Most people at the time viewed Abel's sudden death as God's judgment on him for the murder of his brother. As Abel's body lay in
Schleswig Cathedral, the monks heard strange sounds in the church at night. They said they were too afraid to go into the church after that. They believed that Abel's unholy ghost walked abroad at night. Consequently, the king's body was taken outside the church and stuffed into a soggy grave near
Gottorp Castle outside Schleswig. Someone rammed a wooden stake through Abel's chest to make sure he remained in his grave. It was said long after that the king's ghost found no peace, and from time to time, there were reports of "Abel's wild hunt" where a black-faced man on a white horse and glowing hounds hunted across the moors and forest of Schleswig. Abel's descendants — the "Abel Family" — ruled South Jutland until 1375, often in co-operation with their relatives in
Holstein. They created a permanent problem for the Danish government. Their rule meant the eventual separation of Frisia, Holstein, and most of Schleswig from the rest of Denmark. His great-grandson succeeded briefly as
Valdemar III before being deposed. However, Abel's descendants would return to the throne with his great-granddaughter
Helvig of Schleswig, who married
Valdemar IV. Even though the line of Helvig died out with
Christopher III, his successor
Christian I was a descendant of Abel's through his daughter Sophie. Except for Christopher I through Valdemar IV, all subsequent Danish monarchs have been Abel's cognatic descendants. ==Marriage and issue==