The
Wild Hunt is a
European folk myth involving a ghostly or supernatural group of
huntsmen passing in wild pursuit. The hunters may be either
elves or fairies or
the dead, and the leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with
Woden (or other reflections of the same god, such as
Alemannic Wuodan in
Wuotis Heer ("Wuodan's Army") of
Central Switzerland,
Swabia etc.), but may variously be a historical or legendary figure like
Theodoric the Great, the Danish king
Valdemar Atterdag, the
Welsh Gwyn ap Nudd, biblical figures such as
Herod,
Cain,
Gabriel or
the Devil, or an unidentified lost soul or spirit either male or female.