"Oh, have you read 'The Phantom Bride'? It 's perfectly thrilling! There 's a regular rush for it at the library; but some prefer 'Breaking a Butterfly.' Which do you like best?" asked a pale girl of Polly, in one of the momentary lulls which occurred. (An Old-Fashioned Girl, Lousia May Alcott)
Stories of phantom brides abound, both in Jersey and elsewhere. But this is a story about the Kérions of Brittany. In "The Megalithic Monuments Of Carnac And Locmariaquer : Their Purpose And Age" by Z. Le Rouzic, he tells us of the dolmens at Carnac:
The traditions about the dolmens tell us that those piles of stones were the dwellings of the Kérions, a dwarf people who formerly inhabited the country. The Kérions were small but very strong, and a colloquial idiom is still often used, Strong as a Kérion.
Here is a spooky tale from the 1932 "Breton Tales" compiled by Lilias Eskine of a phantom bride:
In Auray there was a young man who did not like the Kerions, for he feared their power, and much to his sorrow he discovered that his future bride was visiting them in the evenings and taking part in their nocturnal gatherings
One evening he hid himself in his stable, where he could overlook the meadows, and when midnight came he saw the Circle dancing with his bride in their midst. As the last chimes of the church clock rang out, the Circle vanished and his bride fell among the daisies in a dead faint. Rushing to her side in great fear, he rubbed her temples with vinegar and held a cup of-water to her lips. But it was an hour before she recovered her senses, and she lay in his arms, murmuring : " You have hurt me very much : when you see me like this, you must leave me till I recover of my own accord. . . . I must never be touched when I have fallen into a trance from the Kerions' dance." . . .
She explained to him that she danced in the Circle every evening with some of her comrades and that he might come the next evening to see them. . . . " To-morrow night we shall be dancing in the meadows outside Auray," she said. ... " Come at midnight and you will see us. But on no account must you speak."
The next night the young man prepared to start out, but his courage failed him and he went to a friend and begged him to come too. . . .
So the pair of them went down to the water meadows, but as it was not quite twelve o'clock, they stood together and talked of the day's work and the threshing they had done. . . .
The frogs croaked and cicadas called; an owl booted in the spinney and a bat flew past, but not a sign was there of the Kerions or the future bride and her companions. . . .
When they returned to the village the young men found the bride at home. . . .
"Oh! foolish prattlers," laughed she. "We were dancing and singing so merrily, but you came to the meadows and talked, so we were obliged to disappear."
" We will come to-morrow night," said the young man, " and I promise that we will not speak a word."
" No ! no ! " said she. . . . " Do not come to-morrow, for we have a sad office to perform. . . . A young woman of Locmaria is to be placed in her shroud, and we could not allow you to see that ! " . . .
The next morning the young man met his bride in tears. . . . " Alas ! alas ! " she cried. . . . " The young woman whom we were to have put in her shroud has tricked us. At midnight, just as we were lifting her up, she came out of her trance . . . and now they say that one of us must die in her place." . . .
With that she faded from his sight. . . . But the young man -was so frightened that he ran from the spot, and the next year he was married to a girl who had never even heard of the Kerions!
Stories of phantom brides abound, both in Jersey and elsewhere. But this is a story about the Kérions of Brittany. In "The Megalithic Monuments Of Carnac And Locmariaquer : Their Purpose And Age" by Z. Le Rouzic, he tells us of the dolmens at Carnac:
The traditions about the dolmens tell us that those piles of stones were the dwellings of the Kérions, a dwarf people who formerly inhabited the country. The Kérions were small but very strong, and a colloquial idiom is still often used, Strong as a Kérion.
Here is a spooky tale from the 1932 "Breton Tales" compiled by Lilias Eskine of a phantom bride:
In Auray there was a young man who did not like the Kerions, for he feared their power, and much to his sorrow he discovered that his future bride was visiting them in the evenings and taking part in their nocturnal gatherings
One evening he hid himself in his stable, where he could overlook the meadows, and when midnight came he saw the Circle dancing with his bride in their midst. As the last chimes of the church clock rang out, the Circle vanished and his bride fell among the daisies in a dead faint. Rushing to her side in great fear, he rubbed her temples with vinegar and held a cup of-water to her lips. But it was an hour before she recovered her senses, and she lay in his arms, murmuring : " You have hurt me very much : when you see me like this, you must leave me till I recover of my own accord. . . . I must never be touched when I have fallen into a trance from the Kerions' dance." . . .
She explained to him that she danced in the Circle every evening with some of her comrades and that he might come the next evening to see them. . . . " To-morrow night we shall be dancing in the meadows outside Auray," she said. ... " Come at midnight and you will see us. But on no account must you speak."
The next night the young man prepared to start out, but his courage failed him and he went to a friend and begged him to come too. . . .
So the pair of them went down to the water meadows, but as it was not quite twelve o'clock, they stood together and talked of the day's work and the threshing they had done. . . .
The frogs croaked and cicadas called; an owl booted in the spinney and a bat flew past, but not a sign was there of the Kerions or the future bride and her companions. . . .
When they returned to the village the young men found the bride at home. . . .
"Oh! foolish prattlers," laughed she. "We were dancing and singing so merrily, but you came to the meadows and talked, so we were obliged to disappear."
" We will come to-morrow night," said the young man, " and I promise that we will not speak a word."
" No ! no ! " said she. . . . " Do not come to-morrow, for we have a sad office to perform. . . . A young woman of Locmaria is to be placed in her shroud, and we could not allow you to see that ! " . . .
The next morning the young man met his bride in tears. . . . " Alas ! alas ! " she cried. . . . " The young woman whom we were to have put in her shroud has tricked us. At midnight, just as we were lifting her up, she came out of her trance . . . and now they say that one of us must die in her place." . . .
With that she faded from his sight. . . . But the young man -was so frightened that he ran from the spot, and the next year he was married to a girl who had never even heard of the Kerions!
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