Before I talk about the Werewolf of Bettembourg, let me tell you about the White Wolf of Luxembourg. During my time with the US Army, I took a nice R&R break to Paris, France, with a stopover at Luxembourg. The year was 1974. I was stationed at Merrill Barracks – Nurnberg, Germany. The thing that was nice about being stationed in Germany is that there were so many European countries close to Germany and it was so easy for me to travel here and there. Travel was inexpensive when you are in the Army and I definitely took advantage of all the traveling deals that the Army threw my way. Being stationed in Germany, I met a German girl named Hilda from Luxembourg and she invited me to Luxembourg and promised me that she would show me the sights. When I arrived in Luxembourg, I was given an assignment. I was at the time working for CID (Criminal Investigation Division) DST (Drug Suppression Team). I was an MP (Military Police) working undercover narcotics. My code name in CID was “Porkchops”. CID asked me if I was going to Luxembourg, if I could go to a discotheque and try to locate a drug supplier to Army soldiers nicknamed Doctor Feelgood. Doctor Feelgood was supplying Army soldiers in Nurnberg with Black Opium Hash; Tripping Green Hash and Brown Bombers (a type of barbiturate). I agreed that I would try and seek Doctor Feelgood out and make a controlled purchase from him. I met up with the German girl named Hilda and she showed me some of the sights of Luxembourg. We visited Vianden Castle and the Victor Hugo Literary Museum. In the evening, we went to a discotheque that Doctor Feelgood would frequent. While at the discotheque, I tried to locate Doctor Feelgood without any success.
This was the first time I ever went to a European disco. What I did learn was watching the dancers dance to disco music. Songs like “Rock the Boat by the Hues Corporation” and other songs like Do It by B.T. Express, Lady Marmalade, Kung Fu Fighting, etc. I was amazed on watching the dancers execute their fancy steps. Little did I know that CID later on in my career would send me undercover to various discotheques throughout Germany, seeking out drug dealers. While watching these dancers, I became a dancer myself. I became a very good dancer, winning first place in various dance contests. When I got out of the Army in 1976 and went stateside, the first job I landed was with Arthur Murray’s Dance Studio as a dance instructor. Later I would go for the Guinness Book of World Records and danced 205 hours, 8 1/2 days, holding the record for over a month, before I was beat by a disco dancer in South Africa. My first attempt at gaining the world record was by dancing 72 hours. This was not good enough and I eventually attempted the world record and succeeded with 205 hours. But, this article is not just about my career in disco dancing, it was also my fascination with the paranormal.
Many Europeans have stories of the paranormal and Hilda was no exception. Hilda told me a story about how her brother when he was 12 years old encountered a white wolf in Luxembourg and that the white wolf actually attacked him and left claw marks on his chest. I had the opportunity to meet Hilda’s brother and he opened his shirt to show me the scars on his chest from this white wolf. I learned that stories of wolves and werewolves were common in Luxembourg and many other countries in Europe. Below is a story about a werewolf in Bettembourg.
Bettembourg is a commune and town in southern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, which is part of the district of Luxembourg.
Apparently a creature of some kind, believed to be a werewolf, prowls the hills of Bettembourg and its howls can still be heard today. Here is the story behind the legend:
A young man who was supporting his elderly parents went off to war. The townsfolk heard nothing from this young man and the townsfolk wondered if he was still alive. His elderly parents were very concerned on the whereabouts of their son and wondered if he was killed in the war.
The parents with a broken heart passed on, it had been many years since they last seen their son. Their son became a forgotten memory to the townsfolk.
On one given day, a disabled soldier came down a road to Bettembourg. He seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was evident that this disabled soldier had witnessed horrifying things and undergone nightmarish times. His eyes were full of shock and horror and he was cursing underneath his breath as he approached the town. The disabled soldier finally took a seat and kept mumbling to himself. He spied a crucifix made of stone and like a crazy man, started throwing stones at the crucifix. The disabled soldier acted like he was possessed by a demon. He destroyed the stone cross and then after the destruction of the cross, he left the town of Bettembourg.
From that day on, the town of Bettembourg became haunted by a savage horrific beast that looked like a wolf. This wolf would violently slaughter any living animal or human crossing its path. The townsfolk no longer thought this to be a wolf, they made the determination that it was actually a werewolf. A monk asked the townsfolk to create a silver bullet to kill this werewolf. On the silver bullet they would engrave holy names from the Bible. The townsfolk sought out one of their own, a marksman who was known to have an accurate shot when hunting deer. The townsfolk marksman made good with his expertise with the rifle and killed the werewolf. To the surprise of the villagers, when they approached the dead body of the werewolf, it transformed into the crazy disabled soldier. The dead disabled soldier was cremated and prayers were said over his ashes. The villagers spread his ashes in an unknown location and the town was never terrorized by a werewolf again.
There are some townsfolk who still make claim that they can hear the howling of the werewolf late in the night. So with stories like this, I only wonder if the White Wolf of Luxembourg could also be a werewolf?
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations
www.cryptic916.com/
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