The Basilisk House

Vienna · Austria · House

A basilisk hatched from a rooster's egg by a toad lurked in the well — until a baker's boy was lowered with a mirror and let its own gaze kill it.

In the courtyard well of Schönlaterngasse 7 something is said to have been hatched that had no business in this world: an old rooster laid an egg, a toad brooded it, and out of the shell came a basilisk. In 1212 the servants refused to fetch water — the stench below was unbearable — and a baker's apprentice was lowered on a rope. He saw the creature crouched against the well wall and was hauled up half dead with fright. The legend says a mirror was then let down. The basilisk met its own eyes, and since its gaze turns living things to stone, it petrified itself. Above the second floor a sandstone figure with an iron beak and gilded comb still sits in its niche. The house is called 'Zum Basilisken' and its cellar walls date to the 13th century.

FAQ

Where is The Basilisk House located?

The Basilisk House is in Wien, Austria.

More haunted places in Wien

• The Staff in Iron Vienna · Urban site
• The White Lady of Hernals Vienna · Church
• At the Stinking Worm Vienna · Historic building
• Doctor Faust and the Little Red Man Vienna · Pub
• The Witch's Mill in Hütteldorf Vienna · Mill
• The Water Sprite of the Ottakring Brook Vienna · Natural site
• The White Lady of the Theresianum Vienna · Palace
• The Devil's Mill on the Wienerberg Vienna · Mill

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Priwo · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons