Omen of an Execution

Karlström from By was on his way to drive to Ullånger. As he reached the forest between Gallsätter and Nyland in the evening, he saw a carriage standing by the roadside. They had unhitched the horse from the cart and turned it around so that it was standing and eating from the cart. Beside it stood two men dressed in black, conversing, or so it seemed. The horse was also completely black. Karlström's horse did not seem to notice the carriage, for it walked straight towards it, so that Karlström had to steer it to the side. As he drove past, he greeted them, but received no reply. Then, in passing, he noticed that on the cart bed lay a large, shiny axe with a long handle. It was so polished that it gleamed. It immediately occurred to him that this was an executioner's axe. Once he had driven past, he turned around to observe the company further, but by then everything had vanished. The same year, just before Christmas, an unpleasant incident occurred in Gallsätter. There was a couple who lived in great discord with each other. As the old woman was baking for Christmas, she put poison into a small bun, which she gave to the old man. He ate it and died. The old woman was apprehended for this and was beheaded at Kallbäcken on the border between Ångermanland and Medelpad. This happened between the years 1855 and 1860. Karlström believed that this vision was an omen of that event. I myself have heard him tell it, but he has now been dead for many years.