Ever wonder where the word willies, as in "she gives me the willies," came from? It came, believe it or not, from a line in Heinrich Heine's 1835 book De l'Allemagne: "snow-colored Wilis who waltz pitilessly...in a mist softened by German moonlight." Heine was describing the legendary German maidens who die before their wedding day, and, unable to rest in the graves, arise at midnight to dance to death any man they happen upon. Reading Heine's description, Théophile Gautier was struck by the notion that this legend was ...
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Ever wonder where the word willies, as in "she gives me the willies," came from? It came, believe it or not, from a line in Heinrich Heine's 1835 book De l'Allemagne: "snow-colored Wilis who waltz pitilessly...in a mist softened by German moonlight." Heine was describing the legendary German maidens who die before their wedding day, and, unable to rest in the graves, arise at midnight to dance to death any man they happen upon. Reading Heine's description, Théophile Gautier was struck by the notion that this legend was eminently suitable for a ballet, and, together with Jules Vernoy de Saint-Georges, he concocted a scenario that they presented to the prolific composer Adolphe Adam. In a matter of days, the exceedingly prolific composer of more than 40 operas had transformed the scenario into a two-act ballet. Called Giselle after the lead Wilis, the work was a huge hit in Paris for a quarter of a century until it vanished from the world just before the start of the Franco-Prussian War. Almost 90 years...
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