The following legend may be related to the Deer Man, and is provided here for those who love the old tales:
"Long ago the bear and the red deer lived together in mutual respect of their great strength and power. The deer wore a pebble on its crown between its antlers. This pebble was called the Stone of Belzoar (bezoar), and originated from within the deer itself.
A time came when serpents overwhelmed the region in which the deer and bear lived. The stone of Belzoar made the deer immune to the venom of the serpents, but the bear wa left in danger. Therefore the bear left his home and went away in exile. The red deer gave thanks to the stone of Belzoar and he remained as the only master of the forest and the mountain.
The Bear, living far away in its forced exile, grew envious and resentful of the red deer. One day he returned and killed the deer. A man witnessed the event and later removed the antlers of the deer, tossing the carcass into the deep waters of a lake. The man took the stone of Belzoar away to his home.
One day as the bear was running through the forest he became impaled on the deer’s antlers. Unable to free himself he eventually died of starvation.
According to legend the spirit of the red deer emerges from the lake on certain nights and seeks his antlers and the stone of Belzoar. His complaining sounds can be heard in the night"
Books You Might Enjoy:
William Godwin - The Lives Of The Necromancers
Prentiss Tucker - In The Land Of The Living Dead
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - The Third Eye
Ea Wallis Budge - Legends Of The Gods
