Bokkenrijders (meaning ‘buckriders’ or ‘goatriders’) were a devilish gang of highwaymen, who would fly through the nightly sky on their goats.
They made a pact with the devil and swore on “the dead hand”. They would appeared out of nothing, flying on their bucks, with eyes glowing in the dark then disappeared into thin air.
Theory
The legend is based on the story of violent criminals that pillaged and plundered the Dutch province of Limburg (and Noord-Brabant and a part of Flanders according to some) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.