In the parish of Veckholm, east of Svingarn Fjord, lived, in the
fifteenth century, a priest widely known for his wisdom and goodness.
No day went by that he did not read his Bible, and in the evening, when
others had gone to rest, he went to the church to offer up his prayers
at the altar.
His wife, who attended only to her worldly affairs, and did not look
upon these nightly ramblings kindly, determined to put an end to them,
and to this end, one evening, called into service one of the servants.
“Lasse,” said she, “if you will put a white sheet over you and stand in
the dark near the path and frighten father when he comes from the
church, you shall have a pot of ale.”
The man had nothing against this, and with the assistance of his
mistress, clad himself as directed and took a position near the path
connecting the church and parsonage.
After a while the priest came from the church. Upon observing the
spook, he read a prayer and bade the apparition sink into the ground.
The man sank into the ground to his knees without betraying himself,
but continued to play the ghost. The priest prayed again, when Lasse
sank into the ground to his waist.
“It is I! dear father! it is I!” cried Lasse, now in consternation.
“It is too late! too late, Lasse!” replied the priest, with a sorrowful
voice. At the same time the servant sank alive into the earth out of
sight.
To commemorate the incident, a wooden cross was raised on the spot,
which is always replaced by a new one when the old one has become old
and decayed.