Ghost story
The vanishing swimmer of the Pudivere flax pit
A grandfather in Pudivere village, Põltsamaa parish, told how as a young man he and his wife walked by moonlight to a party in another village. Their path ran along a paddock fence past a big aspen and a freshly dug pit for retting flax. As they came near they heard splashing. 'Who the devil swims here in autumn?' he shouted. Closer up they saw a stranger, naked to the chest in the water, beating its surface with his hands. On seeing them he vanished 'like tin into ash', though the water went on rippling. The grandfather prodded the pit with a pole and found nothing. Pudivere is today a small village in Põltsamaa parish.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Põltsamaa kihelkonna Pudivere küla vanaisa jutustas, kuidas ta noore mehena koos naisega kuuvalgel teise külla peole läks. Tee kulges mööda kopliaeda suure haava ja äsja kaevatud linaleoaugu juurest. Lähemale jõudes kuulsid nad sulinat. „No kes kurat see sügisel veel siin ujub?“ hüüdis ta. Lähemal nägid nad tundmatut meest, kes seisis rinnuni vees ja tagus kätega vastu veepinda. Neid märgates kadus ta „kui tina tuhka“, kuigi vesi sulises veel natuke. Vanaisa katsus augu teibaga läbi, kuid ei leidnud kedagi. Pudivere on tänapäeval väike küla Põltsamaa vallas.
Source: Estonian Folklore Archives E 53217 (Põltsamaa parish, Lustivere, G. Saar 1922), Rehepapp database ↗