10-02-2024 - On This Day in Insane History

On October 2nd, 1535, King Franz of Bohemia had a rather unusual start to his day. It began as most royal mornings do - with a light breakfast and a review of the day's scheduled events. However, as Franz was looking over trade negotiations with nearby Polish-Lithuania, he was interrupted by a commotion outside. His guards burst into the room announcing that riders had been spotted approaching the castle gates at breakneck speed.

Franz hurried outside to find five bedraggled horsemen, sweat-soaked and out of breath, reining in their steeds before the castle steps. When able to speak, the leader of the company gasped out a bizarre tale - as they had been riding through the forest that morning, the very trees themselves had attacked! Branches turned to bony fingers that snatched at clothes and hair, while roots tossed the men from their saddles like toys. Only through desperate effort had they outrun the animated arboreal assailants.

King Franz listened in both shock and skepticism, sincerely hoping this unreasonable report was merely the product of an exhausting ordeal. And yet, as he looked upon his guards' scratched and tattered conditions, some small part of him wondered - what strange sorcery could cause an entire wood to wake with violent intent? Though the confusing case was never fully solved, the men's story sparked fascination with the potential power of nature, and a renewed care in traversing Bohemia's leafy depths.