Ghost story
The phantom dogs and horsemen of Kuremäe
Long before the Orthodox nuns came to Kuremäe in the 1890s, the hill was a place of awe. People spoke of a holy spring and of an apparition of the Mother of God, but also of stranger visitors. Folk tradition from Iisaku and Illuka tells of spirits seen on the hill in the shape of dogs and of riders on horseback, and links them to a hidden place beneath the site where the monastery later rose. Those who went there at night were warned to keep their distance. Today the onion domes of the Pühtitsa Dormition Convent crown Kuremäe hill, and pilgrims still bathe in its holy spring.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Juba ammu enne seda, kui õigeusu nunnad 1890. aastatel Kuremäele tulid, oli see mägi aukartust äratav paik. Räägiti pühast allikast ja Jumalaema ilmumisest, aga ka veidramatest külalistest. Iisaku ja Illuka pärimus jutustab mäel nähtud vaimudest, kes ilmusid koerte ja ratsanike kujul, ning seob neid peidetud paigaga hilisema kloostri all. Öösel sinna minejaid hoiatati eemale hoidma. Tänapäeval kroonivad Kuremäe mäge Pühtitsa Uinumise kloostri sibulkuplid ning palverändurid suplevad endiselt selle pühas allikas.
Source: Virumaa folk legends, in A. Kalda's study in Mäetagused 66 (2017) ↗