Promenade des légendes - Crochet Le pépé / Father Hook

Vadertje Haak was born out of mothers' fear of losing their children in rivers or wells.

To convince children not to swim alone, the Belgians invented a frightening legend: that of Pépé Crochet, a sea monster who catches children in the water with the help of his hooked hands.

What does his legend tell us ? One day, a woman sends her 8-year-old son to fetch water from the well. It was winter and it was getting dark. After a while, the mother worries that the child has not returned. She goes in search of him and finds him in the well where he uses a grappling hook to fight a monster that is trying to drag the boy into the well. The mother fought hard to free and rescue her son. It stays out of the water for the rest of its life!

This artwork by S. Collard et F. Pierret is part of the "Promenade des Legendes / Promenade des Légendes". It is a 2.2 km circular route in Laforêt where more than 10 creatures from the legends once told about fire are staged.

Willem Vandenameele