Plaaggeesten (translation: Teasing Ghosts) though supernatural were not actual ghosts but notorious pranksters nonetheless. Oftentimes nocturnal, there's many ways they bullied the commonfolk. Getting people lost in a forest for instance, or hiding their valuables. Sometimes they would increase the weight of an object, making the items impossible to move. Other tricksters were able to fool people by shapeshifting into creatures or objects. By far the most common prank was if a Tormenter jumped on a person's back. A tormentor could not be shaken off and their weight grew ever heavier. This would often last until morning sunlight. Some pranksters appeared in the form of a hellhound. The most famous tormentor from the Netherlands was Blauwe Gerrit.
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