This unusual type of ghosts is found mainly in Germany and there is even a special term for them kindermorderinn.
The origin of these restless spirits is usually associated with great tragedy, as they are said to be the ghosts of children who were killed by their own mothers, which condemned them to walk the earth not only as ghosts, but also as harbingers of disaster and death.
Indeed, the people say that seeing the Shining Boy is a sure sign that failure or death will follow. This makes them a frightening paranormal force that no one wants to face.
The reasons why mothers wanted to kill their children in centuries past varied, but in the 1600s and 1700s, when dark ghost stories began to really develop, it was mainly because children were born out of wedlock.
On more rare occasions, the parents simply did not have enough money to feed their children, which led them to resort to murder.
Sometimes the murder of children was the result of a harsh medieval law, according to which the second wife could inherit a share of her husband's property if all of his children died.
Ghosts of the Shining Boys as a phenomenon originated in Germany, and only then this phenomenon came to the English regions of Cumberland and Northumberland with German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries.
There are numerous reports of encounters with these ghosts, usually described as looking like glowing little boys or (much less often) girls who usually look naked and bathed in bright light, which can be of different colors.
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The entities themselves are often indifferent to their surroundings, but cast a rather disturbing atmosphere that usually leaves the bystander in a state of shock.
By far the most famous incident of the appearance of the Shining Boy happened in September 1803 at a place called Corby Castle in Cumbria, England, which was the ancestral home of the powerful Howard family.
Here the ghost appeared before the Reverend Heinrich of Redburg, Patriarch Howard, who had come to visit the castle and had just settled in a beautiful bedroom with ancient tapestries with his wife.
An engraving illustrating the incident with the Monk Heinrich of Redburg.
The subsequent reverend described in detail later in his diary:
The next day the Monk and his wife left the castle rather hastily.
Another, more sinister incident with the Shining Boy allegedly happened with Lord Castlereagh, also known as Captain Stewart.
He was in Ireland at the time and once went hunting in the countryside when the weather turned bad. As soon as he realized that a storm was coming, it dawned on him that he was so lost in the forest that he could no longer find his way back.
The story goes that he roamed the wastelands before finding a house and asking for shelter there for the night. His room was modest, almost unfurnished and with a small fireplace in the corner.
Corby Castle.
Soon he fell asleep, but woke up from a bright light, as if "came from the world of dreams." A further incident was later included in Butler Yeats' book Tales and Folk Stories of the Irish Peasantry:
In response to these claims, the homeowner admitted that the room where Stewart slept was almost never used, precisely because the ghost of a family ancestor was often seen there, who was killed by his own mother. It was believed that the fire in the fireplace was supposed to keep the evil spirit.
It has also been said that seeing the Shining Boy is a bad omen, and that the cursed room has indeed been closed for years and it was only open to him.
It was also ominously indicated that whoever sees the Shining Boy will acquire great strength for a time, but then will be persecuted by a terrible death.
Indeed, this meeting brought good luck to Captain Stewart and he soon became an influential political figure. But then he began to lose money and a series of deaths began to take one family member after another from him.
First, his father died, and that is how he assumed the mantle of Lord Castlereagh, second Marquis of Londonderry, and then his older sister died in a boat accident. After that, his condition sharply decreased, his health began to get worse, and his mental state brought him to the brink of insanity.
He eventually committed suicide by cutting his own throat in 1822, fulfilling the grim prophecy that a vision of the Shining Boy would result in a frightening violent death.
Another alleged Shining Boy is said to frequent Chillingham Castle, a medieval castle in Chillingham, Northumberland, in the north of Northumberland, England.
The castle was originally a monastery as early as the 12th century, after which it became a strategic site in medieval times, playing a large role in the battles between England and Scotland, and in subsequent years as a barracks for the army during World War II.
Throughout this time period, there have been stories of the Shining Castle Boy who looked like a completely naked child, surrounded by a blue glow that was most often seen in the area of the castle called the "Pink Room".