Butatch-Ah-Ilgs

 


The butatsch-ah-ilgs, is a lake monster from Switzerland, which appeared three times in the medieval era. It is an unusually Lovecraftian creature for that era, and far different from any other lake monster. The butatch-ah-ilgs is a giant amorphous sack of a monsters, completely covered in eyes. The overall shape of the monster is reminiscent of a cow’s stomach, which is what the name means. The name is properly Butatsch-cum-ilgs, but is most often written with ah instead because of a previous spelling mistake, and is easiest to find under this erroneous spelling.


The butatch-ah-ilge lived in Lüscher Lake, in the Grisons region. It was said, in the past, that even though the lake looked tranquil and inviting no shepherds or travellers would dare stop near the lake. While the butatch-ah-ilgs had not been seen in centuries it was still very much feared. It was believed the butatch-ah-ilgs could shoot a beam of fire from its eyes when all its many eyes focused on one spot, and that this fire was the fires of hell itself. As well, it was believed that Lake Lüscher was bottomless and descended all the way to hell, from which this creature had crawled out of.


The exact years when the butatch-ah-ilgs was seen were not recorded, only that all three sightings happened when feudalism was still practised. The first sightings happened when some noblemen were passing through the area. They were on their way home from an unsuccessful hunt. Frustrated by not being able to catch any wild prey, they hunted down and killed the sheep of the local shepherds who were resting near the lake at the time (at this time no one yet feared the lake). The peasants watched in horror as the group of nobles slaughtered their herds. Then the water in the lake boiled and writhed. The butatch-ah-ilgs surfaced and heaved its mass onto lands. It rolled about, crushing all under its weight and setting fire to the heath. The nobles tried to run, but couldn’t escape in time and were crushed by the monster. The butatch-ah-ilgs then sank back beneath the waters.


The next two times the butatch-ah-ilgs appeared was during thunderstorms. The monster would come out of the lake and roam about on the hillside, pushing loose soil with its mass and causing landslides further down the bank. The last time being known as the Night Of Terror. Even though the butatch-ah-ilgs was not seen again, people still heard strange sounds, like distant roaring, coming from the lake.


These days the original Lüscher Lake is no more. It was drained in 1910 because it was contributing to landslides. A new Lüscher Lake was rebuilt in 2022, but it’s much shallower.



Sources


https://abookofcreatures.com/2015/09/23/butatsch-cun-ilgs/


https://non-aliencreatures.fandom.com/wiki/Butatsch-Ah-Ilgs


https://blog.dappercadaver.com/2008/05/05/monster-mondays-the-butatsch-ah-ilgs-2/


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