The Deogen, also known as the De Ogen or The Eyes, is an evil spirit said to haunt the Sonian Forest in Belgium, often seen in fog form and followed by smaller shadow figures. The story, which is based on a series of true events, has become more of a campfire tale or urban legend with virtually no sightings in recent years.
Manifestations
- Green fog
- Sometimes orange, gray, or white in color
- Small shadow figures
- Laughing children
- Bloody palm prints on car windows
Background
According to the book De Kinderen van Het Bezeten Bos, which was written in 1937, the legend of Deogen is said to have begun when local nuns began finding the burned bodies of young children in the Sonian Forest in Belgium, near Brussels. It is said in the book that 80 children were murdered and the bodies dumped throughout in the forest and set ablaze but a more accepted number was only 8. Very little is known of the case excepting that which is found in the book which is believed by many to have been a work of fiction.
Trivia
- The term De Ogen, Dutch for “the eyes”, originated from reports that something large was said to be seen staring at witnesses from within the fog.
