The saga of the Knight of Karneid Castle

A calamitous event weighed heavily upon the otherwise blessed land; the flowers withered and the vines died before their sweet fruit had ripened, because a terrible visitor – the fearsome plague – was raging through village and town. Downhearted, the Knight of Karneid Castle stared from above into the wide valley that lay there, strewn with corpses. The knight’s otherwise frivolous and impious mind was deeply troubled and, overwhelmed by a nameless unease and trepidation, he threw himself down on the rough stone and sent up a fervent prayer to the Lord over life and death. He vowed with holy oaths that he would undertake a pilgrimage to Maria Weissenstein at this time every year with his entire household, with all his squires and journeymen, servants and maids, if only the Lord would spare him and his own. 
 
And behold – his request was granted! The plague raged in the area for many a long week, but Karneid Castle resembled a flourishing oasis. A year then passed, and a bountiful harvest put an end to all hardship. Only up at Karneid Castle were the evils of the previous year strangely evident, for the knight had spent the whole time in the lap of luxury, without once thinking to fulfil his vow. While now in the valley all breathed merriment and joy, up at Karneid Castle reigned only misery and despair. The rider on his bony horse, the terrible guest from the previous year, had made his way in and was now dwelling to terrible effect among the occupants of the castle. The vow the knight had once made in life, but not fulfilled, now had to be kept after death. 
 
Every year, when the grapes begin to take on colour, the gates of the castle chapel of Karneid/Carnedo open at the silent hour of midnight and a long, dark procession, with crosses and poles, flags and flaming candles comes out; before them all rides a grey skeletal figure on a gaunt horse, followed by the tall, bent figure of the knight in his burial gown. The ghostly procession follows the narrow castle path, then drifts up to disappear in the direction of Maria Weissenstein.