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The Blue Room’s Lament The Haunted Legend of Hotel Union Øye

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Left by her lover, the ghost of a maid who once worked at the Hotel Union Øye in Norway is said to be lingering inside of the Blue Room. Is she still staying there?

Hotel Union Øye beside the still waters of Norangsfjorden in Sunnmøre, is known as one of Norway’s most breathtaking historic hotels. Could it be that it is also one of the most haunted ones?

In 1887, Christian Thams, a Norwegian architect, industrialist and diplomat, experienced a violent earthquake that shook the Italian and French Rivieras where he lived, claiming 600 lives, mainly due to the collapse of mortar and brick buildings. He believed that such a tragedy would have been prevented if the building tradition of Norway, with its half-timbered houses. This would eventually lead him home to Norway and build the Hotel Union Øye.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

This way and in this tradition, the hotel opened its door in 1891 with its 38 rooms, all named after their famous guests that would end up staying there, from Emperor William, King Oscar, Queen Maud and Princess Victoria. There were also authors like Karen Blixen, Knut Hamsun, Henrik Ibsen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; composer Edvard Grieg, mountain pioneers William Cecil Slingsby and Kristoffer Randers and polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

Source

But one room is not named after its famous guest, but rather for its haunting story. Sometimes you can apparently hear the footsteps wandering at night, a chill that slips along the halls and the unmistakable sound of quiet sobbing drifting from a single, timeworn chamber known as the Blue Room. 

A Forbidden Love at the Edge of the Fjord

Near the end of the 1800s, Hotel Union Øye was a retreat for Europe’s elite. Its guestbook carried the names of kings, artists and adventurers. Among its most frequent visitors was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who often traveled with a retinue of officers. Every other year from 1890 to 1908, he holidayed as a guest at the hotel with his entourage. One of these men, a young German count, became the center of a secret affection that would leave a permanent shadow on the hotel.

Linda, a Norwegian maid working at Øye, was known for her warm nature and quiet charm. The officer, Philip von Moltke from Dortmund, Germany, was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, found in her a kindness and sincerity he had never known at home. Their meetings were discreet, hidden from the eyes of the aristocratic circle surrounding him. When he visited Øye, they stayed together in the Blue Room, a chamber with deep sapphire walls and heavy antique furnishings that seemed to seal them away from the world beyond the fjord.

The love between them grew, but so did the tension around their affair. The count sought a divorce, desperate to free himself and build a life with Linda. He gave her a brooch and a wedding ring before he left. His request was denied, coming from a catholic family. Bound by duty, honor and the rigid expectations of his rank as well as the risk of being banished, he saw no escape. In a moment of despair, he took his own life, leaving Linda shattered. Some say that he jumped off the boat coming back to Norway. 

Her grief was unbearable. Wearing a bridal gown and a crown of flowers meant for a wedding that would never come, she walked into the waters of the fjord and drowned, in 1901, according to some sources.. Some say she waded out into the cold waters to join him in his death, some say that she had lost his brooch gifted to her in the river and that she was looking along the riverbank to find it. 

The Lady in the Blue Room

Since that night, guests who stay in the Blue Room in room nr. 7, often speak of strange happenings and that they are both haunting the area around the Blue Room. The most common report is the sound of a woman crying softly in the darkness. Some say the weeping drifts through the walls as if someone is sitting beside the bed, shoulders shaking with sorrow. Others hear footsteps pacing the floorboards, slow and restless, pausing near the window that overlooks the fjord.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

A few visitors claim to have seen the faint outline of a woman in a white gown standing at the foot of the bed. She is described as delicate, her face partially hidden by hair damp and tangled, as if she has just stepped out of the cold fjord. She never approaches. She only fades when the witness blinks or looks away.

Hotel staff speak of sudden pockets of cold air in the Blue Room, even during the warmest summer nights. Objects are sometimes found moved from where they were placed, and the heavy door has been known to creak open by itself. Those who experience these disturbances describe an overwhelming sense of sorrow rather than fear, as if Linda’s grief saturates the very walls.

A Haunting That Became Legend

The story of Linda and the count has become part of the identity of Hotel Union Øye. Some visitors come hoping to glimpse the Blue Room’s restless spirit. Others avoid it entirely. The owners do not shy away from the tale and claim that Linda was in fact a real person, although the details of the story are less certain. Phillip von Moltke on the other hand, is a plausible, but uncertain element. 

It is true that the Moltke family was European nobility in Germany, Prussia and Scandinavia, and made into counts in 1868 by King William 1. Curiously though, the closest friends of Kaiser Wilhelm II were Prince Philip von Eulenburg and General Moltke, involved in the Eulenburg scandal about homosexual affairs within the Kaiser’s closest circle. So if there ever was an officer von Moltke who had an affair with a maid in Norway, there is little to no evidence of it found. 

Source

They preserve the room exactly as it has been described for more than a century, honoring the tragic love that took place within it.

In the reception, a bowl of garlic is placed for the guests staying in the Blue Room they can bring to the room. Placing it inside will keep the ghost away, so you will have a good night’s sleep. If you want something more happening throughout the night, you place the bowl outside the door. 

Despite its haunting reputation, the hotel is not known for malevolent spirits. According to an article, there has only been one cancellation when people have heard about the haunted rumours. The haunting of the Blue Room is quiet, mournful and deeply human. It is the echo of a promise that could never be fulfilled, preserved in the heavy silence of the fjord and the deep blue walls of the room where two lovers once found a fleeting happiness.

Guests leave Hotel Union Øye with memories of grandeur, mountain shadows and still waters. Some leave with more. They speak of tears that were not their own, the faint scent of wet flowers, or the unsettling certainty that someone unseen sat beside them in the dark.

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References:

https://www.unionoye.no/no/hotellet/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23046816155&gbraid=0AAAAADeWuny510Elimp6MbDkZox2IlNrq&gclid=CjwKCAiAxc_JBhA2EiwAFVs7XNZhAeuBCWFT9yJCokGesPRGskVkFP5VUw2YthAPBhZsXCbZRUv9CxoClVUQAvD_BwE

Det uforklarlige

Spøkelset på Union Øye

Moltke family – Wikipedia

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The Hörghóll-Móri Raised from the Dead to Kill

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A particular violent ghost from Icelandic ghost stories was called The Hörghóll-Móri. Once a drowned man, he was raised from the dead to be sent on a revenge mission to kill a certain farmer. And legend goes, he didn’t stop until he succeeded. 

A man named Jón, son of Símon, lived at Hörghóll in Vesturhóp village. He had a son named Kristján, who was a grown man when this story took place. The hill called Hörghóll can translate into “shrine hillside” and might have been a place of worship for the pagans. In any case it became the location for a violent haunting some centuries ago. 

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Iceland

One summer Jón the farmer hired a laborer from west of the glacier, named Ívar, and paid him his wages in the autumn. The laborer thought the pay was meager and poorly handled, but there was no changing it. The next winter, Jón’s son Kristján went fishing under the glacier and stayed at the same farm where Ívar was living. One winter’s day, Kristján’s mittens disappeared and could not be found despite much searching. Kristján accused Ívar of causing their disappearance and struck him hard across the face. Ívar took it seemingly calmly and said, “It will be bad for you if I neither repay that blow nor the wages.”

Vesturhópsvatn: Source

In spring Kristján returned home to Hörghóll and stayed with his father the following winter unaware of the plans Ívar had put in motion. Early that winter, many boats were lost under the bay by the glacier and many lost their lives. One day Ívar was walking by the sea where he found a drowned man washed ashore. Some say that the man was only half dead

He cut off one of the man’s arms and raised the dead man back as a revenant, as a Móri. He commanded him to go north to Hörghóll. “What am I to do there?” asked the revenant. “Kill the farmer’s son Kristján and give no one peace at the farm,” said Ívar. Then the ghost vanished and went to follow his new master’s command.

The Undead in Icelandic Folklore

A Móri is a male ghost in Iceland. When a male is raised from the dead for such a purpose like vengeance, he is not called a fylgja or draugr ghost, but a Móri. Often the term Fylgja ghost was used interchangeably with the Draug ghost. The female version of this vengeful ghost was called Skotta. Móri means rust brown in Icelandic and the ghosts were named so because of the color of their clothes.

Icelandic Ghosts and Ghouls: Fylgja or the draugr ghosts attached themselves to people that they haunted. They could also attach themselves to buildings or even entire towns. Many stories also talk about it being a generational haunting where the ghost decides to haunt all of the descendants of the original person it cursed. Most often the female line of the family. // An illustration to the Icelandic legend of the Skeleton in Hólar Church (Beinagrindin í Hólakirkju). From Icelandic Legends : Collected by Jón Arnason, illustrated by Jules Worms.

That evening the ghost came north to Hörghóll, where the lamps were lit. Kristján sat on a bed opposite the entrance to the living room, eating his evening meal from a wooden bowl. They heard something climbing onto the roof outside. Suddenly, Kristján hurled his bowl away and collapsed onto the floor, and all the lamps went out. They tried to relight them with tinder with a wax candle, and succeeded; this time the light held and they saw the horror before them. 

A brownish boy crouched over Kristján as he lay on the floor, but he had only one arm. The ghost glared at the light with dreadful eyes and drew back when the people approached. Kristján then leapt to his feet in a frenzy. An old woman at the farm, named Vigdís, was able to stop him from going after him. Kristján now told about his quarrel with Ívar the winter before, and said Ívar must have sent this haunting against him.

The Hörghóll-Móri Haunting Kristján

At Böðvarshólar, the next farm over, lived a farmer known as a wise man, as many were in those days. Kristján was sent there to be kept safe from the ghost. While he stayed with that farmer, the ghost could not touch him for some reason. 

But then the ghost began wreaking havoc back at Hörghóll, killing livestock and spoiling food. The vengeful ghost rampaged openly through the farm and grew so malicious that everyone fled except the old woman Vigdís. She said she would not bother fleeing from such “dust” and the ghost didn’t harm her. She tended the cows and they were left alone, but other farmers had to care for the sheep, and the ghost preyed upon them. This lasted until the days grew longer and the nights lighter, at which time the sheep-killing ceased.

Now the people sought advice from the priest at Breiðabólstaður about what to do. The priest advised that everyone return home at Easter; he himself would come then and hold household devotions to see how matters stood. 

Fighting the The Hörghóll-Móri

On Easter Monday the people returned, and the priest came, bringing with him the farmer from Böðvarshólar. The priest began to read, but when he finished the gospel, the ghost attacked the house so furiously that the beams creaked. The priest stopped reading, and he and the farmer from Böðvarshólar went outside. They saw the ghost moving about; he avoided them and drew back. 

They pursued him up to the ridge above the farm, called Kjölur. There they caught him and wrestled with him for a while. They could not subdue him entirely, but after that he was much diminished and did no harm, so that people could live at the farm again.

Kjölur: Source

It is also said that the The Hörghóll-Móri weakened after his encounter with a man called Þórður the Strong at Bjarnastaðir. It is said that they fought all night and tore apart a new bridge. Þórður could not get a hold of The Hörghóll-Móri anywhere because he was most like a tangled woolen fleece. Þórður was never the same after that.

Kristján, the farmer’s son, returned home and lived there many years, married, and took over Hörghóll after his father. He could never be left alone, for the ghost always pursued him. Once he was alone on a journey and was later found dead on Vesturhópsvatn, the lake near Hörghóll. 

People attributed his death to the power of the ghost. Since then, the ghost has harmed no one, though people have often thought they saw him, and those from Hörghóll have often been troubled. 

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References:

Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri/Draugasögur/Hörghóls-Móri (2) – Wikiheimild

https://ismus.is/tjodfraedi/sagnir_aevintyri/1223

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The Eyjafjörður Skotta Sent to Torture the Women of the Fjord

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After insulting some Dutch fishermen, a ghost was sent to torture the local women in Eyjafjörður in Iceland. For a long time, The Eyjafjörður Skotta was said to have been behind several deaths of both cattle and people. 

Along the longest fjord in Iceland, all the way north, there was a ghost that got her named from the place she was roaming. Her name was Eyjafjörður-Skotta.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Iceland

It is said that some Dutchmen came ashore at Vöðluþing by the fjord. German, Dutch and French traders became more prominent in the mid-17th century for fishing business. The Dutchmen were, according to the stories, very bold and went after the local women. Something that the women themselves did not care for at all. One of the women then mocked them with gestures and possibly some curses, which angered them greatly and made them want revenge. 

When they later returned overseas, they purchased from a sorcerer the sending of a female ghost to Iceland. According to the story this happened in the Netherlands, however, the way it went about in the stories is very quintessentially an Icelandic haunting where they raise someone from the dead to send on a revenge mission. This is where the Skotta ghost comes in. 

Fylgur/Fylgja: The Old Norse Ghost

There were many different types of ghosts in Norse mythology and that the vikings believed in. One of them was the Fylgjur or Fylgja ghost, or Attending Spirits that we can find traces back in Iceland since the 12th century. These were originally a ghost of a very physical substance that interacted with the real world as if they were a part of it still. 

Read Also: Check out the Irish Fetch ghost, that has a huge resemblance to the norse Fylgja. 

Fylgja attached themselves to people that they haunted. They could also attach themselves to buildings or even entire towns. Many stories also talk about it being a generational haunting where the ghost decides to haunt all of the descendants of the original person it cursed. Most often the female line of the family. Perhaps because of its origin as a female spirit. 

Icelandic Ghosts and Ghouls: Fylgja or the draugr ghosts attached themselves to people that they haunted. They could also attach themselves to buildings or even entire towns. Many stories also talk about it being a generational haunting where the ghost decides to haunt all of the descendants of the original person it cursed. Most often the female line of the family. // An illustration to the Icelandic legend of the Skeleton in Hólar Church (Beinagrindin í Hólakirkju). From Icelandic Legends : Collected by Jón Arnason, illustrated by Jules Worms.

In the Fylgjur stories from the middle ages, the spirits could be a beneficial one, almost like a messenger to help with the person’s path of life, some sort of totem animal or guiding spirit. But when the folklorist of Iceland started collecting old oral tales from farmers in the 17th century, the Fylgjur ghosts had drastically changed from its pagan old norse roots, throughout time, religious belief and superstition. 

One thing that really changed was the Fylgjur’s purpose of haunting the living, and it was rarely to be of any help. Many stories talk about how they were wronged and it caused their death. They then came back to take revenge and were dangerous, even deadly. 

Female Icelandic Ghosts

One of the popular names for the female ghosts was Skotta that really means to dangle, like hair or a tail. This comes from the traditional Icelandic headwear women wore together with the Faldbúningur dresses worn since the 17th century. Except the ghosts are said to have the headgear on backwards so it streams behind her like a tail. 

The Skotta Ghost: Icelandic woman in the 18th century faldbúningur with the spaðafaldur cap that the Skotta often are described wearing.

Skotta falls under the Old Norse Mythology of a Fylgja, that were supernatural spirits that followed or latched onto people. They could be animals, they could be goddesses or come in dreams. 

But the tales of the Fylga evolved and when we read about Skotta, they were not like totem animals or someone coming with your prophecy like in the old sagas. Icelandic ghosts are often described as being not like apparitions, but in real flesh that interacted with the living. And when we read about Skotta, the female version, she was highly dangerous and also deadly.

The Eyjafjörður Skotta Haunting the Fjords

The ghost the Dutchmen raised was called Eyjafjörður Skotta because of her haunting territory. She was to kill and torment all the women in Vöðluþing. It is said that she first came ashore at Sauðanesi on Upsaströnd, a stretch of coastline west of Eyjafjörður. 

Today Sauðanesi is a deserted farm and has been since 1957. But in between 1597-1680 Þorvaldur the poet Rögnvaldsson lived there. He was considered a very learned man and was watching when the Skotta came ashore. Some, however, have heard that it was then Þorvaldur the old Magnússon who lived there, not very long before, and both were called poets of spells and much learned; but more people reckon it was Þorvaldur Rögnvaldsson.

Þorvaldur was down by the sea when he saw this ghost approaching, while the Dutch were fishing out at sea. She appeared as a woman in foreign dress, with a red peaked cap and bare arms up to the elbows. Þorvaldur addressed her in verse and asked who she was and what her errand might be. She said she was Flemish (others say Finnish) and that her task was to torment or else kill all the women in Eyjafjörður. 

He managed to stop her from harming the women, but she was so powerfully conjured that Þorvaldur could not prevail entirely against her. He was forced to allow her to kill his best cow, and in addition to kill a cow on every third farm in Eyjafjörður, and to play other tricks upon men and livestock for a long time. She was also said to have been behind the murder of a drowned man in the Eyjafjörður River.

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    The Haunted Ruins of Beaupre Castle in Wales is one of the places in Wales said to have been haunted by the wailing spirit and deadly omen of the The Gwrach y Rhibyn, also known as the Hag of Mist.

References:

Sauðanes (Upsaströnd) – Wikipedia, frjálsa alfræðiritið

Eyjafjarðar-Skotta

Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri/Draugasögur/Eyjafjarðar-Skotta – Wikiheimild

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Most Haunted Places in Basel, Switzerland and its Ghostly Legends

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From poltergeists, ghostly monks, nuns and knights as well as a procession of skeletons, some of the most haunted places in Basel, Switzerland are said to be centuries old. Let’s have a closer look at some of them.

Beneath Basel’s charming medieval streets, vibrant culture, and picturesque riverbanks lies a darker, more unsettling layer of history—one whispered about in hushed tones and kept alive through ghost stories passed down for generations. As one of Switzerland’s oldest cities, Basel is steeped in centuries of war, plague, and religious upheaval, leaving behind more than just ruins and gravestones. From restless spirits in ancient cloisters to poltergeists in quiet apartments, this city is home to eerie legends that refuse to fade and some of the most haunted places in Basel.

The Restless Spirits of Kleines Klingental: Basel’s Haunted Nunnery

Museum Klingental Basel: The old nunnery is said to be haunted by the sinful nuns that used to live there, centuries ago and one of the most haunted places in Basel. // Source: Mikatu/Wikimedia

The former Dominican cloister of Kleines Klingental in Basel, once a house of piety, became a notorious retreat for wealthy, noble-born nuns whose lives allegedly strayed far from monastic vows. Rumors of secret lovers, drowned infants, and defiance of church authority plagued its reputation. 

After the Reformation, the cloister was turned into military barracks, where soldiers reported chilling hauntings: ghostly nuns praying, wailing, and wandering the halls in sorrow, still seeking forgiveness for their sins. Today, the site houses the Kleines Klingental Museum, but tales persist of phantom nuns, flickering lights, and shadowy figures that suggest the past has yet to release its grip on this once-sacred ground.

Read the whole story: The Restless Spirits of Kleines Klingental: Basel’s Haunted Nunnery

The Headless Heretic of Basel: The Haunting of the Spießhof Building

Source: Wikimedia

In the heart of Basel’s Old Town, the Spießhof Building harbors the chilling legacy of David Joris, a 16th-century Dutch Anabaptist preacher who fled persecution only to meet a gruesome fate after death. Living under a false name, Joris built a secret life in Basel before his heretical beliefs were posthumously revealed. In a dramatic act of vengeance, his corpse was exhumed, beheaded, and burned—an attempt to erase him from salvation. Since then, his headless ghost, often seen with two eerie black dogs, is said to haunt his former home. Mediums and witnesses claim he won’t rest until his name is cleared, cementing his place as one of Basel’s most enduring and unsettling phantoms.

Read the whole story: The Headless Heretic of Basel: The Haunting of the Spießhof Building

The Restless Gatekeeper of the Rhine Gate in Basel

In 17th-century Basel, a troubled gatekeeper at the Rhine Gate lost his beloved young daughter when she drowned in the river, a tragedy he witnessed but was too drunk to prevent. Consumed by grief and guilt, he later died—likely by suicide—and was denied burial in consecrated ground beside her at St. Martin’s Church. Instead, he was interred among outcasts at Klingental. 

Yet his spirit found no rest; legend holds that his ghost still haunts the churchyard, silently keeping vigil by his daughter’s grave, a spectral figure glimpsed beneath the moonlight, forever bound by sorrow and denied peace.

Read the whole story: The Restless Gatekeeper of the Rhine Gate in Basel 

The Ghostly Monk of Spittelsprung (Münsterberg) in Basel

Back at a time when the hills of Münsterberg were called Spittelsprung in the old parts of Basel, Switzerland, a haunting tale emerged about a spectral monk. This ghostly figure would glide silently through the streets, frightening children while immersed in silent prayers, oblivious to the living around him.

He was often seen illuminated faintly by candlelight, engrossed in his breviary, and indifferent to the fear he instilled in children watching from the shadows. Only when confronted by an adult would he vanish, leaving behind the scent of candle wax.

The reasons for the monk’s haunting remain a mystery—was he a victim of the plagues, seeking penance for sins, or perhaps a witness to grim events? The story of another haunting monk from the 1626 poorhouse adds to the intrigue, where travelers would watch in terror as he glided through their rooms.

Read the whole story: The Ghostly Monk of Spittelsprung (Münsterberg) in Basel

Knightly Ghosts Haunting St. Johanns-Vorstadt by the Rhine River

In Basel’s St. Johann district—once home to the medieval Commandery of the Knights of St. John—ghostly legends linger beneath the modern apartments now standing there. Once filled with crusader knights and sod wells, the area was long haunted by the phantom of an armored rider galloping through the Ritterhaus courtyard, ghostly apparitions of a pale-faced man, a cloaked lady, and even a spectral white dog. Most chilling were the cries of a child said to echo from the depths of an old well. 

Though the original knightly buildings were demolished by 1929 and archives lost, eerie sightings and stories continue to haunt the district, keeping its haunted past alive and still considered one of the most haunted places in Basel.

Read the whole story: Knightly Ghosts Haunting St. Johanns-Vorstadt by the Rhine River 

The Knocking Ghost of Utengasse 47: Basel’s Poltergeist Case

Utengasse 47: Considered to be one of the most haunted places in Basel

In 1929, a small apartment at Utengasse 47 in Basel’s Kleinbasel district became the center of one of Switzerland’s most infamous poltergeist cases. What began as unexplained knocking sounds soon escalated into terrifying disturbances that seemed to center around a ten-year-old boy named Marcel. 

Despite multiple investigations by police, doctors, and even spiritualists, no source for the strange rapping and chilling atmosphere could be found. Marcel’s intense reactions and the persistence of the disturbances, even under observation, only deepened the mystery. As public anxiety mounted, the Basel authorities took the unusual step of ordering the apartment vacated—an extraordinary measure during a housing shortage. Though the building still stands today, no further incidents were reported, and the haunting remains an unsolved and eerie chapter in the city’s folklore.

Read the whole story: The Knocking Ghost of Utengasse 47: Basel’s Poltergeist Case

The Restless Dead Buried Inside of Basel’s Double Cloister

The Double Cloister of Basel Minster, a serene courtyard by day, is said to transform into a haunting ground by night, echoing with the restless spirits of those entombed within its ancient walls and said to be one of the most haunted places in Basel. Among them are two infamous specters: Emanuel Büchel, a respected artist and baker believed to have been buried alive, whose ghost moans and wheezes beneath the stone floors; and Master Tailor Schnyyder Hagenbach, a cruel man in life whose malevolent spirit is said to slap unsuspecting passersby without warning. 

Once a sacred site filled with altars and later a cemetery for the city’s elite, the cloister has long been steeped in death and memory. Though modern life carries on just beyond its arches, many locals still avoid the cloisters after dark, wary of the unseen hands and the whispered echoes of Basel’s darker past.

Read the whole story: The Restless Dead Buried Inside of Basel’s Double Cloister 

The Ghost Procession of Basel and the Dance Macabre

Predigerkirche: © Roland Fischer, Zürich (Switzerland) – Mail notification to: roland_zh(at)hispeed(dot)ch / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 Unported

Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang near the Predigerkirche in Basel, legend claims that plague victims buried in the nearby grass will rise in a ghostly procession to warn the living of impending disasters.

In Basel’s old town, a haunting memory of the plague remains, as thousands perished indiscriminately during the Black Death. The city’s dark history is marked by the rapid deaths caused by the disease and the need for mass graves, particularly around the Predigerkirche.

The Dance of Death mural, painted in the 15th century, depicted skeletal figures leading both the rich and poor alike in a dance, emphasizing that death spares no one. Though the mural was dismantled in 1805, it became a legend, claiming that the dead rise in times of danger.

Local lore states that the plague victims buried near the Predigerkirche do not rest peacefully. When Basel faces calamity, they are said to rise and march in a spectral procession through the streets, symbolizing death’s universal reach, uniting all in decay regardless of their former status.

Read the whole story: The Ghost Procession of Basel and the Dance of Death

The Dream of the Basel Rhine Bridge about the Buried Treasure

The Emmental: is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern, mostly made up by farmers and known for its cheese and pottery. Rafrüti is mostly known for being the place where the first and second latest meteorite was found in Switzerland.

The tale of “The Dream of the Basel Rhine Bridge” tells of a poor farmer from the Emmental who dreams of finding gold at the Mittlere Brücke in Basel were the bridge is considered one of the most haunted places in Basel. After several nights of the same dream, he decides to make the journey to Basel, where he searches for the treasure on the bridge without success. A policeman, noticing his distress, shares a dream about treasure in Rafrüti, prompting the farmer to return home. He digs in his kitchen and uncovers a pot of gold with the help of a mysterious black figure, appearing like a ghost to him. 

The figure offers him three piles of gold to choose from but warns him to decide wisely. Instead of choosing, the farmer combines the piles and vows to share the wealth as he sees fit. The figure then disappears, and the farmer’s family lives in comfort thereafter, proving that the bridge indeed brought him fortune.

Read the whole story: The Dream of the Basel Rhine Bridge about the Buried Treasure

The Gray Ghost of Claraplatz: Kleinbasel’s Neighborhood Spirit

The Gray One, a haunting spirit, is said to linger around houses in Kleinbasel, Switzerland, especially in the now-demolished Abbess’ Court. The ghost was not confided into a single home, and was one of the more famous ghosts in the city and Abbess’ Court one of the most haunted places in Basel. This eerie ghost, dressed in traditional Franconian garb, particularly troubled the Schetty family in the 19th century, appearing in their daughters’ bedroom and causing unsettling disturbances throughout the house.

The ghost would often retreat to the attic, creating loud noises that disturbed the family. To keep the ghost away, locals painted a pentagram at the house’s threshold, but it’s unclear if this truly worked. After the death of Joseph Schetty, the family patriarch, his ghost was also reportedly seen in the house. Despite the Abbess’ Court being demolished in 1951, legends of haunting phenomena persisted in the area, with reports of phantom footsteps and sightings of a gray figure near the old foundations.

Read the whole story: The Gray Ghost of Claraplatz: Kleinbasel’s Neighborhood Spirit

The Evil Eye of Rebgasse: Curses, Shadows, and an Exorcism in Basel

Haus Zur Alten Trotte: The haunted house on Rebgasse 38 in Basel, was said to have had an exorcism twice and considered to be one of the most haunted places in Basel. // Source: Laloom/Wikimedia

The Kleinbasel neighborhood in Basel, Switzerland, is known for its haunted history, particularly at Rebgasse 38. This house, also known as the Haus zur alten Trotte, was home to many ghostly encounters, including spirits associated with a former couple who lived there from 1888 to 1907. Two main ghosts were reported: Grethi Beck, a former maid who was believed to have the Evil Eye, and the deceased wife of Pastor Johann Jakob Übelin, who returned as a ghost after his infidelity.

Despite attempts by local clergy to suppress belief in hauntings, the presence of these spirits persisted, prompting the famous exorcist Johann Jakob von Brunn to be called upon. He successfully banished Grethi Beck’s spirit, though sightings of her continued, and the haunting by Übelin’s wife also lingered until she was expelled.

Although the hauntings ceased, the house retained its ghostly reputation, and the location of Rebgasse 38 is now a kindergarten. The tales of the hauntings continue to live on through local folklore and ghost tours, suggesting that the shadows of Kleinbasel’s past may never fully fade.

Read the whole story: The Evil Eye of Rebgasse: Curses, Shadows, and an Exorcism in Basel  

Ghosts of the New Moon: The White Death and the Restless Shadows of Basel

Markgräflerhof Palace: An engraving of the Markgräflerhof Palace from 1845 were the White Death was said to roam and being one of the most haunted places in Basel.

In Basel, the ghost known as Weisse Tod, or The White Death, haunts the area around the historic Markgräflerhof building. This terror manifests during the new moon when the veil between the worlds is said to thin, prompting the city’s restless spirits to rise. Locals believed that every new moon, The White Death would emerge from a nearby hole, peering into homes with its dark eye sockets, and those who met its gaze would soon fall ill, as if marked for death.

The Markgräflerhof, built in the early 1700s, was once tied to various rumors, including the suggestion that its haunting is linked to the building’s past as a hospital or an asylum. Compounding the legend, tuberculosis was often referred to as The White Death, possibly intertwining fears of disease with ghostly lore.

Additionally, another ghost appears at an old urban fountain near the Rhine, a man in dark garments whose presence evokes mystery and sorrow, believed to be a soul lost to the river. Each new moon, the church bells toll extra hours to ward off restless spirits, but even as modernity transforms the city, the supernatural aura persists, suggesting the new moon still belongs to the dead in Basel.

Read the whole story: Ghosts of the New Moon: The White Death and the Restless Shadows of Basel 

The Basilisk of Basel: The Beast Beneath Gerberberglein

Beneath the quiet street of Gerberberglein in central Basel, legend tells of a deadly basilisk—a mythical creature part serpent, part rooster, with a gaze so lethal it could kill. Said to have lived in a cave beneath the city, the beast terrified locals until a brave apprentice used a mirror to turn the creature’s power against itself. Though the cave was sealed long ago, the basilisk lives on in Basel’s identity, with its fearsome image adorning fountains and railings throughout the city. 

Read the whole story: The Basilisk of Basel: The Beast Beneath Gerberberglein

Exploring the most Haunted Places in Basel

From spectral knights riding through vanished courtyards to sorrowful moans echoing in cathedral cloisters, Basel’s haunted places are more than just eerie tales—they are echoes of a city that remembers its dead. Whether rooted in history, folklore, or something stranger still, these stories remind us that even the most beautiful places can hide unsettling secrets. So if you ever find yourself wandering Basel’s narrow alleys at dusk or standing alone on the Mittlere Brücke under a full moon, don’t be surprised if the past comes whispering. After all, in Basel, the line between the living and the dead is thinner than you think.

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The Tschäggättä: Switzerland’s Masked Monsters of Winter

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Deep in the heart of the Swiss Alps, the enchanting yet eerie Lötschental Valley harbors a chilling tradition that has captivated and terrified generations. Known as the Tschäggättä, these fearsome, fur-clad figures emerge from the shadows of snow-laden forests during the dark, cold months of winter. Combining ancient folklore with theatrical spectacle, the Tschäggättä embody the primal fears and superstitions of a bygone era.

Deep within the isolated Lötschental Valley of the Swiss Alps, amid snow-laden forests and frostbitten villages, lurks a chilling winter tradition few outside of Switzerland have heard of: the Tschäggättä. These grotesque, fur-clad figures prowl the narrow streets during the coldest, darkest months of the year — a living echo of ancient Alpine superstitions and forgotten fears.

The Origins of the Tschäggättä

Though no one can say exactly when the tradition began, written references to the Tschäggättä date back to the 19th century, with local authorities at times attempting to ban the custom due to its rowdy and unsettling nature. Way back, this used to be one of the poorest regions of Switserland. The first written record dates back to 1860, when prior Johann Baptist Gibsten banned the use of masks during carnival.

However, folklore scholars suggest the practice is far older, a survival of pre-Christian beliefs in malevolent winter spirits that roamed the mountains when the sun was weakest. The second theory links the Tschäggättä to the demonic figures that appeared in ecclesiastical Baroque theatre.

In earlier centuries, the Alpine winter was an unforgiving season of darkness, hunger, and death. Isolated valleys like Lötschental often felt cut off from the world, and stories of spirits, witches, and vengeful phantoms were common. The Tschäggättä became a way to personify these fears — and perhaps to ward them off.

Wooden Masks: The oldest Lötschental wooden mask still in existence from 1790-1810. // Source: Lötschental Museum; Deposit Swiss National Museum

The Schurten Thieves

The best-known legend of the origins of the Tschäggättä is the legend of the Schurten thieves from the middle ages. In the shady forests on the opposite side of the valley once resided the legendary Schurten thieves. They were thieves who lived on the shady side of the valley and disguised themselves to plunder farms on the sunny and richer side of the valley. 

Even today, their farmsteads can still be recognised, particularly clearly visible on the Giätrich, in the “Obri Wald” forest opposite the village of Wiler. 

At nightfall, they went on the prowl in wild disguise with masks on. It was said that the Schurten thieves did not accept anyone into their ranks who was not able to jump over the Lonza with a load of a hundred pounds.

The Appearance of the Tschäggättä

Each Tschäggättä is immediately recognizable by its disturbing appearance. The figures wear heavy animal furs, typically from goats or sheep, to shield them from the brutal cold. Most terrifying, however, are the wooden masks they don — hand-carved, each unique from Swiss stone pine, and featuring grotesque, distorted faces with exaggerated noses, glaring eyes, twisted mouths, and long, matted hair.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories and haunted legends from Switzerland

Some masks resemble demons or monstrous old men, while others are bestial and almost supernatural in form. The craftsmanship of these masks is a source of local pride, with some families passing them down through generations.

The Ritual and Terror of Carnival Nights

The Tschäggättä emerge during Fasnacht — the Swiss pre-Lenten Carnival season, typically in February. from Candlemas until “Gigiszischtag” (i.e. the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) with the traditional Lötschental carnival procession in Wiler, on the Saturday after the “feisten Frontag”. As night falls, these masked beings descend from the mountains and roam the villages of Lötschental. Carrying cowbells and sticks, they chase anyone they encounter, especially the young, and revel in causing fright.

Craftsmanship: Today there are masks made for the masses, but some of them have hours and hours of time spent carving, some being passed down in the family. Tschäggättä Masks, traditionnal wooden mask from Lötschental in Switzerland. // Source: photographed by Robbie Conceptuel

Traditionally, the Tschäggättä are adult men of the valley, though the anonymity provided by the masks has allowed even women and children to join the fray. The Tschäggättä will often burst uninvited into homes, overturn furniture, scatter hearth ashes, and steal food — an ancient ritual chaos meant to purge winter’s stagnation and welcome the coming spring.

Symbolism and Folkloric Meaning

The Tschäggättä tradition is thought to serve as a way of confronting and mastering communal fears during the most perilous season. The masks might have once represented the spirits of the dead, ancestral ghosts, or demonic forces banished by light and human defiance.

The Tschäggätä: carnival figures wander through the remote Lötschental in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, for several weeks in February, scaring the population. The costumes consist of masks made of Swiss stone pine, sheep or goat skins and cowbells. // Source

Some folklorists believe the Tschäggättä also embodied social rebellion. In a culture tightly controlled by religious and communal expectations, the anonymity of the mask allowed for a brief, sanctioned breakdown of norms — a time when men could mock the authorities, frighten neighbors, and behave wildly without consequence.

The Tschäggättä Today

While modernization has softened some of its rougher edges, the Tschäggättä remain a vital part of Lötschental’s identity. Each year, the locals still carve the terrifying masks and don the heavy furs, parading through villages in eerie processions. Today, any villager can take part, but historically, the fur-clad revelers were exclusively young, unmarried men who moved alone or in small groups during the day (save Sundays) during Carnival.

Though now mingled with festive Carnival celebrations, the primal eeriness of the Tschäggättä endures — a living link to a time when long winters meant living with darkness, death, and things unseen.

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References:

Tschäggättä Lötschental

Face time: the terrifying Swiss tradition of Tschäggättä – SWI swissinfo.ch

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The Hörgsland-Móri Haunting Foss á Síðu as a Dog

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By the fantastical waterfall Foss á Síðu, south in Iceland, there are rumours about a ghost in the form of a dog that has been haunting a family for nine generations. Although the haunting of the ghost called Hörgsland-Móri started a long time ago, there are still tales about seeing him in the area. 

Foss á Síðu is а historic farm in Iceland with rich history and folklore dating back to the country’s settlement erа in the 9th century. Behind the farm there is the majestic waterfall that people travel long to see. The water flow can be so thin that Foss á Síðu becomes one of Iceland’s upside-down waterfalls on a windy day. One legend around these parts is about а ghost dog named Móri. Some locals believe thаt Móri has disappeared, while others claim thаt the ghost dog still wanders аround the farm аnd waterfall.

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A Móri is a male ghost in Iceland. When a male is raised from the dead for such a purpose like vengeance, he is not called a ghost, but a Móri. Often the term Fylgja ghost was used interchangeably with the Draug ghost. The female version of this vengeful ghost was called Skotta. Móri means rust brown in Icelandic and the ghosts were named so because of the color of their clothes.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Iceland

The ghost in Síða in Skaftafellssýsla southeast of Iceland is called the Hörgsland-Móri or Bergs-Móri. This is not because he was originally sent to Hörgsland, nor because of Reverend Bergur, the person he ended up being linked to, but because he is thought to follow the Berg family. Reverend Bergur was the last of them at Hörgsland and the ghost is said to have followed him from there. The origin of the ghost goes back further and is therefore somewhat unclear.

The Hörgsland-Móri Cursed to Haunt a Family like a Dog

It is said that there was a priest at Arnarbæli (1676–89) named Oddur Árnason. His wife was Katrín, the daughter of Reverend Jón Daðason, who had served there before him. Oddur and Katrín had at least two children, a boy and a girl named Ingibjörg. One winter, the priest had ridden across the ice, and the boy, who was very fond of his father, ran after him, fell into a hole in the ice, and drowned. 

“Reverend Oddur found no joy in being there, besides other things that displeased him,” says Dean Jón Halldórsson. Both rumor and record suggest that the “displeasure” at Arnarbæli was that his wife had previously been betrothed to another man, but had broken her promise to him and chosen another. Because of this, the man she betrayed sent her a curse: a ghost in the form of a dog named Móri, who was to haunt her and her descendants to the ninth generation. 

In some versions it is actually the Reverend Oddur who sends the ghost after Katrín allegedly divorced him after their son’s death where the man was never the same. Was it actually their son they raised from the dead who came back to haunt his own family?

Reverend Oddur later received the parish of Kálfatjörn south-west in the country, where he remained until his death in 1705. 

The Mori Haunting his Descendants

His daughter Ingibjörg married Jón Ísleifsson, sheriff in Skaftafellssýsla (1721–26), a well known scoundrel. 

Their daughter Katrín married Reverend Jón Bergsson the elder of Kálfafell in Síða, dean of the western part of Skaftafellssýsla from 1754 to 1773. It was believed that Móri caused his death, for stories claim that Reverend Jón died suddenly at Eyrarbakki.

Icelandic Ghosts and Ghouls: Fylgja or the draugr ghosts attached themselves to people that they haunted. They could also attach themselves to buildings or even entire towns. Many stories also talk about it being a generational haunting where the ghost decides to haunt all of the descendants of the original person it cursed. Most often the female line of the family. // An illustration to the Icelandic legend of the Skeleton in Hólar Church (Beinagrindin í Hólakirkju). From Icelandic Legends : Collected by Jón Arnason, illustrated by Jules Worms.

Their only son, Bergur, was later minister at Kirkjubæjarklaustur, and he also lived at Prestbakki and Foss, but in the end he was at Hörgsland, where he died and where the ghost got his most well known name. 

It was said that whenever quarrels arose between Reverend Bergur and his wife, Móri was seen at the farm, and people thought he was the cause of their disputes. After the couple’s deaths, he followed their daughters; as soon as the eldest died, the next inherited him, and she soon became half-mad. He had many daughters, and Móri followed all of them, and still follows them, according to local tales. 

The Fading Ghost by Foss á Síðu

The story was first written down as the ghost reached the fifth generation of the family haunting, after attaching himself to their ancestress Katrín, their great-great-great-grandmother although there aren’t many stories told about his time then.

One of the sisters, Þorbjörg, was married to a man known as the hospital-keeper. It is said that she “portioned out” food to Móri. People claimed that at holiday feasts, when she served, she would slip whole sides of mutton down by her thigh; they were never seen again, and it was believed that Móri took them all.

Image: Mathieu Poumeyrol/Wikimedia

Before the ghost reached the ninth generation of haunting, the people of Síða said he had grown so faded that he looks from behind like nothing more than a wisp of steam. Because of this, opinions are divided as to whether he will endure as long as was foretold. There are no remarkable stories of his doing harm outside that family, but he has sometimes been glimpsed when one of their kin was on the road. He is not accused of having killed anyone for a long time, except possibly members of the family itself, and it is widely said that he caused madness among many of them.

So the question is, did he finally reach the ninth generation, or did he simply fade away? 

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References:

Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri/Draugasögur/Hörgslands-Móri – Wikiheimild

Scholars’ Mine Icelandic Folklore and the Cultural Memory of Religious Change

Explore Foss Á Síðu: Iceland’s Majestic Waterfall аnd Tranquil Farm Right by the Ring Road – Buubble

Ukategorisert

The Sinful Monk Haunting the Former Monastery House on Junkerngasse

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Could Junkerngasse be the most haunted street in Bern? From a former monastery that used to be here, locals complained for a long time about the haunting of a monk who committed a sin so grave that neither his body, nor his soul ever left. 

Beneath the elegant façades of Bern’s Junkerngasse and its parallel Gerechtigkeitsgasse, now known for its stately houses, flagstone walks, and commanding views of the Aare, lies a buried past of devotion, downfall, and damnation.

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In medieval times, this street, then called Kirchgasse or Church Lane, was the sacred artery of Bern’s religious life. It wound past chapels, cloisters, and courtyards belonging to powerful abbeys. Among these was a quiet but significant property: the Frienisberghaus, the urban residence of the Cistercian monks of Frienisberg Abbey, who came to the city on church business or for rest.

But for centuries after the Reformation, the house was shunned, whispered about, and eventually torn down. It was said to be haunted by a monk, one who carried a sin so grave that death could not bring him rest.

Junkerngasse: Known as one of the most haunted streets in Bern perhaps. A street with a long history, with a new street built on top of what used to be there. Here you se number 57, 55, 53, 51, 49. // Source: Tilman2007/Wikimedia

The Monastery in the City

The Cistercian Order was one of deep discipline and purity, founded on silence, labor, and a vow of chastity. The monks of Frienisberg Abbey, located in the Seeland region northwest of Bern, were among the many religious orders who held property within the city walls. As early as 1285, they owned a house in Bern. In the 14th century, their holdings expanded when the city filled in the old moat of the Nydegg fortress, granting the monks their monastery courtyard next to the Interlakenhaus, the biggest monastery courtyard in the city, a stone’s throw from the Nydeggkirche and what would later become the Nydegg Bridge.

Old Bern: Map of Berne, wooden cut by Hans Rudolf Manuel, 1549. Earliest topographically accurate depiction of Berne.

This was not a grand abbey, but rather a quiet urban refuge, a place to shelter monks traveling from Frienisberg. And yet, in this serene setting, something terrible happened.

Sin in the Cloister

One monk, whose name has been lost to history, committed the unthinkable: he violated a nun, a crime so heinous in the Cistercian world that it still lingers. The details remain vague, but the sin of lust, in a setting that demanded purity, sealed the monk’s eternal punishment.

After the Reformation swept through Bern in the 1520s, the monasteries and their property were dissolved or repurposed. The Frienisberghaus became a state building used for charitable causes, but its halls were never peaceful again.

Image: André Corboz from 1983, Source

For years afterward, locals reported that a ghostly monk would wander the courtyard at midnight, his hood drawn low, his feet never touching the ground. He climbed the stairs slowly, mournfully, only to descend again moments later, as if condemned to walk in infinite, unfulfilled penance. His form was pale and nearly transparent, a whisper of cloth and shadow.

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Later still, as the house aged and became derelict, the haunting intensified. Groans, sighs, and scraping sounds echoed from the attic. Tools rusted without cause, and workers who tried to repair the building reported a sense of dread they couldn’t shake. During the building’s eventual demolition, something even more sinister was uncovered: a skeleton, walled up in a sealed niche, curled in on itself in a final pose of suffering. His blackened robes and rotted rosary still clung to bone.

It was confirmation of the old fears. Whether buried in secret as punishment or hidden to avoid scandal, this monk had been walled up alive, and his soul had never left.

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References:

P. Keckeis & M. Waibel, Legends of Switzerland. Bern, Zurich 1986

Frienisberghaus – Bern City Archive

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Daníelspyttur and the Boy who Drowned and Haunts it

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In a remote area in Iceland, the Daníelspyttur is named after a boy who once took off from work and drowned in the water. Ever since, people have thought it haunted as well as the surrounding area. 

Below the farm Gnúpafell in Eyjafjörður is a flat land that reaches down to the bank of the Eyjafjörður River. It is called Gnúpufellsmýri, in which there are in some places small pools or pits, some abysses. One of these pools is called Daníelspyttur and is said to be haunted by a man that once drowned in it. . 

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A man was named Daníel and lived by the fjord. He was described as being mentally ill and sometimes had fits of rage, and then he had to be watched. One spring he was working for Ólafur Guðmundsson in Hleiðargarður. One day, a fit of rage came over him, he grabbed a large goad, or some sort of pointed rod, and started running out and down the field. 

Ólafur asked Jón Jóhannesson to give chase to Daníel. He saw that there were horses on the islets. It seemed to him likely that Daníel was planning to cross the Eyjafjörður River for some reason. Jón hurried towards the horses. There were only two of them, a good gray horse and a full-grown animal. The other was a mare, who seemed lazy and weak. Jón intended to take the mare, but she turned away badly and tried to both bite and beat him. On the other hand, the horse Snarfari, who stood still and let himself be bridle without resistance, moved. 

Daniel had forded the river when Jón Jóhannesson caught up to him. When he saw that he was being pursued, he began to run down the banks. He held the goad on his shoulder. He suddenly turned sideways into the swamp, where there was one of those deep pits. He took off in the air and jumped into the abyss and immediately disappeared under the surface of the water. 

When Jón arrived at the bank, Daniel was shooting up at the surface for the first time, but it was too late and he drowned and his body sank and disappeared. Since then it has been called Daníelspyttur and is believed to be haunted as well as the area around Gnúpufell. They say that they sometimes see him here and there, wandering with his spear. 

Others who have fallen into the water has also been seen shooting up on the surface as Daniel did, three times before they also drown, almost if something is dragging them down. 

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References:

Ísmús | Sagnir Árna Jóhannessonar: Drukknun Daníels og reimleikar

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The Dream of the Basel Rhine Bridge about the Buried Treasure

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A legend goes that a simple farmer from the Emmental in the Swizz alps had a dream about finding gold at the bridge in Basel. Visited by a ghostly shadow, he was guided around the country to find it. 

Basel’s Mittlere Brücke, the ancient bridge crossing the Rhine, has long been the setting for legends, mysteries, and ghost stories. One of the most curious tales comes not from the city itself, but from the remote Alp Rafrüti in the Emmental, where a poor laborer once lived with his family in hardship.

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One night, this man was visited by a dream so vivid it unsettled his sleep as he slept in his bed in Emmental. In it, a voice told him that his fortune awaited him on the Rhine Bridge in Basel, over 80 kilometers away. He awoke, dismissing it as nonsense. But when the same dream came a second night, and a third, he grew restless. With no other prospects and an urgent need to provide for his family, he set off for Basel.

The Emmental: is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern, mostly made up by farmers and known for its cheese and pottery. Rafrüti is mostly known for being the place where the first and second latest meteorite was found in Switzerland.

The Search For Treasure at The Mittlere Brücke

The Mittlere Brücke, or the middle bridge is one of the oldest bridges across the Rhine, dating back to 1223, and has become the very symbol of Basel today, connecting Grossbasel (Greater Basel) and Kleinbasel (Lesser Basel).

When he arrived, the laborer walked slowly across the bridge, eyes scanning the stones and riverbanks, hoping for some sign. But there was nothing unusual to be seen. He spent the entire day pacing the length of the bridge. The next day, he did the same, and again on the third. The old bridge was well-worn by the passing feet of merchants, boatmen, and townsfolk, but none seemed to notice the weary man from the Emmental.

Basel’s Mittlere Brücke: The bridge around 1760. Copperplate engraving by David Herrliberger after a model by Emanuel Büchel.

A city policeman, however, had observed him all this time. Puzzled by the stranger’s constant wandering and troubled look, the officer finally approached him. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “You’ve been walking this bridge for days now. What are you looking for?”

The laborer, exhausted and disheartened, confessed his dream and his fruitless search. The policeman chuckled and shook his head. “Ah, don’t believe in such foolish dreams,” he said. “Last night, I dreamt there was a treasure buried under a kitchen in a place called Rafrüti. But who knows where that is?”

The Treasure at Home

The laborer’s eyes widened. He said nothing, but turned on his heel and hurried all the way back to his humble Alpine hut. Without delay, he began digging a hole in the middle of his kitchen floor. The soil was cold and hard, but he dug deeper and deeper until a dark figure appeared beside him, a silent, black shape that picked up a spade and began to dig as well.

At last, their tools struck metal. Together, they unearthed a large, heavy pot filled to the brim with gold coins. The black figure then separated the treasure into three equal piles and spoke in a voice like the wind through ancient trees:

“Choose, laborer! One pile is for the poor, one for me, and one for you. But choose wisely, or you’ll regret it!”

The man hesitated, fear clutching at his heart. Then, he thought: Why should a creature of shadow need gold? And why should I decide who deserves this wealth? So instead of choosing, he swept all three piles together into a single heap and declared:

“I’ll take this one  and share it as I see fit.”

In that instant, the black figure vanished without a sound. From that day forward, the laborer and his family lived comfortably, freed from want and fear. The Basel Rhine Bridge had indeed brought him fortune.

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References:

Tour Description «Walk of legends» Place 1: Claraplatz and Rebgasse

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The Haunting of Dalen Hotel and the English Lady of Room 17

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In the deep fjords of Norway, the Dalen Hotel is one of the places said to be haunted by a guest who never really checked out. Who was the English Lady of Room 17?

Among Norway’s many haunted lodgings, few inspire as much unease as the grand and secluded Dalen Hotel in Telemark. Its turrets and dark timbered halls have earned it the nickname “The Fairytale Hotel,” but behind the elegance lingers a story soaked in sorrow. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Guests whisper of a presence that still moves through the corridors, most often felt near one room in particular: Room 17, where the English Lady is said to linger.

The Dalen Hotel: Known for its unique Norwegian dragon style architecture, is famous for its haunting stories, particularly of the English Lady in Room 17. // Source: Eirik Solheim

The Haunted Dalen Hotel

The hotel was completed in 1894 and is a striking building among the green in the Norwegian dragon style with its towers and spires that took inspirations from stave churches and the viking age. 

The Haunted Hotel: The elegant interior of the haunted Dalen Hotel, showcasing its intricate wooden design and vintage decor were the ghost of a lady in grey is said to haunt. // Source Eirik Solheim

The hotel was, by the standards of the time, extremely luxurious. It even had running water and electric light not at all common around these parts. And from the very beginning it was a success and a tourist magnet, attracting princes and aristocrats from Norway and Europe.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

During the second world war, the Germans took over the hotel and removed the interior and let it fall to decay. It is said that a canal boat sailed out fully loaded with furniture and other equipment. Most of this has not been recovered. After many years of disrepair, it was restored and reopened in 1992 with 49 rooms. 

When the last guests check out in October for the winter close down, one guest is said to remain within the rooms. 

The Woman Who Never Checked Out

The ghost said to haunt the Dalen Hotel is known as The English Lady and although her story is known by most people working there and the locals around it, the details of the story are rather hard to find tangible evidence from.

The story goes, late in the 1800s, an Englishwoman named Miss Eliza Greenfield arrived alone at Dalen, her demeanor polite but withdrawn. Staff noticed her unusual habits and her long, solitary walks, but no one suspected the secret she carried. For months she lived quietly behind the door of Room 17. When she finally left, she offered polite farewells and vanished down the road without a backward glance.

Her departure should have been the end of her story. Instead, it was the beginning of a horror story. Soon after her room was cleaned, staff found a dead infant hidden inside. The story doesn’t often specify if the child was stillborn or if something more ominous had killed the child. 

The discovery shocked the entire region. Miss Greenfield was tracked down on her ship back to England, arrested for the crime of murdering her child. However, she took her own life before the trial started. In some versions of the tale she was actually executed for her crimes. 

The Woman in Grey in Room 17

How true is the story though? Although Christin Normann, manager at the hotel claimed the story was true in a hotel magazine, there are little to none traces of Miss Greenfield and her crimes. 

Guests staying in Room 17 still report strange occurrences though. Soft footsteps cross the floor at night when no one is there. The sound of quiet weeping rises and fades with no apparent source. In this room today, a cradle still stands, and it is said that she has returned to her child.

The haunting hallways: leading to Room 17 at the Dalen Hotel, where the ghost of the English Lady is said to linger. // Source: Wikimedia

Some visitors claim they have awakened to see a pale woman at the foot of the bed, her figure faint, her expression hollow with regret before she dissolves into the shadows.

One of the most repeated tales is about a man who once spent a night in the room and was unaware of its tragic history. Disturbed by unexplained noises, he left not only the room but also the hotel in the middle of the night.

Eirik Solheim/Wikimedia

Staff members tell of cold pockets in the hall outside the room, or a sudden fragrance of old-fashioned perfume drifting past. A few have claimed to hear a gentle knock on the door as if someone is still trying to soothe a restless child. Those who sense her presence say there is no malice in it, only unbearable grief.

A Table Set for a Ghost at Dalen Hotel

In the hotel’s restaurant, a single table remains permanently set in her memory. Candles are lit, plates arranged, cutlery polished. It stands as a quiet acknowledgment that Miss Greenfield never truly left Dalen Hotel and that the staff take notice of this. Her story lingers in every creak of the floorboards and in every shadow that slips through the lamplit corridors.

The Table set for a Ghost: Still to this day, the staff remembers and honors their hotel ghosts by giving her a plate at her table. // Photo: Per-Åge Eriksen

Some swear they have felt her pass by them in the night. Others say they caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in Victorian clothing reflected in the old mirrors.

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References:

Dalen Hotel

Spøkelseshistorien om Dalen Hotel | Strawberry