Case file · Fairy lore
Picardt's giants and witte wieven
In 1660, Johan Picardt, pastor at Coevorden in Drenthe, wrote that the hunebeds (megalithic tombs) were built by giants and haunted by 'witte wieven', white women dwelling in the mounds.
1660 CE · 52.66, 6.74 · status: legend
The account
The witte wieven, misty female spirits of burial mounds and marshes, were said to steal children or help travellers. Picardt's book fixed these beliefs in print.