At the time of the noblemen of Rötteln, when the castle was built with the help of the corvée (compulsory labor) of the farmers, lived a lady who drove the farmers to carry out their hard labor with increasing haste. The farmers were so furious about the behavior of the young lady of the castle that they cursed her. Since the tormentor's death, she is said to haunt the area as a white woman (ghost) and attempts to attract those driving past. At the night she can be heard sighing or observed spinning on the drawbridge.
A servant was once attacked by the favorite dog of the lord of the castle. The servant saw no alternative but to shatter one of the vicious animal's legs. Mad with rage, the lord of the castle threw the poor servant out of the window of the "Green Tower" (Grüner Turm). His wife found her husband dead below, swore bitter revenge and retreated from Rötteln to Binzen. At that time the quick-tempered lord of the castle had a beautiful little daughter, who he wanted to marry to the son of his friend, the Lord of Hunoltstein in Alsace. But the daughter fell in love with a wandering singer. At a rendezvous the father, goaded by the witch of Binzen, surprised the two lovers and stabbed the young wanderer to death. The daughter wanted to come to her lovers aid, but instead fell against a sharp stone and died. However, it came to light that the singer was the son of the lord of Hunoltstein. Following the death of the young man, his father went to war against his former friend. He besieged the castle for weeks without being able to take it, but one day he stood within the walls and attacked the lord of the castle with his sword. The witch of Binzen supposedly showed him a secret underground access for this purpose. She took possession of the dying sovereign and threw him out of the tower window.
The common people could only explain how the castle was occupied by the French in 1678 with the help of this legend.
Once a young knight lost his way at night during a thunderstorm. A farmer found him on Hägel mountain (Hägelberg) and brought him to his home. He offered the knight his best bed, food and drink. The next day the grateful knight presented him with his sword, and when he had arrived back at the castle, he gave the community the entire forest up to Scheideck mountain as a gift.