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The Legend of Ireland’s Vampire King Abhartach and the Haunted Giant’s Grave

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In the rural areas of Derry, Northern Ireland, there is a small dolmen grave under a hawthorn tree. It is said to be the grave of the vampire king, Abhartach who is said to still be lusting after blood. 

Ireland’s ancient hills and mossy graveyards are no strangers to ghost stories and restless spirits. Yet among these tales of banshees and fairies lies one of the island’s oldest, darkest legends — the story of Abhartach, a tyrant chieftain whose insatiable thirst for blood refused to end, even in death. 

Thought by some folklorists to be Ireland’s original vampire myth, Abhartach’s grim story predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and may well have been its inspiration.

The Tyrant of Slaghtaverty

According to legend, Abhartach was a cruel and malevolent chieftain who ruled in what is now Slaghtaverty in the parish of Errigal in Derry, Northern Ireland. Although he is remembered as a vampire, the name and description of him is much closer to a dwarf. As the name suggests, he might have been remembered for his height. 

Irish Hero: In some accounts Abhartach is combined with the similarly named Abartach, a figure associated with Fionn mac Cumhaill and pre-christian irish mythology. Fionn mac Cumhaill,[a] often anglicised Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet. He is said to have a magic thumb that bestows him with great wisdom. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword. In modern retellings it is said the hero was called Cathán or O’Kane.

He is said to have lived in the 5th or 6th century, at a time when the Glenullin area of Ireland was a patchwork of small kingdoms of tribal warlords were the mysterious druids still lived and practiced their magic and when the catholic saints started settling on the emerald island. 

Feared by his own people, he was said to possess dark powers and a fascination with the occult. Through his practice of dark magic, he killed his subjects for fun. His tyrannical ways became so unbearable that local warriors, desperate for relief, conspired to kill him.

In one version of the tale, a neighboring chieftain named Cathán rose up against Abhartach and struck him down, burying him in a standing grave, marked by a solitary stone. Burying in a standing position was a custom at the time for high-ranking chieftains. But peace would not come so easily.

In other versions his first death was through no fault but his own and he died when he was stalking his wife. He was a jealous man and trusted no one. He thought she was having an affair and crept on the ledge outside of the castle to the window outside her bedroom. He slipped and fell to his death and they quickly buried him for the first time. But it would not be his last. 

The Undying Menace

The day after his burial, Abhartach returned — clawing his way out of the earth, demanding blood from his terrified subjects to collect in a bowl for him to consume. In some versions of the legend, his subjects were so afraid of him and submitted to him, making blood sacrifices to him, waiting for someone to save them.

Again, Cathán slew him, and again, Abhartach returned. It was then the people sought counsel from a druid or wise elder who revealed the grim truth: Abhartach was no ordinary man, but one of the neamh-mairbh, the undead. In more modern retellings of the story it was a Christian Saint giving the solution to the undead. 

Druid Forest: There are several hermitages in the area. According to tradition, these were the dwellings of particularly holy men. The most notable is in Gortnamoyagh Forest on the very edge of Glenullin, where local people will still point out the saint’s track, a series of stations near a holy well.

To stop his monstrous resurrection, he could not be buried in consecrated ground. Instead, he must be killed with a sword made of yew wood, buried upside down, and his grave encircled with thorns and heavy stones to prevent his escape.

Cathán followed the instructions, and Abhartach was finally trapped — but local legend holds that his restless spirit still lingers beneath the earth.

The Cursed Grave of Slaghtaverty

According to a lecturer in Celtic history at the University of UIster, Bob Curran, the real castle he lived in an be found between the towns of Garvagh and Dungiven, where a small hill now stands. He says that it was here that the fortress of a 5th or 6th-century chieftain with magical powers called the Abhartach once resided. 

The Slaghtaverty Dolmen: By locals called the Gian’ts grave, associated with the legend of Abhartach, under a solitary hawthorn tree in rural Derry, Northern Ireland. Strange things are said to happen around this grave.

Today, the place believed to be Abhartach’s grave is a modest site known as Slaghtaverty Dolmen or The Giant’s Grave. Nestled in a field near the village of Slaughtaverty in Londonderry in Northern Ireland, it’s marked by an ancient stone surrounded by a ring of Hawthorn trees and undergrowth. It used to be more stones as remnants of an old monument, but these have been removed over time by local farmers for building purposes.

Locals claim the spot is cursed; farmers avoid working the land around it, and strange misfortunes are said to befall those who disturb the grave. Some say on misty nights, you can hear faint whispers, or catch the flicker of a shadow moving between the trees — as though Abhartach himself still walks, searching for blood.

In 1997, attempts were made to clear the land, but, if local tradition is to be believed, workmen who tried to fell the tree found that their brand-new chainsaw stopped for no reason on three occasions. When attempting to lift the great stone, a steel chain suddenly snapped, cutting the hand of one of the labourers and, significantly, allowing blood to soak into the ground.

The Dracula Connection

We first have the legend written down in Patrick Weston Joyce’s The Origin and History of Irish Names and Places from 1870. In modern versions of the lore, the story is said to be solved by an earlier Christian, and not a druid. 

Intriguingly, scholars have speculated that Abhartach’s legend may have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Stoker, an Irishman born in Dublin, would have likely been familiar with the story of the blood-drinking undead chieftain. While Dracula is commonly associated with Vlad the Impaler and Eastern European folklore, it’s possible that the sinister figure of Abhartach left its own mark on Gothic horror’s most famous vampire.

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References:

Abhartach – Wikipedia 

The Abhartach / Irish Vampire: Terrifying Tale For 2025

Does Abhartach, the vampiric chieftain, still stalk the Derry hills?

Abhartach the Dwarf King | Emerald Isle Irish and Celtic myths, fairy tales and legends

Abhartach – Ireland’s Vampire King – by Siobhán Rodgers 

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Hell on Earth and the Haunting in Port Arthur, Australia

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In one of the biggest penal settlements in the British Empire, many thousand convicts served their time here, and some never made it out. Ever since then, Port Arthur has been one of the most haunted places in Australia.  

The Separate Prison and the historic building around, located in Port Arthur, Australia, is a place that is steeped in history and intrigue. Built in the 19th century, the prison was designed to be a place of punishment and reform for some of Australia’s most notorious criminals as well as for petty criminals and families living in Port Arthur. The prison was known for its strict regime of silence and solitary confinement, and the conditions inside were brutal. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Australia

However, there is more to the story of the Separate Prison than just its history. Many people believe that the prison is haunted by the ghosts of the past, and there have been countless reports of paranormal activity over the years. 

The Haunted Port: Port Arthur is a small town located on the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania, Australia. The town is known for its beautiful natural scenery, but it is also known for its dark past. It started as a timber station in 1830, but soon transitioned to a penal colony in 1833.

The History of Port Arthur and its role in Australian history

In the 19th century, Port Arthur was home to one of the largest prisons in the world. The prison was established in 1830 and was designed to be a place of punishment and reform for convicts who had been transported to Australia from Britain.

Penal Colony: Convict labourers in Australia in the early 20th century

More than 1000 people are said to have died at Port Arthur during its 47 years as a penal settlement. After their death they were sent to the nearby Isle of the Dead where 1646 unmarked graves belong to the convicts. 

Named after Lieutenant-Governor George Arthurs, the place was known as one of the strictest  prisons in the colonies. The prison was known for its harsh conditions, and prisoners were forced to work long hours in difficult conditions. However, despite the harsh conditions, the prison was seen as a progressive institution at the time. The prison was designed to be a place of reform, and the authorities believed that prisoners could be rehabilitated through hard work and discipline.

In newer times, there is also a dark history that put Port Arthur on the map. In 1996, a gunman shot dead 35 people and injured 23. This was one of the events that changed Australia forever and gave new and strict gun control laws.

Inside the ruins of the prison: Source

The Purpose and Life of the Separate Prison

The Separate Prison was built in 1849 as part of a new approach to prison reform. The prison was designed to be a place of punishment and reform, but it was also designed to be a place of isolation and silence. The authorities believed that prisoners could be reformed through reflection and introspection, and the only way to achieve this was through solitary confinement. Sort of like a prison within the prison.

The prison was designed with this in mind, and each cell was designed to be completely isolated from the outside world. The cells were small, and prisoners were only allowed to leave for a short period each day to exercise in a small courtyard. The rest of the time, they were confined to their cells in complete silence.

Inside the Separate Prison: Source

Life as a prisoner in the Separate Prison was brutal. Prisoners were confined to their cells for up to 23 hours a day, and they were only allowed to leave for a short period each day to exercise in a small courtyard. The cells were small and cramped, and prisoners were only allowed to bring in a Bible or other religious text.

The conditions inside the prison were harsh, and prisoners were forced to live in complete silence. The only sound they heard was the sound of their own breathing, and the only light they saw was the dim light from a small window. The food was basic and unappetizing, and prisoners were forced to perform hard labor for long hours each day.

Despite the progressive intentions of the Separate Prison, the reality was much darker. The prison was known for its harsh punishments and brutal treatment of prisoners. Punishments included flogging, solitary confinement, and hard labor.

In some cases, prisoners were subjected to even more extreme forms of punishment. The “dark cell” was a punishment cell located in the basement of the prison. Prisoners were confined to this cell for up to three days, and the conditions were unbearable. The cell was completely dark, and prisoners were forced to stand in ankle-deep water for the entire time they were confined.

The Haunted History of the Separate Prison

The Separate Prison has a long and haunted history as the buildings of the penal settlement turned into ruins. Over the years, there have been countless reports of paranormal activity in the prison. Many people believe that the ghosts of the past still haunt the prison, and there have been numerous sightings of ghosts and other unexplainable phenomena.

Ghostly sightings of three young children have been captured standing in a window in Port Arthur: Source

There are the stories about the ghost of a boy that is forever waiting for his execution and that his screams can be heard in the night. 

In the cell where the prisoner William Carter hanged himself, visitors have been said to be overwhelmed by sadness, some found huddled on the bed or the floor as they cry hysterically. 

The Gothic Church and the Lady in Blue in the Accountant’s House

There have been countless reports of ghost sightings and paranormal activity around the gothic church that the convict slaved away on. A lot of blood was spilt on the ground here, like when William Riley beat Joseph Shuttleworth to death with a pickaxe. For this he was hanged. 

Port Arthur Church: Convict-built church ruins at Port Arthur convict settlement, Tasmania. It was never consecrated and several denominations shared the building. Source

Visitors have reported hearing unexplainable sounds, feeling cold spots, and even seeing apparitions of the past. But strangely, it isn’t the ghosts of the violent convicts that are mostly spotted here, but a Lady in Blue.

She is believed to be a young lady married to a Port Arthur accountant. The Accountant’s house is right next to the church. They are said to have lived in the penal colony in the 1800s and who died during childbirth and is now wandering on the grounds, searching for her child she never got to meet in life. 

Especially in the bell tower of the church she appears in front of people with her bonnet and her pale blue or gray crinoline dress, before fading away. Sometimes she is said to talk with children. 

In 2011, visitors claimed that a three year old girl jumped out of her mothers arms to “play with the nice lady who lives her.” She ran down the veranda with her arms outstretched and was picked up by someone not visible to anyone else. 

Accountant’s House and the Parsonage/source

The Haunted Parsonage and the most Haunted House in Port Arthur

The most haunted building at Port Arthur historic site is said to be The Parsonage or Reverend George Eastman’s home. 

Reverend George Eastman worked as a parson at Port Arthur for almost fifteen years. One day the weather was terrible, but a dying convict needed him. When he came back from the storm, he fell ill and died in his bed two days later. It is said that when he was lowered out of his window in his coffin, the rope broke, the coffin smashed open and his body fell out on the ground. Near where his body landed, visitors sometimes complain on the stench of rotten flesh. 

There are plenty of stories circulating of flashing lights in the dark, loud banging when and the sound of footsteps although no one is there. It is said that it is the reverend who is haunting the place and is said to be a particular aggressive ghost. Some of the more extreme experiences people claim to have is the strangling feeling as they enter the building.

Source

Just a couple of weeks after his death, the new family moved into the parsonage and the haunting started. Reverend Hayward moved to Port Arthur together with his wife and six children for a fresh start at his new posting. 

Everyone became convinced that the house was haunted except Mrs Hayward. In 1870, she wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on in her home and made a trap one night after the children had gone to sleep. 

She tied several threads zigzagging the stairs and waited hours without hearing anything. She decided to call it a night when she suddenly heard something and got her husband. Together they checked the stairs where every single piece had snapped on the stairs, but they saw nothing. They did feel hot air if someone was breathing next to them and hearing footsteps coming down the stairs. The Haywards packed up and left Port Arthur forever. 

As mentioned, it is not a new haunted place, and we have written documents back to 1893 about the strange things happening in the house. This is an article from The Clipper: 

“On one particular night, Mrs. Price was unable to sleep… Suddenly she became conscious that somebody had entered her room, and glancing towards the door beheld a human figure draped in white. Her first thought was to make a move or to speak, but it struck her that the intruder might be a burglar in disguise intent upon robbing her of her jewel-case… and that to attract attention to herself might possibly mean something serious against her life. She therefore lay motionless, but with half open eyes followed the movements of the supposed burglar.

The mysterious figure having entered the room went through the motion of striking a match upon the wall, and immediately afterwards there was the appearance of light as from a lucifer. This done it then made its way round the foot of the bed to a cot in which one of the children slept. For a moment it stood looking at the sleeping child, then turning round, glided silently out of the room and was gone.”

It’s not only old stories about the hauntings either. In recent times, although how recent is debated, two builders and their apprentice spent the night at the house. They were working long hours restoring the house and decided to just sleep there. 

One night their apprentice woke up pinned to the bed and felt like he was strangling. Both of the builders had to pull him up and when he recovered, he said he felt like there was something heavy, sitting on his chest. When he had opened his eyes, he saw a bearded man telling him to leave his house and never return. 

There is also a story of a mother, asking what her daughter was doing, seeing her talk to no one outside the house. Her daughter answered that she was talking and playing with another child. 

When the parsonage was converted to a restaurant for a while, it is said they had to close it down because of strange occurrences with flying cutlery, the light that kept going on and off and the furniture that kept moving around in front of the customers. 

The Medical Officer’s House

There is also a ghost story about a little girl seen outside the Medical Officer’s Residence. People inside have seen out the window and claim to have seen her face pressed up against the glass, looking in at them. 

There is also a story of when some contractors had sanded and varnished the floors in 2003 in the Junior Medical’s House. They locked the doors and let it dry overnight, but when they came back the next morning, they had found footprints, looking like a woman and a child by the fireplace. 

Other Ghosts Roaming Port Arthur

There is also said to be a soldier wearing red around the Tower Cottage and people have seen a head without a body, hovering in the dissection room underneath the Visiting Magistrate’s House. 

A little girl has been seen in The Commandant’s House. They think she died after falling down the stairs as she is seen laying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood with her arm twisted as if broken. There are also those claiming that the rocking chair, called The Nanny’s Chair has been seen rocking on its own. 

Haunted Rocking Chair: Interior of the Commandant’s House/Source
Commandant’s House: Built in 1833 as a four room timber house before expanding. It was later used as the Carnavon Hotel. // Source

In the asylum right next to the separate prison, there have been stories of an elderly woman and a young girl. The light is flickering and there is supposedly the sound of footsteps. This building also functioned as a schoolhouse for a while. 

Port Arthur Asylum: Source

A short boat ride from Port Arthur is the Isle of the Dead, where over 1,100 people were buried—including convicts, soldiers, and settlers. The tiny island is known for its uneasy silence and ghostly apparitions and visitors have reported on spirits standing above the graves..

Source

The Haunted Legacy of the Separate Prison and Port Arthur

The Separate Prison in Port Arthur, Australia, is a place that is steeped in history and intrigue. It was designed to be a place of punishment and reform, but it was also a place of isolation and silence. The conditions inside the prison were harsh, and prisoners were subjected to brutal punishments and torture.

Despite its dark past, the Separate Prison is also a place of great historical significance. It provides us with a glimpse into the past and reminds us of the importance of prison reform and the need to treat prisoners with dignity and respect.

The haunted history of the Separate Prison is also a reminder of the power of the past. The ghosts of the past still haunt the prison to this day, and their presence serves as a reminder of the harsh conditions that prisoners were subjected to in the past. By exploring the history and hauntings of the Separate Prison, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the past and the lessons it has to teach us.

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References:

Dark Tasmania – Port Arthur Ghost Tour

Full article: Ghosts of the Anthropocene: spectral accretions at the Port Arthur historic site

Australia’s most haunted place: The story of Port Arthur and the Blue Lady.

Marimari.com : Ghosts of Port Arthur 

Port Arthur Ghost Tour 

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The Mercy Brown Vampire Incident in Rhode Island

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When the whole Brown family succumbed to tuberculosis, the townsfolk in New England started to become suspicious. They believed that one of the dead, 19 year old Mercy Brown was behind it all as an undead in the middle of the vampire mass hysteria that seemed to plague the East Coast. 

After a tuberculosis breakout in New England in the late 1800s, there was a mass hysteria growing among the people living there. The cause for tuberculosis was unknown at the time, and in some cases, people thought it was because of supernatural causes. Although the term vampire was not widely used then, this would spread and later be known as the New England Vampire Panic.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

One of the most famous “real-life” vampires from this period was Mercy Brown, a young woman from 1800s Rhode Island who had died of tuberculosis and was believed to be preying on other members of her family as a vampire. 

Following was one of the most well documented cases of exhumation of a corpse to perform rituals and banish the alleged undead manifestation that seemed to have taken hold of her. Contrary to popular belief about being puritanical, the rural New Englanders in the 1800s were not overly religious and 10 percent belonged to church in these parts. They were however superstitious. Many years later, they found her newspaper articles in the belongings of Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula.

Exeter: The countryside of Rhode Island were plagued with a belief that consumption was caused by the undead, and the locals went through plenty of exhumations of their dearly beloved and used them for rituals trying to cure themselves. // Source: Flickr

History of Mercy Brown: The Last Vampire in America

Mercy Lena Brown lived together with her family in Exeter, Rhode Island, a place populated by Europeans since the mid 1700s. After years of civil war, the number of people living there had dwindled to a few thousand. By some, this was known as Vampire Capital of America. 

The Brown family lived on a small farm in a place with barely fertile soil and were her parents and her four other siblings. People used to call her Lena when she was alive, but has been immortalized as Mercy Brown. Over the years, sickness took the lives of many as an epidemic of tuberculosis swept through the northeastern states. Her 36 year old mother, Mary Eliza was the first to die from consumption as tuberculosis was known back then on December 8, 1883. 

Mercy Brown: A historical portrait of Mercy Brown, the young woman at the center of the New England Vampire Panic.

So did the eldest daughter, Mary Olive, six months later on June 6, 1884 when she was 20 years old. She was working as a dressmaker before she got sick. She started having terrible dreams about her life being drawn out of her. 

Two weeks before she died, she joined the church. When she died the whole village came out and sang her favorite hymn, One Sweetly Solemn Thought. Mercy was only a child then and knew little that she would be blamed for her family’s misfortune.

Chestnut Hill Baptist Church: The historic church in Exeter, Rhode Island, near the site of the Mercy Brown vampire legend. //Source: Swampyank/Wiki

After the initial deaths, it seemed like the sickness had passed through their home, but then it came back and struck her 24 year old brother, Edwin. He was seen as a strong and healthy man working as a store clerk, so it was a shock to everyone when he fell ill, becoming sickly and frail. To help, he went to Colorado Springs in hope to be cured by the mineral waters there. 

The Death and Exhumation of Mercy Brown

In 1891 the daughters Marcy got the TB disease as well. She might have had the “galloping” kind that had been inside her for years before it broke out. And when it did, it took her quickly as the doctors told her father that there was nothing to do. 

Before her death, Mercy had worked on a quilt of fabric scraps. The pattern she used is sometimes called the Wandering Foot in Rhode Island and rare. According to superstition it is said that those who sleep under it, will be lost to her family and doomed to wander forever. 

On January 18, 1892, only 19 years old she succumbed to her illness and died. As the ground was frozen, she was put inside a crypt as they had to wait for it to thaw in the spring to bury her. The feelings toward the Brown daughters had shifted, and the whole village never showed up to sing her hymns. They thought something was strange, and that something unnatural was happening. Could it be that little Lena was actually an undead?

Consumption: Before it had a scientific explanation, TB was a horrifying, slow-moving plague. Victims grew pale and thin, their cheeks sunken, eyes glassy. They coughed blood. It was contagious, of course, though no one knew why or how. When one family member died, others often followed. And so the imagination of rural folk—grounded in a stew of folklore, fear, and grim necessity—did what it does best: It reached for reasons. They began to believe that the dead were not staying dead.

The time in Colorado seemed to work for a while for Edwin and he got better. But when he returned when he heard about his sister’s passing, it was like a switch, and he got worse. It is said that he screamed out “she was here,” and “she wants me to come with her,” when he was dreaming. 

People started to talk about the undead, and that there had to be a supernatural cause for all the deaths in the Brown family. Stories about Mercy having been seen walking in the cemetery and through fields started to circulate. 

The last left alive was their father, George Brown and Edwin. George started to get desperate as his only son was withering away as he had already seen his wife and oldest daughter do. He decided to dig up members of his family to check, to appease his neighbour, and maybe, just maybe, save his son.

The Crypt: The eerie, weathered stone structure was the crypt that Mercy Brown was put inside until the ground was thawed enough to bury her. //Source: Flickr

A bunch of the villagers, the local doctor from Wickford called Dr. Harold Metcalf and a reporter from the newspapers went to Exeter’s Chestnut Hill Cemetery and dug the bodies up on March 17 in 1892. It was said that the dr. did not’ believe in the vampire stories, but tagged along to check it out, and would confirm signs of TB in her lungs. George stayed home, not wanting to see his family dug up, but desperate enough for his son to let other people do it. 

Both his wife and his eldest daughter were as expected, but Mercy, who had been buried for a couple of months, looked like she was affected by the undead. She still had blood in her heart and showed almost no sign of decomposition. They also claimed that her position had shifted since they put her down in the coffin. 

The Ritual of the Undead

As the ritual demanded, Mercy’s heart and liver were burned on a nearby rock and the ashes were mixed with a tonic. Where this ritual came from is uncertain. Did it travel from Europe through the immigrants? Was it something they had heard from the Native Americans?

This tonic made of the ashes of his sister was given to the sick Edwin to drink. It was thought to cure his illness that the undead had infested him with. Edwin died of his disease two months later on May 2 and so would two of his younger sisters as well.

The Truth Behind the Legend

After the ritual, the remains of Mercy’s body were buried in the cemetery of the Baptists Church in Exeter. What really happened when they decided to open up her grave? 

Of the decomposition it was a coffin kept in an above crypt  in the winter months in Rhode Island in the two months after her death. Her body had been kept in an almost freezer like environment and slowed the decomposition. 

The Tombstone of Mercy Brown: Gravestone of Mercy L. Brown, marking her death on January 17, 1892, at the age of 19, amidst the vampire hysteria in New England. The stone has probably been replaced over the years.

It  seems like her father didn’t even believe in the stories, he only wanted to appease his neighbors. 

What happened to the other Brown kids though is almost never mentioned. It seems like the other children Jennie Adeline Brown and Myra Frances Brown also died of consumption, although there wasn’t much talk about vampires or the undead then. 

Only Hattie May Brown seemed to have made it out alive and died at 79 in 1954. 

The Enduring Legend and Haunting

George Brown never contracted the illness and lived until 1922. By then he lived to see Calmette and Guerin discover the BCG vaccine that could have cured his family of the very non-supernatural disease they had. 

And for Mercy, her grave is still standing at the same graveyard she was dug up. During Halloween, her grave is guarded as people sometimes try to steal her headstone and vandalize her final resting place. Many rumors and legends have flourished from this cemetery, especially about the strange blue lights hovering over the family plot. She is also said to show up on a particular bridge nearby, followed by the smell of roses. She is also said to show up to the dying, telling them that death isn’t as bad as they think. 

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References:

Mercy Brown vampire incident – Wikipedia

Vampire Mercy Brown | When Rhode Island Was “The Vampire Capital of America”

Grave of Mercy L. Brown | quahog.org 

Mercy Lena Brown (1872-1892) – Find a Grave Memorial 

Have Mercy… – The Rhode Island Historical Society

Mercy Brown was 19 when she died of tuberculosis. Her town thought she was a vampire. 

The Great New England Vampire Panic 

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

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Roaming around Basel a ghost called Weisse Tod, or The White Death was said to terrorize the neighborhood around the Baroque Markgräflerhof building. Who was this terrifying ghost peering into people’s windows with its empty and dark eye sockets?

In the winding medieval streets of old Basel, where the shadows gather thickly beneath the crooked eaves of centuries-old houses, there was once a peculiar belief. It was said that the new moon, with its empty black sky, was a time when the veil between the worlds thinned, and the city’s most restless dead rose to walk among the living.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

The citizens of Basel learned to draw their shutters tight on those nights, for the new moon brought not peace, but a procession of specters. Foremost among these was the terrifying figure known simply as the Weisse Tod, or “The White Death.”

Markgräflerhof Palace: An engraving of the Markgräflerhof Palace from 1845.

The White Death of the Markgräflerhof

At the Markgräflerhof, a grand residence facing the Rhine, locals swore that with every new moon, this ghastly apparition called Weisse Tod would rise from a hole in the ground near the water’s edge — a ragged, deathly pale form with empty, dark eye sockets that seemed to drink in the night itself.

The Markgräflerhof was built between 1698 and 1705 by the Margrave Margrave Friedrich V of Baden-Durlach and is the oldest Baroque palace in the country. The Markgräflerhof, purchased by the city in 1808, with its associated gardens and outbuildings, together with the adjacent area of the former Preachers’ Monastery and the University’s Botanical Garden, formed the basis for the new building of the Basel Citizens’ Hospital. Today it is used as an office building by the university. 

The White Death was relentless in its habits. It would appear at the windows of the surrounding houses on Hebelstrasse, gazing in silently, its hollow eyes fixed on the inhabitants within. Those who met its gaze were believed to fall gravely ill soon after — as though death itself had marked them.

Who Was the Ghost Behind the White Death?

But what was the lore behind the legend? Although the story of The White Death was widely told, there was little details and information as to who actually was haunting the place. Was the legend from after it turned into a hospital perhaps? Some sorry patient or doctor who perished? There are also some connecting the haunting to its time as an insane asylum.

Was it from the time before the Markgräflerhof was even built? As it turns out, this isn’t the only neighborhood ghost said to have been haunting Basel. In Kleinbasel, the working class district, they also had The Gray One lingering in the streets of the neighborhood. 

Read More: The Gray Ghost of Claraplatz: Kleinbasel’s Neighborhood Spirit

Now, what about the name, the White Death? Around Europe, this name has often been given to Tuberculosis and its victims were often said to have been taken by The White Death. As if for years there was also an epidemic, could the fear of the disease have created the fear of a ghost personification of the illness close to the hospital?

The Shadowed Man at the St. Urban Fountain

The ghost of The White Death is however not the only ghostly thing haunting the area. Right around the corner, along Blumenrain at the Rheintürlein, another ghost made his mournful appearance around the new moons. 

At the old St. Urban fountain, near the city gate, townsfolk claimed a man in dark, ancient garb would appear without warning. He would linger by the water’s edge, staring silently into the depths of the basin, as though seeking some long-lost reflection.

His face was said to be obscured, either by shadow or some unnameable disfigurement, and his presence would chill the very air around him. Many whispered that he was a soul lost to the river — a suicide perhaps, or a murdered man whose body had been hidden in the water. 

The city church bells would toll an extra hour before midnight on those nights, a final effort to ward off the restless souls. And though the Marktgräflerhof and the old fountain have long since been changed or lost to modernity, some say the air along the Rhine still feels heavy on moonless nights, and dark shapes move where no one ought to be.

In Basel, it seems, the new moon still belongs to the dead.

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References:

Hier spukt es: Unheimliche Orte in der Schweiz | WEB.DE

Spuk und Geister im alten Basel

Glaubet nid an Gaischter? Von wegen. Basel ist voll davon. | barfi.ch

Universitätsspital Basel – Wikipedia

Markgräflerhof – Wikipedia

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Lenzburg Castle: The Haunting Legends of a Swiss Hilltop Fortress

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One of the oldest castles in Switzerland is the hilltop fortress Lenzburg Castle. Said to be built on top of an old dragon lair from ancient times, it is also said to be haunting with a bell ringing for no one and the ghost of a maid by the well in the midst of the night.

High above the medieval town of Lenzburg in the Swiss canton of Aargau, Lenzburg Castle is one of the oldest and most storied hilltop fortresses in the country. Many would also consider it one of the most important castles in the country. Its thousand-year history is steeped in bloodshed, intrigue, and mystery.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

From dragons and cursed maidens to bells that toll for no living hand, the haunted history of Lenzburg Castle offers a chilling glimpse into Switzerland’s darker folklore.

A Fortress Raised from Dragon’s Blood

Even before the 11th century castle was built, someone had been living there. In 1959 they found a Neolithic gravesite at the carpark as well as Roman and Alemannic traces. As with many ancient sites, the origins of Lenzburg Castle are rooted in myth. Long before it became the residence of counts and Bernese bailiffs, the hill on which it stands was said to be home to a fearsome dragon. The beast, hiding in a dark, yawning cave within the hillside, terrorized the surrounding countryside, until two courageous knights — Wolfram and Guntram — confronted and slew the creature. 

Grateful for their bravery, the people of Lenzburg awarded the knights by naming them Counts of Lenzburg and granting them the hill to build their stronghold. After the family became extinct through the male family line in 1173, the lands were shared between the houses of Kyburg, Zähringen and Hohenstaufen before the Habsburg took over the territory.

The Bell That Rings for No One

Among the castle’s most eerie features is its 12th-century bell in the courtyard of the bailiff’s office in the castle. After the Habsburgs occupied the castle in the 13th and 14th centuries, it was then used as the seat of government by the Bernese bailiffs until the 18th century.

Local legend holds that on nights of the full moon, the great bell sometimes rings out, even though no one is in the tower, and no hand is seen to pull the rope. The ghostly toll reverberates through the ancient walls and across the shadowed courtyard, waking uneasy dreams among those staying nearby.

No satisfactory explanation has ever been found for these phantom peals, though some believe they are a call from the other side, or a lament from the countless souls who once called the castle home.

Some say it comes from a legend that happened not too far from Lenzburg. A man was once said to have been found murdered on the street, but they were unable to find his killer. To catch him, they decided to break a bone from the corpse and hang it on the pull of the Lenzburg Castle bell. 

Anyone seeking justice or alms from the bailiff had to ring it. For many years, the bone had been tied like this to no avail, until one full moon night, a begging old man rang the bell and was suddenly splashed with blood, a sure sign of his guilt. He was arrested and confessed to having attacked and murdered the man in his youth.

The Sod Maid Ghost of Lenzburg Castle Haunting the Well

Among Lenzburg’s spectral inhabitants you will find the ghost of a maid haunting the castle. Today she is mostly referred to as the Sod Maid. She is said to appear each year on Corpus Christi Eve that falls at the end of May or in June. Dressed in a trailing gown and clutching a small, pale child to her breast, the sorrowful ghost wanders through the castle gardens under cover of night.

Her path is always the same: she moves toward the ancient sod well, a type of dug shaft well, now-sealed pit within the grounds, rocking and soothing the child in her arms. As the church bell strikes midnight, the woman lets out a grief-stricken cry and drops the child into the dark, watery depths. A sickening, heavy thud follows. It is said this tragic act was born of forbidden love, and that the maid, unable to bear the shame of her secret, drowned her child to keep her secret safe.

The legend claims she can only be redeemed if a pure, virgin maiden can catch her tears in a jug before they touch the ground. But when one brave girl once attempted it, the tears proved impossibly heavy, and the jug slipped from her grasp. Since then, the Sod Maid still wanders the grounds, weeping for the child she lost and the salvation forever out of reach.

A Castle Steeped in History and Shadows

Though today Lenzburg Castle offers family-friendly exhibitions and meticulously restored rooms showcasing medieval domestic life, the weight of its history lingers. The echoes of lost souls cling to its ancient stones, and visitors often report unsettling feelings in certain parts of the castle, particularly near the old well and bell tower.

It remains a place where history, myth, and ghost story intertwine — a castle raised from a dragon’s grave and watched over by a mother’s eternal sorrow. Lenzburg Castle is not just a relic of the past, but a living, breathing testament to Switzerland’s darker folklore, its legends as enduring as the mountains themselves.

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References:

6 scariest ghost stories from Switzerland

Around the Lenzburg

Lenzburg Castle – Wikipedia

Radio SRF 1 – Beat Schlatter auf Geisterjagd im Belchentunnel

Die Sage der Sodjungfer von Schloss Lenzburg – Museum Aargau 

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

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Persecuted for his beliefs, the ghost of David Joris, the famous heretic is said to haunt his old home Spießhof in Basel. According to mediums, he won’t leave before clearing his name. 

Tucked away in the winding streets of Basel’s Old Town, surrounded by Renaissance façades and shadowed alleyways, stands the Spießhof Building at Höibarg 5 and 7. On the 13th century it was called House of Spiess. An unassuming yet stately structure whose handsome exterior belies a dark and lingering presence within. For nearly 450 years, the house has been stalked by one of Switzerland’s most unsettling phantoms: the headless ghost of David Joris. 

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His story is one of religious strife, betrayal, and posthumous vengeance, and to this day, locals swear that on certain mist-laden nights, a figure without a head prowls the building’s halls, accompanied by two spectral black dogs with eyes like smoldering coals.

Source: Wikimedia

A Heretic’s Sanctuary Turned Tomb

The tale begins in the mid-16th century, a time when Europe was convulsed by the violent aftershocks of the Protestant Reformation. David Joris, a charismatic Dutch preacher, glass stain artist and painter, had amassed a controversial following in the Low Countries for his unorthodox religious teachings. An adherent of the radical Anabaptist movement called the Muscat sect of the Davidites he was leader of. 

David Joris: (c. 1501 – 25 August 1556, sometimes Jan Jorisz or Joriszoon; formerly anglicised David Gorge) was an important Anabaptist leader in the Netherlands before 1540.

Joris believed in adult baptism, pacifism, a preacher for polygamy and a personal, mystical relationship with God that were views considered dangerously heretical by both Catholic and Protestant authorities alike.

Fleeing persecution together with his wife Dirckgen and family, Joris arrived in Basel in 1544 under a false name, claiming to be a respectable merchant claiming to be a Zwinglian. In addition to his wife, with whom he had eleven children, he himself had a “spiritual bride”, Anna von Berchem, the sister of his future son-in-law, with whom he also had several children and whom he later married to one of his followers. The city, known for its relative tolerance of religious refugees, welcomed him. 

There, he established a prosperous household, secretly leading a colony of like-minded followers while amassing considerable wealth and status as he went under the name Jan van Brügge.

However, in death, his secrets unraveled.

Exhumation and Desecration

When Joris passed away on August 28, 1556 it was said that a flash of lightning struck the building, he was buried with the honors befitting a man of his public reputation. He had died three years after his wife and was placed next to her in the Church of St. Leonard. 

But within a year, the truth of his Anabaptist beliefs was exposed. Furious at having harbored a heretic in their midst, Basel’s authorities ordered his body exhumed three years after his death. In a macabre and symbolic act of damnation, they beheaded his corpse and hanged it in front of the Spalen Gate before burning him, an eternal punishment meant to sever his soul from salvation.

Some say that his remains were buried inside of the building, others say that his ashes were spread in the Rhine. 

This violent desecration was not the end of David Joris. If anything, it marked the beginning of his restless haunting.

A Headless Specter and His Hellhounds

According to local legend, Joris’s decapitated ghost soon began to roam the Spießhof Building, where he had once lived in secret splendor. Witnesses through the centuries have described a headless man clad in 16th-century garments with his head under his arm, wandering the corridors and inner courtyard, accompanied by two massive black Great Danes. The hounds are said to possess unnaturally glowing eyes and an aura of malevolence, following their master through the gloom like grim familiars.

Some versions of the story claim the dogs are the spectral embodiment of his guilt, while others suggest they are demonic guardians, bound to Joris as a result of heretical pacts made in life.

Enduring Folklore in Basel’s Heart

Though today the Spießhof Building houses government offices and private apartments, the eerie legends persist. Staff and residents have reported phantom footsteps, cold spots, and sudden drafts, even on windless nights. It is also said it sounds like the clunking 

There are tales of unexplained barking echoing through empty hallways, and of doors slamming shut of their own accord. A few old women have seen him in his estate in Binningen, riding his horse through his lands. It is said however that the Franciscan Capuchins monk have banished the ghost to the bell tower of Binningen Castle. Others have seen him strolling along the paths of Holeeholz.

Source: Wikimedia

On certain misty evenings, some claim to see the shadow of a headless figure moving past the upper windows, accompanied by the soft padding of unseen paws. Mediums that have visited the house claim that he wouldn’t leave until his name had been cleared by the authorities.

In Basel’s rich tapestry of folklore and ghost stories, David Joris’s spectral presence stands out as one of the city’s oldest and most unsettling hauntings — a grim reminder of religious intolerance, secret lives, and the restless dead.

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References:

«Spießhof» | SpringerLink 

Die zum Tode verurteilte Leiche, die heute noch im Basler Spiesshof spukt

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

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Kleinbasel neighborhood is perhaps one of the most haunted places in Basel, Switzerland. In an unassuming house at Rebgasse 38, the well known exorcist Johann Jakob von Brunn visited twice to banish the ghosts lingering in it.

In the winding alleys of Kleinbasel, where centuries-old buildings lean toward one another and twilight seems to gather early, there once stood a house that no one in their right mind dared approach. At the house that seemingly was also used as a rectory, a married couple who lived there from 1888 to 1907 reported about ghostly occurrences from previous tenants. It also seems that it was haunted long before they moved in.

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There are a lot of ghost stories around the Kleinbasel district in Basel. At Rebgasse 38, there were supposedly two ghosts haunting this particular building. First the dead wife of a man who remarried after her death, and a woman named Grethi Beck was said to possess the Evil Eye.

Haus Zur Alten Trotte: The haunted house on Rebgasse 38 in Basel, was said to have had an exorcism twice. // Source: Laloom/Wikimedia

A House the Shadows Would Not Leave

The house at Rebgasse 38, also known as the Haus zur alten Trotte (House of the Old Wine Press) had long been shrouded in ominous whispers. Locals spoke of unseen presences, shadows that moved on their own, and the chilling sound of phantom footsteps when no one else was near.

Some claimed it was the work of the “Grey Man”, a spectral figure of indeterminate origin known to haunt certain homes in Basel and this particular working class district.. 

Read More: The Gray Ghost of Claraplatz: Kleinbasel’s Neighborhood Spirit

Margrethe (Grethi) Beck was said to have been the maid when Pastor Johann Jakob Übelin (1793-1873) lived there. He was a Swiss Protestant theologian , deacon , chronicler , draftsman , botanist and author. He then worked in Basel for 27 years as a deacon for St. Theodor’s Church and, from 1845 to 1867, as a construction clerk. In 1818, Übelin married Margaretha, née Brenner (1798–1840), with whom he had eight children.

It is said that she stole money from the pastor, and when she died, she appeared to him and the later tenants as a ghost. People were convinced that she caused bad things to happen to the people of Kleinbasel. And the way people talk about the case, it looks like it was also when she was alive. There is not much info about how she died, but also in death, she scared her neighbors. She was said to be sitting on the steps on the stairwell, and even though Johann Jakob Übelin got another clergyman to exorcise her, her haunting seemed to persist. 

An Exorcism Against the Darkness

The government and the clergy made every effort to counter the superstition and the stories related to it. On Sundays the priests would issue warnings from the pulpit against fortune-telling and devil worship and would advise people not to believe in them. It is unknown whether the haunting happened when Johann Jakob Übelin still lived in the house, or it was after.

At last, the city turned to its most renowned spiritual defender: Pastor Johann Jakob von Brunn, a cleric famed for his boldness in confronting the supernatural and was supposedly a well known ghost hunter in Basel. He had allegedly faced so-called witches, expelled demons from livestock barns, and purified cursed wells — and now he was summoned to confront the menace at Rebgasse 38.

It’s said that von Brunn entered the home armed with holy water, relics, and an arsenal of ancient prayers, undeterred by the suffocating dread that clung to the walls. It is said he banished the ghost of the former housekeeper to a corner of a room on the first floor of the house. 

And for a time, peace returned to Rebgasse, although the family dog would howl towards the very same corner of the room as if it sensed a presence there. And later tenants would still see her, sitting on the steps of the stairs. 

The Scandal of Johann Jakob Übelin Waking a Ghost

Family Grave: Grave in the Wolfgottesacker Cemetery, Basel. Descendants of Johann Jakob Übelin.

As mentioned, it wasn’t the only ghost said to haunt the house, and the other one, was the dead wife of Johann Jakob Übelin. Margaretha died in childbirth around 1839 and would later come back as a ghost. In November 1845, Johann Jakob Übelin caused a scandal when it came to light that he had an affair with his cook, Henriette Rosine Trautwein. 

Because of this he had to resign his position and married Henriette in 1846 as she was now pregnant. Together, they had a son and he lived out his working life until 1867 as a construction clerk. He died in 1873.

After the whole scandal it was said that the ghost of Margaretha came back to haunt them because of her husband’s infidelity, although she was dead. Who knows when it really started. It was said she haunted the rectory until she too was banished by the ghost hunter Johann Jakob von Brunn. 

A Shadow That Never Quite Faded

Though the hauntings ceased, the house was never truly free of its reputation after the ghost of Grethi Beck and the dead wife of Johann Jakob Übelin. Some claim that, on certain nights, you can still sense a cold, baleful gaze from the upper window, though no one lives there. 

Today, the spot where Rebgasse 38 once stood bears little trace of its haunted history.  At the address that used to belong to the building that used to be haunted there is now a kindergarten listed. But the old stories persist in whispered retellings among local ghostwalk guides, a reminder that in places like Kleinbasel, some shadows leave their mark forever as long as someone remembers.

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References:

Spuk und Geister im alten Basel

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

Johann Jakob Übelin – Wikipedia

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The Ghosts of the Patron Saints of Zurich: Felix, Regula and Exuperantis, Carrying their Heads under their Arms

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There is a ghost legend from Roman times in Zurich. The story of the martyrs and saints Felix, Regula and Exuperantis who rose from their deaths and walked with their heads under their arms, is still an important story for the city. 

Before it became the iconic Swizz city it is today, it once was a Roman outpost as well. Becoming the image of Zurich city, the ghostly tale of Felix, Regula and Exuperantis helped shape the city to become what it is today.

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One of the earliest ghost stories Zurich has to offer is the story of the three patron saints and what happened after their execution when they rose from the ground where they had been executed. 

The Legendary Theban Legion and The Saints of Zurich

Felix, Regula and Exuperantis fled to Zurich in the third century. Felix and Regula were siblings and members of the Theban legion based in Egypt. It is said they came from Egyptian nobility. Exuperantis was their servant. The legion, also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum, were stationed in the Roman outpost, Agaunum in the Valais in Switzerland. The legion consisting of 6666 med were all Christians led by the holy Mauritius, dying as a martyr around 287. 

The Ten Thousand Martyrs

They were going over the alps to put down a Gallian rebellion on the command from emperor Diokletians. When the legion refused to sacrifice to the Emperor Maximian of the Roman empire, they fled as they started executing every ten men.

They went through Valesia, preaching the gospel. They stayed in a cave in the wilderness for a while as well. The coptic Christians reached Zurich, which then was called Turicum in 286 and stayed with a Christian family. 

They were discovered by a man called Decius who was ordered to hunt the heathens down. First he tortured them, beating them and putting them in boiling oil to turn them. Still, they refused to worship the Roman gods. Then they were beheaded on the location where the Wasserkirche now is. 

The Saints of Zurich: Detail from the former altarpiece of the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles in the Grossmünster in Zurich : Martyrdom of the Zurich city saints Felix and Regula and their servant Exuperantius (right). In the background, the Lindenhof and Uetliberg can be seen from the panorama of the medieval city of Zurich. Condition after restoration and uncovering of the figures in 1937.

Their story was not done however, and after dying, their corpses stood up and picked up their heads on the ground before walking off. A trail of blood followed behind them. They walked around forty paces uphill, all the way to a hill where they prayed before laying down, thinking that this was a better place to be buried. 

Martyrs: The Zurich city saints Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, as head bearers, offer their severed heads to Christ and are led by him into heaven. Banner: venide benedicti patris mey percibide rengnum 1506

The Truth Behind the Legend of Felix, Regula and Exuperantis’ Death

So what really happened in Roman times? Is this one of the ancient ghost stories? Some experts would even question the foundation of the story at all. 

The story of how they fled and carried their heads to the hill actually came to the monk, Florentius in a dream in the 8th century. In the 9th century there was a small monastery there and the holiness of the place grew over time.. The site where their supposed graves now are is Zurich’s most well known landmark, Grossmünster church that was built from around 1100. The Wasserkirch was built at the site of their execution. 

They have since the 13th century been saints and important for the people in Zurich. But at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1524, their graves were opened. Some claimed that they were already empty except for a few bone fragments. Some say that an Uri man stole the bones to Andermatt where the skulls of Felix and Regula can be seen today. The rest of the remains were sent back to Zurich today in the church dedicated to the saints. 

The Crypt: Crypt of the Wasserkirche in Zurich: Martyr’s Stone on which, according to legend, the city’s saints Felix and Regula and their servant Exuperantius were beheaded; a natural boulder deposited hereby the Linth glacier during the Würm glaciation. //Source: Roland zh/ Wikimedia

The skulls in question have been carbon dated, where one dates to the Middle Ages. The other skull is actually fragments of two different ones. One from the middle ages, and the other could be from Roman times. 

Were they even there? Some say that the Theban legion is fictitious, although some historians still claim that evidence places the legion in Switzerland at that time in history. Still, their feast day is 11th of September in the Gregorian calendar, and the story is still told, that they rose from their death, head in hand. 

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References:

Ghosts haunt Zurich streets – SWI swissinfo.ch

Felix and Regula – Wikipedia

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The Gray Ghost of Claraplatz: Kleinbasel’s Neighborhood Spirit

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Said to haunt several houses around Kleinbasel district in Basel, Switzerland, the terrifying ghost known as The Gray One was roaming the street. Especially in a now demolished house on Claraplatz, two little girls had to endure his persistent haunting. 

At the main square of Kleinbasel, today’s bustling Claraplatz hums with the familiar rhythm of city life. The Clara Quarter is Basel’s smallest district. It is named after the Clara Church and the Claraplatz in front of it, which were part of the former St. Clara Convent.Shoppers, commuters, and café patrons pass by without giving a second thought to what once stood on this very ground that is the long-forgotten Abbess’ Court (Äbtissinnenhof), a stately residence rich in history and mystery, whose stones held secrets and whose shadows moved with a life of their own.

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Long before it was demolished in 1951, the Abbess’ Court was known for the unsettling presence said to linger within its walls. The house had a ghost, one so persistent and distinct that it earned a name whispered in townhouses and taverns alike: “Der Graue”, The Gray One.

Abbess Court: Image taken in 1934. In 1938, “progressive circles” attempted to sacrifice the impressive Abbess’ Court, to create jobs. Monument preservation and heritage protection agencies were able to temporarily avert the plan for a time. In the spring of 1951, the Abbess’ Court, one of Kleinbasel’s last particularly valuable architectural monuments, was demolished and redeveloped.

A Spirit in Franconian Garb

The most documented hauntings occurred during the 19th century, when the Schetty family took residence within the halls of the Abbess’ Court. The fire engine commander, Joseph Schetty from a wealthy silk-dyer family, moved into the house with his family. And not long after, the Gray One appeared.

The ghost appeared as a somber figure dressed in traditional Franconian costume with a tricorn hat. His most unsettling feature was the braided wig he wore upon his head, a strange, almost theatrical accessory that made his silent materializations all the more unnerving. His elegant buckled shoes moved ghostly around the house, rattling with chains, his voice only miserable moans echoing through the house and the surrounding neighborhood. 

It’s not certain of who this ghost of a man used to be. However, apparently, this house spirit had its roots in the time when Samuel Werenfels gave the Abbess’s Court its baroque appearance in 1748. It also seems that the haunting started way before the Schetty family moved into the house as well. 

The Gray One was a creature of habit and, it seems, of unsettling intent. His favorite haunt was the bedroom of the two young Schetty daughters, where he would appear without warning, standing silently in the dim light, a spectral observer from another age. 

When he appeared to them in their room, staring at them from the corners, the younger sister would try to hide under the covers, as the oldest screamed pious refrains at the ghost, seemingly offending the ghost who would vanish into thin air when he heard it. 

It seemed that the fear he held over the girls slowly subsided. One evening, one of the daughters was sitting in the living room sewing, when a hand was suddenly laid on her shoulder and she said in a stern voice: “Who’s that messing around behind me?”

She knew well that it was the Grey Man. But her fear had turned to anger, and she simply stared at him. This made him disappear, at least for a while.

Rumbles in the Attic from the Gray One

When foul moods overtook him, whether stirred by the behavior of the living or by some ancient grievance now lost to time, The Gray One would retreat to the attic of the house. There, in the dead of night, he made his displeasure known by loud, relentless rumbling that echoed through the house, keeping the Schetty family awake with its strange, otherworldly clatter of chains or moving the furniture around. 

These disturbances became so notorious that even Basel’s typically skeptical townsfolk began to murmur about the restless house spirit on Claraplatz.In the end it was decided that they needed to do something to keep him away. According to the legend, they decided to paint a pentagram on the threshold of the house. But did this truly keep him away?

A Legacy of Hauntings

The legend took an even stranger turn after the death of Joseph Schetty, the patriarch of the household that tried to banish the haunting of his daughters when he was alive. It was said that he, too, became bound to the ancient residence after death. 

According to one enduring tale, a cleaning maid worked in the house some years later after his death. She claimed to have seen Joseph’s ghost seated solemnly in his old study. The room was empty, and yet there he sat as an unquiet shade amid the flickering lamplight.

She continued cleaning the room, not bothering about his ghost, perhaps thinking it was just a visitor in the study. But when she tried to pull the fur out from under his feet to brush it, he threw it at her with an angry look. Evidently, he wanted to be left alone.

The Spirits Beneath Claraplatz

The Haunted Streets: View from Claraplatz into the lower Rebgasse, on the left the junction with Greifengasse, corner house Greifengasse 1 [Biri restaurant], then houses nos. 3 – 17, in the foreground house Claraplatz 1, factory chimneys in Rappoltshof, on the right Aebtische Hof [no. 3]. Many of them are said to have been haunted by The Gray One.

Though the Abbess’ Court was demolished in 1951, the legends did not entirely vanish with its stones. Locals claimed that, for years after the building’s demise, strange phenomena continued to occur in the vicinity: phantom footsteps, inexplicable knocking, and fleeting glimpses of a gray figure moving in reflections or corner shadows, particularly near the old foundations.

Abbess Court Today

Today, Claraplatz bears little resemblance to its ghostly past as the haunted house was demolished and replaced by a modern residential and commercial building. Modern shops and trams now cover the old ground. But for those attuned to such things, the sense of something lingering, a presence beyond reason and time, occasionally seems to cling to the night air.

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References:

Happy Halloween! 🎃 Ein Streifzug durch Basels grusligste Orte — Bajour

Spuk und Geister im alten Basel

Äbtischer Hof am Claraplatz – Basel

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Ghosts of Uetliberg Hill and The Three Beeches by the Manegg Castle Ruins

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A woman scorned by the Manesse family from the ruins of the old Manegg Castle on the hills of Uetliberg in Zurich, she is said to haunt the place she was seduced and ended her life, appearing to passersby on stormy nights. 

From a Swizz perspective, the Uetliberg Hill is perhaps not much of a peak, but it  is Zurich’s very own “mountain”. From the top, visitors can enjoy beautiful views of the city and lake – and perhaps even a glimpse of the Alps. The Uetliberg is particularly popular in November, as its summit is often above the blanket of fog that can cover the city at this time of year. In the winter, the hiking trails to the summit are converted into sledding runs.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

It is also the location of a ghost story that has haunted these hills for centuries. The story of the ghost of a peasant girl who hanged herself on the Uetliberg hill after being betrayed by the cruel and lustful Duke of Manegg

Manegg Castle and The Manesse Family

Today, the Manegg Castle is just ruins, and even the ruins are starting to disappear. Not much is known about who built the castle, but the first documentation we have of it is from 1303. The Manegg castle square used to be a much visited place with a great view over the town, lake and mountain. 

Manegg Castle: The ancestral seat of the now extinct Manesse Family was Manegg Castle in the middle of the Albisberg, on the foothills towards Lake Zurich: It was burned by some mischievous noblemen. According to legend, this happened on Ash Wednesday, when a carnival party staged a playful siege. After the fire, large remnants of the walls survived until the 17th century. Today, only a few foundations are visible.

It was the ancestral seat for the Manesse knightley dynasty. The Manesse family is known primarily through the Manesse Manuscript, a collection of Middle High German songs. Their coat of arms depicts two fighting white knights on a red background, one of whom is victorious. It is a telling coat of arms ; the name comes from Manesser , meaning “man-killer.”

The Manesse family coat of arms: The Manesse Song Manuscript contains poetic works in Middle High German . Its core was produced around 1300 in Zurich , probably in connection with the collecting activities of the Zurich patrician Manesse family . Several additions were made up to around 1340. The text was written by 10–12 different writers, perhaps from the circle of the Grossmünster in Zurich.

The Manesse family were originally merchants and rose to knighthood through their wealth and reached their peak of power between 1250 and 1310. As vassals of the Fraumünster Abbey , the Einsiedeln Monastery , and the German Empire, they were an important family in the city of Zurich before becoming “extinct” around 1415..

In 1393, the castle was sold by Ital Maness to the “Jew Visli or Vifli” at a public auction, but already before this, it seems the castle didn’t have anyone living there anymore. 

Have a look at the panorama of the old castle ruins

The Three Beeches on Uetliberg

The girl was a beautiful and young girl from a nearby farmhouse, this more reclaimed by nature than the castle ruins. She often encountered the castle lord when he was out hunting, or walking into town. They started talking and he would soon seduce her by three beech trees on the hills. He told her he would marry her and she finally gave in. 

After this, he cast her away and treated her coldly with her losing her honor and innocence. To make him change his mind, she sat outside the castle gate, hoping he would take notice and pity her. Instead, he just laughed and sent the dogs after her, who ran out into the forest on the hill, and back to the three beeches. 

There she cursed his name before taking her own life. It is said she was buried close to three beeches on the hill as well as she wouldn’t be able to be buried as a consecrated ground. The trees were supposedly standing up to a few decades ago. 

The Manesse Family: The Manesse family was continuously represented in the Zurich City Council from the 13th to the 15th century. They twice provided the mayor and actively promoted the city’s cultural life. They belonged to the city’s patriciate . Rüdiger von Manesse, son of Ulrich M. Manegg and Adelheid von Breitenlandenberg. Married to Clarita von Hertenberg. Engraving by Johannes Meyer from 1696

The Ghost of Uetliberg Haunting Stormy Nights

Tales started to be told that someone was haunting the area around the three beeches were she was buried. When storms were coming in over the city and thunder roared a fire sprung up from under the trees, even when it was raining. 

As the lightning flashed, illuminating the night, travellers passing by would see a white figure, her long hair loose, beating her chest and wringing her hands, always looking at the old Manegg Castle where the lord who betrayed her came from. 

Now his castle has burned down, crumbled and his name mostly forgotten. 

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References:

Die drei Buchen am Uetliberg | Märchenstiftung 

Manesse – Wikipedia

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