A lot of Alsatian legends allude to the White Lady. It is said that this ghost woman haunts the ruins of castles or ponds, rivers, washhouses – she is often near water. She is indeed a ghost, not always that of a woman, and must often atone for a fault (such as greed or infanticide) or that she refuses to disappear for good because of a desperate wait ( of a lover, of the return of his children, for example). Her torments condemn her to wander between the world of the dead and that of the living.
Remember that on Samhain night, better known today as Halloween, the veil between the world is thinner, and sometimes torn. But La Dame Blanche is not necessarily there to frighten you; often she cries and laments. Sometimes she also asks to be saved. Because she is often a prisoner. But of what ? Maybe from herself?
This is the case of the Dame Blanche du Schwartzenbourg, this castle on the border between the municipalities of Griesbach-au-Val and Munster. A long time ago, a sick old woman sent her daughter to seek the doctor in Munster. Little Gretel was surprised by a terrible storm and took shelter under a vault of the Schwartzenbourg. Suddenly a cry was heard and Gretel passed out. When she came to her senses, a monk covered in a white robe was watching her. He said to her: “Do not be afraid! You will receive the reward that Heaven intends for you. ”He led her into a room filled with gold bars, diamonds and pearls. “All this wealth is yours. To keep possession of this gold, pearls and diamonds, you will have to remain a virgin and never get married. Gretel ran to Munster, brought the doctor back and her mother recovered. Gretel, now immensely wealthy, built a splendid palace on the site of the Schwartzenbourg ruin.
Dame Marguerite was very much courted. A few years later, a knight asked for hospitality at the castle. After a big party, the hostess asked her to stay at the castle, her steward was old and she would be happy if a good soldier replaced him. He accepted and a few months later, we learned with scandal that she had become engaged to her steward. On the wedding day, Dame Marguerite walked towards the altar on the arm of the chosen one of her heart and at the time of the oath, a clap of thunder broke out in the azure blue sky. Marguerite fell, white as stones. The fiancé had disappeared. In his place, a monk dressed in white stood on his knees and recited the prayers for the dead. Since then, the white lady has wandered inconsolably at night through the ruins of Schwartzenbourg castle. She laments forever over her broken oath.
The Wikipedia page of the Schwartzenbourg castle.