In the border town of Sweden of Norway, Fredriksten Fortress has seen more bloodshed than many places. But who is the White Lady said to be haunting it, soaring around the clock tower in the night?
High above the town of Halden, a border town in Norway toward Sweden, where stone walls overlook the fjord and the borderlands beyond, Fredriksten Fortress rises with quiet authority. Built to defend Norway from invasion, it has stood through sieges, cannon fire, and centuries of uneasy peace. Today it is a place of museums, concerts, and summer crowds. But when night settles over the ramparts, the fortress is said to remember its dead.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway
Among the many legends bound to these walls, none is as enduring as that of Den Hvite Dame, the White Lady of Fredriksten.
A Fortress Shaped by War
Fredriksten Fortress is one of Norway’s most important military strongholds. From the seventeenth century onward, it played a crucial role in defending the border against Swedish forces. The fortress is perhaps best known for the death of King Charles XII of Sweden, who was killed during the siege of 1718.
There is still a debate about if it was a Norwegian who killed him, or one of his own country men who was behind the shot. Long after the final shots were fired, the weight of conflict still seems to cling to the stone.
The Woman in White
According to legend, the White Lady was once the secret mistress of the fortress commander. Some say that she was the maid of commander Johan Hubner von Holst, or some say that it was actually one of the soldiers.
Their relationship was hidden within the walls, known only to a few, and carried out in the shadow of constant danger. During a Swedish attack on the fortress, the commander or soldier was struck and killed by a cannonball or shot by a pistol. His body was never recovered, lost to the chaos of battle.
In some versions, her grief was simply that her love was never reciprocated. Either way, overcome with grief and despair, the woman is said to have climbed the fortress white clock tower and flung herself from it. Her death bound her to the place where her life and love had ended.
Since then, her spirit has never truly left Fredriksten.
Midnight on the White Tower
The White Lady is most often reported near the clock tower now known as the White Tower, appearing close to midnight and the full moon. She is also said to be seen around the commander’s building and down in the dungeons.
Witnesses describe a pale female figure dressed in white, silent and still, never touching the ground as she glides past. Some say she waves gently toward those who see her. Others claim she stands motionless, gazing out over the city of Halden and the dark waters of the fjord beyond.
One of the strangest details repeated in many retellings is the behavior of the fortress lights. Several people have claimed that the spotlights illuminating the walls suddenly switch off moments before the apparition appears, plunging the area into darkness just before the White Lady reveals herself.
She is not said to be violent, but her presence carries a deep sense of sorrow, as if the grief that ended her life continues to echo through the stone.
The Missing Lieutenant and The Mad Soldiers
One of the most famed stories about the ghost comes from two soldiers placed on watch by the tower in 1820. When a soldier was taking over the shift of a soldier named Tobias, he noticed how strangely he beheaved, but didn’t find out what happened. Tobias was pale and shaken, staggering down the stairs, unable to put into words what he had seen.
When a lieutenant came to free this next soldier, he too was pale and shaken. Wanting to investigate, the lieutenant grabbed his pistol and ventured up to the clock tower. Not long after, shots were fired, and all of them went to the scene. But no one found the lieutenant, who had vanished into thin air, and was never seen again.
Tobias turned mute after the incident, and never talked about anything after, dying a year after he was sent home. The other soldier turned mad and died at the mad house the year after as well, and no one found out what really happened that night.
Some speculate that it was actually the woman herself who killed her lover, and that she ever since has hated men, and they should be careful walking around the clock tower at night. In 1926, a human skeleton was found under the tower, and many claim that this had to be the missing lieutenant. But what really happened that night, was never cleared. Even how true the story was, is rather uncertain.
Eyewitnesses After the Incident
After that tragic vanishing supposedly happened, many more soldiers came forward with their own stories about those who had seen the White Lady. In a newspaper, it was published when an old soldier who used to work there told about his own encounter an August night in the 19th century:
“Her hair was covered with a grayish, veiled fabric that fell in folds downwards and blended in with the rest of her dress. I did not notice her body, but she must have been tall and slender. Her face was very beautiful. But because of her mournful eyes it seemed ravaged and pale. For a moment she stared intently at me, then the image was blurred, and she disappeared,” Source
Another soldier saw the white lady when he returned to Fredriksten on leave. He saw a beautiful lady as she “stepped out of nowhere” and came through the heavy gates towards Place d’Armes. She followed him on the way to the house he lived in. In front of the door he turned and looked five minutes later. She was still there.
In the 1930s and around World War II, there were a number of incidents surrounding the white lady although it had perhaps not been reported so much in the 1900s. But there are cases in modern times where sightings of the ghost happen.
In the early 2000s, two German campers visited the fortress and claimed to have seen a smiling female figure in the middle of the night, dressed in a thin, white cloth. The Germans had never heard the story of the white lady and wondered if someone was filming it. NRK Radio and several newspapers interviewed the couple.
Some psychics visiting claim to have felt a thing or two, and paranormal researchers coming from all around the world, claim to have found evidence of something supernatural inside of the fortress. Although the definite truth of it all will perhaps never be revealed.
The King’s Bastion
There are also those claiming that the cafe is also one of the places where supernatural occurrences happens. Those working there say that the table cloths has been ripped off the tables and sounds from the kitchen on second floor makes sounds when no one is supposed to be there.
From the top of the King’s Bastion, the view stretches across Halden, the fjord, and into Sweden. By day, it is a place of beauty and perspective. By night, it is one of the most commonly mentioned locations in reports of unexplained sightings and sensations.
Newest Posts
- Connolly Station: The Soldier Who Waits for a Train That Never Comes
Could the Connolly Station in Dublin be haunted? Some claim that the ghosts of the victims from the Dublin Bombing in world war two could still be lingering near the tracks. - The Headless Undead in the Ruffinihaus Courtyard
Once a place for executions, the place the Ruffinihaus in Munich, Germany is built upon is said to be haunted. It is said that in the dead of night, the undead rises from their graves, still carrying their heads the executioners took. - The Ghost of Könizwald, Bern: The Ghost of General Robert Scipio von Lentulus
Where the former country estate Campagne Mon Repos in Bern once was, the ghostly council of the military leader from General Robert Scipio von Lentulus was given in times of unrest. Is he still haunting the Könizwald woods, even after his estate is gone? - The Alter Südfriedhof Cemetery and the Ghost of the Munich Eskimo Tragedy
One of the old cemeteries in Munich said to be haunted is the Alter Südfriedhof, or the old south cemetery. According to lore, the ghostly voices of the so-called Eskimo Tragedy are still heard at night. - The Uhaml Forest Spirit of Without a Face
In the darkness of night and under the foliage cover of the forest, the demonic spirit of Uhaml is said to roam. The only way to escape it is getting out of the forest faster. - Gwrach y Rhibyn – The Hag of the Mist Haunting the Welsh Waters
In the shadows between ghost, creature and witch, the Welsh Gwarch y Rhibyn has been given many names. Like a Banshee she has been said to be a deadly omen, often called The Hag of the Mist because of her presence in wet areas, or the Hag of the Dribble because of the versions where her mouth is dripping with blood. - The Hofbräuhaus and the Ghost of A Munich Man in Heaven
Unhappy with the lack of beer in heaven, the Bavarian angel never returned when sent on a mission back on earth. To this day, he sits at The Hofbräuhaus bar in Munich, enjoying his brew. - The Demonic Omen of Disaster at Mödling Castle Hill
Sometimes called the Devil’s Stone, the ruins of the former Mödling Castle is said to be haunted by a demonic bird-like entity, screeching at night as an omen of death and disaster. - The Brewer Haunting Nockherberg and the Beer Garden in Munich
Could a beer festival be haunted? Many have spoken about the ghost of an old brewer at Nockherberg haunting the beer festival, creating havoc to retaliate to what his descendants did to his brew. - The Girl in the Tower of the Munich Frauenkirche
After her public death in the tower of the Munich Frauenkirche, many have claimed to have seen the ghost of Fanny appearing at her death anniversary wearing white. - The Cursed Weilheim Plague Chapel
What really happened around the Pollingsried Chapel, and its supposed plague cemetery? Is there really a curse around the area? As far as the ringing of the bells can be heard? - The Restless Spirit of The Utburd Child Ghost in Norway
Searching for its name, the utburd ghost from Norwegian folklore haunts the forests, waters and houses its parents left them to die. For the most part, they remained in folk tales, but sometimes, the stories about the dead children got real life consequences.
References:
Magic Magasin – Sommernattens hvite dame