The Llavanderes, frightening washerwomen who live in caves and hollowed-out tree trunks, are tasked with washing the blood-stained clothes of the dead.
Stories about these unusual old women abound across western Europe. Some say they wash the clothes of the recently deceased, others that they prepare the burial shrouds of those about to die, and others still speak of them drowning those who refuse to aid them in their work.
Victoria Clough 