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1179
Vanladi, King of Sweden
An heir to the throne takes over his kingdom but is killed by a horse in his nightmare, while being stomped to death in real life when a witch is hired to send a "Night-mare" to his house. -
The Alp
An Alp is a shorter man that can slip through tiny spaces to get into your homes. He can use the spiky traps that you leave out for him against you. He will also ride your horses and tire them out the next morning so you'll know he was there, if you survive the night. -
1840
Also known as the "Mart," the Alp will usually ride its victims in their sleep until the can't breath anymore. It is usually described as a little girl with a bad foot. -
The Mart
The Germans' version of an Alp, or Baku, is named after a spirit that compresses a person's chest while they sleep. The most common way to keep the Mart away from you is to cross your arms and legs before going to bed. -
A Charm To Control The Night-Mare
S. George, S. George, our ladies knight,
He walkt by daie, so did he by night.
Untill such time as he her found,
He hir beat and he hir bound,
Untill hir troth she to him plight,
She would not come to him that night.
Say this charm before entering your sleep, and you will not get a visit from the Mart that night. -
An Alp is Captured
One day, a man in Gemany captured a cat-like creature that kept sitting on his chest at night. The next morning, she turned into a beautiful lady and the two got married. But when the man opened the hole she originally came through, she escaped and was never seen again. -
Charm Against Night-Mares
I lay me here to sleep;
No night-mare shall plague me,
Until they swim all the waters
That flow upon the earth,
And count all the stars
That appear in the firmament!
Thus help me God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!
Another charm to ward the Night-Mares against you bed at night. -
A Shetland Charm
Arthur Knight
He rade a' night,
Wi' open swird
An' candle light.
He sought da mare;
He fan' da mare;
He bund da mare
Wi' her ain hair.
And made da mare
Ta swear:
'At she should never
Bide a' night
Whar ever she heard
O' Arthur Knight.
Another charm which originated some where in Shetland some time in 1879. -
Beliefs Concerning Alps and Mares
By stopping up the key-hole, facing your shoes facing the door, adding something made of steel to your bed straw, and urinating into a bottle and hanging it in the sun before throwing it into a running stream. -
The Alp
More info concerning how an Alp murders its victims in the night and his motives.