Bokkenrijders

The Buckriders are a part of South-Eastern Dutch and North-Eastern Belgian folklore. They are witches, who rode through the sky on the back of flying bucks provided to them by the Devil to rob and murder common people and church possessions. The trials against the buckriders differed from 'ordinary' criminal proceedings because in many cases a so-called 'ungodly oath' was involved. Once a year, they would visit their master, the Devil, on the Mook Heath.