One evening, several men and young lads from Eppeldorf were pasturing their horses in the Eppeldorf meadows — a valley between Ermsdorf and Eppeldorf, on the right bank of the White Ernz. They lit a fire, sat around it, and told all sorts of stories. (According to other accounts, they were playing cards.)

From talking, they drifted into swearing — and one of them went so far as to curse the Devil himself out of Hell. Hardly had he spoken the words when, from a nearby patch of woods, there came a large black dog that lay down in front of them.

Terror seized them all, except for the one who had summoned the Devil; he remained calm, even to the point of wanting to drive the dog away with his whip. But his companions stopped him and instead turned to prayer.

At once, the eerie visitor got up and made his way back toward the woods. When he reached the edge of the forest, a dreadful noise arose, as though all the trees were being torn from their roots, and a pestilential stench filled the whole area.

The horse herders were so overcome with fear that they immediately gathered their horses and hurried home.