Ghost story
The unseen shover on the Tarbja road
A story collected near Mäo in Paide parish tells of a man walking home late from the tavern along a road he knew well. In the dark he saw someone coming towards him and boldly stepped on. Suddenly he found himself standing a good way off to the side of the road, without any idea how he had got there, so fast had it happened. He decided that an evil spirit had met him and simply thrown him off the road. Wayside spirits like this were a common warning in Järvamaa against walking home drunk at night. Tarbja today is a village near the busy Mäo crossroads on the Tallinn–Tartu highway.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Paide kihelkonnas Mäo kandis kogutud lugu räägib mehest, kes tuli hilja kõrtsist koju mööda hästi tuntud teed. Pimedas nägi ta, et keegi tuleb vastu, ja astus julgelt edasi. Korraga leidis ta end tükk maad tee kõrvalt, aimamata, kuidas ta sinna sattus – nii imekiiresti see juhtus. Mees arvas, et kuri vaim tuli talle vastu ja viskas ta lihtsalt teelt kõrvale. Sellised teeäärsed vaimud olid Järvamaal levinud hoiatus öösel joobnult koju kõndimise vastu. Tarbja on tänapäeval küla Tallinna–Tartu maantee tiheda liiklusega Mäo ristmiku lähedal.
Source: Estonian Folklore Archives ERA II 14, 17/8 (Paide parish, Mäo, Tarbja village), Rehepapp database ↗