Weiße Frauen

They are described as beautiful and enchanted creatures who appear at noon and can be seen sitting in the sunshine brushing their hair or bathing in a brook.

The association with the color white and their appearance in sunlight is thought by Jacob Grimm[1] to stem from the original Old Norse and Teutonic mythology of alven (elves), specifically the bright Ljósálfar.

"[4] Similar in name to the Witte Wieven of Dutch mythology, the Weiße Frauen may have come from the Germanic belief in disen or land wights and alven.

[5] Grimm notes the image of the Weiße Frauen basking in the sun and bathing "melts into the notion of a water-holde [i.e. Holda] and nixe".

[1] The Weiße Frauen also have counterparts in both name and characterization in neighboring countries: In the Netherlands they are known as the Witte Wieven, and in France as the Dames Blanches.