Eerie Tales with Cosette: Il-Belliegħa - The Swallower in the well

Today’s blog post features the full transcript of Episode 2 of Eerie Tales with Cosette. Dive into the chilling Maltese legend of Il-Belliegħa, the Swallower, a creature lurking in ancient wells, luring the curious with ghostly voices. Listen to this haunting story and subscribe to the channel!

Il-Belliegħa

It was a moonless night in the village of Qrendi, where the stars hid behind a shroud of clouds. A boy, no older than ten, crept through the olive groves, his heart pounding. He’d heard the whispers—stories of a voice that called from the old well beyond the chapel. A voice that sounded like his sister, lost years ago. “Help me,” it cried, soft and desperate. He leaned over the well’s crumbling edge, peering into the inky black. The water rippled, though no breeze stirred the air. And then… something moved. A shape, pale and writhing, rose from the depths. A foot—grotesque, covered in countless toes—reached up, curling towards him. He screamed… and was never seen again.

Welcome, dear listeners, to Eerie Tales with Cosette, where we delve into the shadows of folklore to uncover the stories that haunt our world. I’m Cosette, your guide through the eerie and the unknown. Tonight, we peer into the depths of an ancient terror—a creature that lurks where water meets stone, a guardian and a devourer. Its name is Il-Belliegħa… the Swallower. Settle in, keep the lights on, and let’s journey to the heart of Malta’s darkest tales.

In Maltese folklore, wells are more than sources of water—they’re portals to another world, thresholds where the natural and supernatural collide. Il-Belliegħa is one such dweller of these liminal spaces. Its name comes from the Maltese word tibla, meaning “to swallow,” and it is a creature born of fear and caution. For centuries, parents in villages warned their children: “Stay away from the well, or Il-Belliegħa will take you.” And they weren’t wrong to fear it.

Picture it: a well, hewn from limestone, standing alone in a field baked by the Mediterranean sun. By day, it’s unremarkable, a place where women draw water and men rest in the shade of carob trees. But as night falls, the well transforms. The air grows heavy, the silence oppressive. And from its depths comes a sound—a whisper, a sob, or sometimes a child’s laughter. It’s Il-Belliegħa, calling, luring the curious to their doom.

What does Il-Belliegħa look like? No two tales agree, for few who see it live to tell. Some describe it as a serpent, its body coiling endlessly in the well’s darkness, with scales that shimmer like moonlight on water. Others say it’s formless, a mass of writhing limbs, pale and slick, with a foot—yes, a foot—covered in toes that twist and grasp like fingers. This foot, they say, is its weapon, stretching impossibly far to snatch those who peer too closely. It feeds on worms, eels, and, most chillingly, the unwary, especially children whose curiosity outweighs their fear.

But Il-Belliegħa is more than a monster. It’s a guardian of water, Malta’s lifeblood in a land with no rivers. It can make wells overflow or run dry, punishing communities that disrespect its domain. In the 19th century, a farmer in Dingli swore his well dried up after he tossed rubbish into it. Days later, he vanished, leaving only a trail of wet footprints leading to the well’s edge.

Let me share a tale from the early 20th century, recorded by the scholar Manwel Magri in his collection Ħrejjef Missirijietna. In the village of Mġarr, there lived a girl named Roża, known for her defiance. She scoffed at the old wives’ tales, calling Il-Belliegħa a story to scare babies. One summer night, during a festa, Roża wandered from the village square, drawn to an abandoned well near the cliffs. The music of għana and laughter faded as she approached. The well was silent, but the water within gleamed unnaturally bright. “Who’s there?” she called, mocking. The water stirred. A voice answered—a voice like her mother’s, who’d died years before. “Roża, my love, come to me.”

She leaned forward, heart racing. The surface broke, and a pale, toed foot surged upward, wrapping around her wrist. Roża screamed, pulling back with all her strength. She stumbled free, but not unscathed. For the rest of her life, her arm bore marks like tiny, sucking mouths, and she never spoke of that night again. The villagers filled the well with stones, but on quiet nights, they still heard whispers from beneath.

Il-Belliegħa’s power lies in its ability to deceive. It mimics voices—loved ones, lost ones—to draw victims close. In 2014, Stephan D. Mifsud, a biologist and folklorist, wrote in The Maltese Bestiary that these tales served a purpose: to keep children safe from the very real danger of falling into wells. But Mifsud also noted something curious. In old Maltese villages, wells were often sealed not just for safety, but because fishermen reported seeing strange shapes in the sea—shapes that matched descriptions of Il-Belliegħa. Could it move beyond its well, slipping through underground channels to the Mediterranean?

In 2023, a Maltese film called Mostri brought Il-Belliegħa to the screen, depicting it as a well serpent devouring a child. The film’s protagonist, Frans, spends his life proving the creature’s existence after it took his sister. While fictional, Mostri tapped into a truth: Il-Belliegħa still haunts our collective imagination, a reminder that some fears never fade.

Today, many wells in Malta are dry or forgotten, overtaken by modern plumbing. But in rural corners, old-timers still warn against lingering near open wells. They say the sea itself carries Il-Belliegħa’s kin, spirits like the Ġada or the Belliegħa tal-Baħar, the Marine Engulfer, waiting for the unwary. And in the silence of a Maltese night, if you hear a voice calling from a well… don’t answer.

That’s all for tonight’s tale, dear listeners. If you enjoyed this journey into the shadows, subscribe to Eerie Tales with Cosette and share it with those brave enough to listen. Have you heard whispers of Il-Belliegħa? Or perhaps another legend keeps you awake at night? Leave a comment below—I read them all. Until next time, tread carefully near the water’s edge… And beware of the Swallower.

Thank you for listening to Episode 2 of Eerie Tales with Cosette! Join us next time as we uncover another chilling tale. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a single eerie tale. Share your thoughts or your own folklore stories in the comments below.