The Kludde: The Demon Dog of Belgium

Aug 22

Along the desolate roads of Belgium, there is said to lurk a beast that hunts those traveling at night. The only thing you’ll hear before it leaps out from the dark is the rattling chains that once kept it at bay.

The Legend of the Kludde

In the mid-18th century just outside of a forest near the small village of Ternat, Belgium stood a small broken-down cottage. No one knew where it came from or how long it had stood but inside lived an old wretched woman who was said to be as hideous as the devil.

The villagers of Ternat knew the woman was a witch who called upon the spirits of hell at night inviting them to stay at her cottage. Many believed they had to do something to drive her away as it was only a matter of time before the evil she called upon would infect Ternat.

The men of Ternat wished to burn the witch, to rid her of their lands but none would dare do so. Finally one night a thunderstorm unlike any the villagers had ever seen struck Ternat. A stray lightning bolt hit the witch’s cottage burning it and her to the ground.

Three days later a group from the village went to inspect the charred rubble and found her blackened corpse, yet they still feared moving her.

A wealthy landowner who wished to purchase the property sent over his most faithful and bravest servants with shovels and pitchforks to move and bury the corpse. The moment one of the servants touch the corpse with their tools, the ground shook as the sky resounded a thunderous crack.

The burnt corpse split open and a small ash-covered man climbed out. Within moments he grew to an astonishing height, his body contorted, and his screams turned to growls. His face extended into a wolf-like snout, his legs curved and bent into that of a dog, and claws grew on his feet and hands. This was the Kludde.

With the beast now fully formed in front of them, the servants fainted as the Kludde ran off in search of clothes. Incidentally, this is where the monster got its name as it ran off yelling for “kludden” which translates to “cloths”. Over time the name has morphed into Kludde but it’s sometimes referred to as the ‘Kludden’ or ‘Kleudden’.

When the servants awoke the witch's corpse had become a pool of black sludge. Returning back to town, the belief was the cursed soul of the witch had given birth to the Kludde in order to reign havoc across the land.

A group was quickly rounded up to hunt the Kludde but this turned out more challenging than they thought as they learned the Kludde was a shapeshifter. Reportedly several hunters witnessed it shapeshifting into a large bird that was on fire and dragging a long chain, others saw it turn into a large white or red-haired dog, a small white rabbit, a starving horse, a stallion, a pig, and even a woman.

Still, the hunters persisted in chasing the Kludde through the forest over the course of several weeks. Meanwhile, the Kludde was reportedly making butter and milk rancid and rendering cows and horses infertile simply by just being in the area.

There were claims the Kludde wasn’t as dangerous as it appears as it simply wandered around scaring drunkards and laughing at their screams. Others told of more malevolent acts such as killing a stable of horses or kidnapping and defiling young women who were walking through the forest.

The hunters eventually caught up to the Kludde but found all their weapons were ineffective, arrows and pitchforks seemingly passed directly through the beast as it laughed at the attempts.

One man tried to grab the Kludde with his bare hands and said it was as if he was swiping at smoke. Another man was somehow able to pin the Kludde to a wall but the unbothered beast simply shot fire into his eyes, killing him.

The Kludde once again escaped and to this day many have claimed to see it or one of its disguises. It’s said to haunt the lonely roads looking for those traveling alone. If you’re lucky it might just play a prank on you while others are never heard from again.

Origin of the Myth

The earliest record I could find of the Kludde comes from the 1921 Dutch book “Brabant Folklore” by the Commission of the Provincial Services for Historical and Folkloric Research. (Brabant was a province of Belgium from 1830-1995)

The researchers detail the legend above as having been recounted to Belgium historian and professor, Jules, Baron de Saint-Genois, in 1841.

According to De Saint-Genois, he was spending the night at a hotel-like house in Ternat but instead of sleep, most of the housemates and servants gathered around the fire and told stories about the Kludde. One of the servants asked Baron de Saint-Genois if he knew of the origin of the Kludde and after saying he didn’t, he was told the legend.

So to summarize, the earliest written record of the Kludde comes from a historical book from 1921, that details a historian hearing the legend in 1841, from an unnamed source who says it happened sometime in the 1750s. Due to this, there’s no actual proof or evidence to any part of the story, and not a lot for us to actually scrutinize.

We know Ternat was and is an actual place in Belgium, there might have been a forest outside of the village, and Jules de Saint-Genois was alive during 1841. That’s where the investigation ends for now.

Today you’ll find a lot of variations to the Kludde’s abilities all over the internet and in books. Some say it’s a demon and a vicious hunter looking for lonely travelers, lunging on their backs so it can rip them to shreds. Others say it solely plays pranks, shapeshifting into a horse that will leave you deep in the forest and then gallop away laughing.

Either way, at least we now know the origin of the myth that spawned a shapeshifting demon dog out of a witch.