Geraard the Devil.
For generations, the horrifying history of Geraard the Devil, one of the inhabitants of Ghent who had been living near the Reep and who got his name because of his cruelty.Everybody knew that he had beaten his wife until her soul left her body. But his bloody evilness wouldn't stop by this.
Geraard had a son, who not only had the same name but also carried the same evilness. All the facts proved that young Geraard went the same way. It happened that both of them fell in love with the same woman with whom they tried to find favour using all sorts of tricks. Their mutual jealousy gave rise to several quarrels and soon they were ready to kill one another.
The old Geraard , who had a lot of experience and who was very clever, tried to trick his son by telling him he wasn't interested anymore. And to gain his trust, the old Geraard went to the countryside for some time. So that during his absence the marriage could be celebrated. It was all a wicked plan full of tricks to make his son disappear. The old man knew that there were people who would always fix a dirty job for a few silver coins. He didn't find it hard to find two sailors who wanted to give him a helping hand in carrying out his murderous plan. He gave them the orders without batting an eye.
He said : " If somebody comes to ask you whether everything's ready, grasp him and bind him in a leather sack and throw him in the Leie." That was all the guys had to know and when they thought the time had come, they stood guard in the upstairs room of the Red Tower by the Pasbridge. Meanwhile, Geraard had asked his son to be helpful with his departure from town. He said : " I have ordered to prepare a boat at the Pasbridge for I want to leave this very night. I prefer to run off unnoticed. That's where you can help me; ask the two seamen in the Red Tower if they're ready."
The son couldn't let him beg and left immediately. On the road he got suspicios. He was aware of his father's anger and there were some hesitation in his walking. In the meantime, the old Geraard was getting impatient to know the result of his diabolical plan.
So he decided to go and watch his assistants doing a good job. When he arrived, he climbed the stairs of the Red Tower. But just when he was upstairs he was grasped by two mariners, strangled, put in a sack and thrown in the water. The young Geraard had been watching this from a streetcorner. When the sack fell into the Leie, he laughed upon his sleeve. Strolling he returned through the streets to the stone. The following day he began to prepare his wedding, as nothing had happened.