunting a popular walking path, but who was actually responsible?
Since 1771, a small dirt trail linking the two villages of Drauffelt to Knaphoscheid in the North has shown up on maps of the region. The path connected the villagers of Knaphoscheid to a parish in which the Well of St. Willibrord is located. It was frequently traveled by parishioners.
In the second half of the 19th century, the path became even more popular and important as Northern Luxembourg was now apart of the train system. People from Knaphoscheid traveled to Drauffelt to access the train station which would allow them to connect with other parts of country including Luxembourg City.
By 1910 the path was enlarged as train travel became more and more popular in the north, and it became large enough for car travel which was starting to become more common at the time.
On the path, near a point called 'op Téipesch,' there is an inscription on a piece of slate rock reading "O traveller, stand still and pray a Hail Mary for the poor souls of Purgatory." This cryptic message refers to The Spectre of Knaphoscheid.
The most popular story of encountering the spectre claims a man from Folschette came to Drauffelt looking for love. Walking the path one night, he he saw ghosts and heard voices calling out to him from the woods. However, he wasn't alone. Other villagers, too, corroborated his story claiming they had seen and heard things near 'op Téipesch.'
But, as it turns out, there was a very real explanation for the supernatural experiences on the path.
A local man, attempting to scare travelers, would carve grotesque faces into turnips and hang them in trees. Turnip carving was traditionally used in Ireland around Halloween to ward off evil spirits. Dubbed the 'Téipeschmännchen,' the man himself would also appear in costume and lurch out at passerbys, calling out. His hauntings lasted from 1917 to 1925, a whole eight years.
His tirade was finally put to a stop when he jumped out at a traveler, but the traveler attacked him. The 'Téipeschmännchen' was able to hobble off without revealing his identity, but he never made another appearance again and left the towns people of Drauffelt and Knaphoscheid alone.
While the 'Téipeschmännchen's' identity was never confirmed, a resident of Knaphoscheid showed up to work the next day with two black eyes, without ever confirming how he got them. It has long been believed he was the man responsible for terrorizing the towns.
