The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead
"Claude Lecouteux marshals what must be a virtualty complete recounting of stories from throughout
Europe involving nocturnal sightings of the Army of the Dead, also known as the Wild Hunt, and traces
their thematic origins from pre-Christian times through the filter of the medieval church."
Once upon a time a phenomenon existed in medieval Europe that continuously fueled local lore:
during the long winter nights a strange and unknown troop could be heard passing outside over the land
or through the air. Anyone caught by surprise in the open fields or depths of the woods would see a bizarre
procession of demons, giants, hounds, ladies of the night, soldiers, and knights, some covered in blood and
others carrying their heads beneath their arms. This was the Wild or Infernal Hunt, the host of the damned,
the phantom army of the night - a theme that still inspires poets, writers, and painters to this day.
Millennia older than Christianity, this pagan belief was employed by the church to spread their doctrine,
with the shapeshifters and giants of the pagan nightly processions becoming sinners led by demons seeking
out unwary souls to add to their retinues. Myth or legend, it represents a belief that has deep roots in Europe,
particularly Celtic and Scandinavian countries.
The first scholar to fully examine this myth in each of its myriad forms, Claude Lecouteux strips away the
Christian gloss and shows how the Wild Hunt was an integral part of the pagan worldview and the structure of
their societies. Additionally, he looks at how secret societies of medieval Europe reenacted these ghostly
processions through cult rituals culminating in masquerades and carnival-like cavalcades often associated with
astral doubles, visions of the afterlife, belief in multiple souls, and prophecies of impending death.
He reveals how the nearly infinite variations of this myth are a still living, evolving tradition that offers
us a window into the world in which our ancestors lived.
Claude Lecouteux is a former professor of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne.
He is the author of numerous books on medieval and pagan afterlife beliefs, including The Return of the Dead,
The Secret History of Vampires, and Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies. He lives in Paris.
