The Skeleton of Hauenstein

About an hour from Seis am Schlern you will find the ruins of Hauenstein on an enormous mountain slope. These ruins were once home to poet and singer Oswald von Wolkenstein, and every so often in the quiet of the night, one can hear the sounds of violins and the mournful song of a maiden who is said to have been bewitched there. Late one evening, shepherds were guarding their flocks around the castle. They sat to rest at the entrance to the castle and recounted one tale after another. All of a sudden, they sensed that somebody in the castle had opened a window. They looked up and saw, through the shimmering light of the open window, a woman combing her long hair. Her head, however, was but a skull, and the shepherds blood curdled at the sight of such beautiful hair growing from a head so fearsome. The woman threw stones and sand at the flock of sheep, who ran in terror. It's believed that the skeleton is the wife of a banished knight, destined to roam the castle until the return of her lost spouse.