A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next to The Portobello Bar in Dublin is said to be haunting it. Ever since his mistake cost the lives of someone crossing, he is said to be lingering in the area.
In the heart of Dublin’s city centre, where the Grand Canal glides quietly past brick façades and timeworn bridges, stands The Portobello Bar that is one of the pubs to put on the checklist for a haunted pub crawl.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland
The Portobello has seen much of Dublin’s turbulent past. Once known as Davy’s, it became an unlikely stronghold during the 1916 Easter Rising. Rebels seized the building for its strategic position near the bridge, using it to fire on British troops attempting to advance from the nearby Portobello Barracks. Gunfire echoed over the canal, and blood was spilled on the cobblestones just outside the pub’s doors.
The Ghost Haunting the Portobello Bar
At first glance, it looks like any classic Irish pub, warm and inviting with the clink of glasses and low hum of laughter spilling into the night. The Portobello has stood here since 1793, offering shelter and stout to locals and travelers alike. But with its long history, the pub has gathered more than just regular patrons. Some say it still plays host to a guest who never left.
But it is not only the ghosts of war that haunt The Portobello Bar. Locals tell of a restless soul tied to the lock just beside the pub. In the 19th century, it is said that the lock keeper caused the sinking of a horse drawn carriage passing through the canal, either through negligence or in a drunken rage.
The Ghost of the Lock Keeper
Some say he could not live with the guilt or the shame of being fired from his job and took his own life near the water’s edge. Some even claim that it was no suicide at all, but that his death was under mysterious and suspicious circumstances.
On still nights, when the music from the bar fades and the ripples on the canal settle, those walking the towpath have claimed to see him. A shadowed figure stands by the lock, silent and watching. His ghost is said to not have the most gentle energy, some even call him rather vengeful. Some even claim to have felt confused and dizzy, almost falling into the cold canal.
Inside the pub, glasses sometimes clink without cause, doors creak open on their own, and staff report a sudden chill sweeping through the air even when the fire burns high. Patrons have caught their reflection in the window, only to see another figure standing just behind them, vanishing when they turn around.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
In an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting the Val Sinestra Hotel for ages. But who was he when he was alive, and what was his true name before he died in the remote fortress up in the mountains? And is he still haunting the old halls where he never made his recovery?
Tucked away in the silent snowscape of Switzerland’s remote Lower Engadine Valley lies Val Sinestra, a former 1912 spa-hotel, or a Kurhaus, once famed for its healing mineral springs in the Grisons region of Switzerland. The Kurhaus ‘Val Sinestra’ grew into a real sensation, the foreign newspapers and magazines were full of it and the high society came there to take the cure. Some say that that some of the patients never left.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland
Although once a stately institution, In 1914, this glorious period came to an end as the First World War broke out and the Belle Epoque was over for good. The therapy activities of Val Sinestra Hotel closed in 1972, but beneath its former Belle Époque elegance, it harbors a secret far colder in the form of a ghost named “Hermann” who has been haunting its corridors for nearly a century.
The Haunted Hotel: Hotel Val Sinestra in Graubünden is said to be haunted by a former patient, now known as Hermann. // Source: Agnes Monkelbaan/Wiki
From Spa to Specter: The Legend of Hermann
Originally built to treat tuberculosis patients, Val Sinestra drew visitors seeking cures and rest 1500 metres above the sea levels in the remote parts of Switzerland. The Hotel Val Sinestra stands like a fortress on the rock, eleven stories high with a pointed tower, looming above the valley overlooking La Brancla river. The rust-red, arsenic-laden water from the Ulrich spring was said to cure syphilis, people with consumption and anemic patients.
One of the more talked about ghosts has been one named Herman. Hotel owner Adrienne Kruit has claimed strange things have happened since 1978 when her husband bought the building. He passed away in 2018, and most of the ghost stories told from the hotel, comes from their time running the place. It is said that he was greeted at the door by a spirit screaming at him, scaring him so badly he drove all night to the North Sea.
“There were loud noises, keys were swinging on their hooks, and the windows were suddenly open!” she said about her experiences since taking over the Val Sinestra Hotel. “Once, a wall clock fell to the floor right next to me. But the hook was stuck in the wall.”
But who was the famed ghost? There have been a lot of theories, but most of them claim was a Belgian patient, who reportedly stayed so long and grew so attached to the Val Sinestra Hotel and its staff that he refused to leave. He was for a long time known as Hermann.
In 2010 there were also two mediums ordered to check out the haunting of the Val Sinestra Hotel, and said it was a tuberculosis patient called Gilbert, Guillon or Guillaume, perhaps a Belgium soldier from World War I who stayed there in the 1920s haunting the hotel.
It is said that he fell in love with Maria, an employee. After his death in the late 1920s, sightings began: a tall, pale figure wandering the old bathhouse halls at night, sometimes glimpsed in the lobby or elevator area. It is said he mostly haunts the lower floors where the patients used to stay.
Staff and guests describe Hermann as mischievously protective of the Val Sinestra Hotel. Windows will open on their own, the lift runs unoccupied, and he’s even moved objects.
Haunted Floors & Hotel Whispers
There is little evidence to the story of the poor patient at Val Sinestra Hotel today, especially since the guestbook from this time was stolen at some point.
The old bathhouse floor—a place of healing in life—has become the epicenter of paranormal activity. Lights flicker, faucets run without explanation, windows open suddenly, wine glasses begin to ring, balls of light emerge at night and cold drafts pierce the temperature of the rooms. Visitors report waking to the hiss of steam and feeling a distant presence when alone..
Visiting the Phantom’s Realm at Val Sinestra Hotel
Val Sinestra remains an operational hotel, its ghostly inhabitant part of its allure. Guests hoping to connect with Hermann are advised to stay near the old bathhouse, wander empty corridors at dusk, and be open to subtle signs: a misplaced key, sudden draft, or perhaps a feeling of presence. As one medium noted, Hermann doesn’t mean harm—he’s just a restless guardian who cares deeply… and quietly.
According to Thomas Frei and other ghost hunters who have investigated the hotel for years, there are other ghosts said to haunt it as well. A man, a woman and a little girl is also said to be lingering inside of the halls.
Val Sinestra Hotel stands as a beautifully preserved relic of early 20th-century health resorts—but it is Hermann’s spectral shadow that lingers darkest. And in the silent snowfall of Lower Engadine, the gentle hum of unseen footsteps may well be the echo of a man who never truly left.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
After his master died at sea, the faithful dog was by his master’s grave, day in and day out. After dying of hunger and grief it is said that the Newfoundland dog is still seen, slipping between the graves at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
It is hardly surprising that Ireland’s largest burial ground should be haunted. Glasnevin Cemetery, sprawling over 124 acres and holding more than 1.5 million burials, is a city of the dead that overshadows the living Dublin beyond its gates. Founded in 1832 by Daniel O’Connell, it was intended as a place where Catholics could finally bury their dead with dignity. Over the years it has grown into the final resting place of rebels, revolutionaries, poets, politicians, and ordinary citizens whose lives were cut short by famine, war, or disease. A place of history, yes, but also a place where the past refuses to stay buried.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland
By day, Glasnevin Cemetery, or Reilig Ghlas Naíon as it is in Irish, feels like an open-air museum of Irish identity. Visitors trace the names of towering figures such as Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, and Constance Markievicz carved into stone. The O’Connell Tower rises high above the graves, an imposing monument to “The Liberator” himself. But when the sun sets, the solemn dignity of the cemetery changes. The shadows deepen. The endless rows of crosses and crypts begin to look like silent witnesses, and the air grows heavy with the weight of countless unquiet souls.
Glasnevin Cemetery: Originally a monastery established by Saint Mobhi in the sixth century. A settlement grew around the monastery but would see tumultuous times during the Viking Age when Vikings regularly raided the coasts of Ireland. Record shows the settlement was destroyed by Vikings but would later come to be rebuilt and absorbed as part of Dublin city.
The Haunted Glasnevin Cemetery
Among the many legends tied to the cemetery, the most famous is not of a statesman or a rebel, but of a loyal Newfoundland dog. His master, Captain John McNeill Boyd, perished during a daring sea rescue in 1861 at Dun Laoghaire when the ship, The Neptun smashed into the east pier, trying to dock in the storm.
His body was retrieved from the sea many days later, and according to the story, even then, the dog was onboard and refused to leave his master’s side. Boyd was buried at Glasnevin, and the dog lay faithfully beside his grave, refusing to leave until starvation claimed him. Even death did not end his vigil. Witnesses still report seeing the spectral hound pacing near Boyd’s headstone, or padding silently near his statue in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. They say on misty nights you can hear his paws on the gravel and catch the faint glimmer of eyes watching from between the stones.
The dog is not the only lingering presence. Staff and visitors alike have spoken of unexplained footsteps echoing along the pathways when no one is there. Voices whisper in the stillness, names spoken in the dark. Some claim to see fleeting figures dressed in Victorian mourning clothes vanish behind mausoleums. Others describe the heavy sensation of being watched as if the dead resent the intrusion of the living into their eternal city.
The Resurrectionists of Glasnevin Cemetery
As if ghosts were not enough, Glasnevin has its darker, flesh-and-bone history to contend with. In the 19th century, body-snatching was a thriving trade in Dublin. Known as “resurrectionists,” these grave robbers would dig up freshly buried corpses under cover of night and sell them to medical schools desperate for cadavers to dissect. Glasnevin, vast and new, became a prime hunting ground. Families, terrified that their loved ones might be stolen and sold like contraband, hired guards to keep watch over graves.
Lived Once, Buried Twice: Margorie McCall, who was buried in 1705 in Glasnevin Cemetery. Hours after her funeral, grave robbers exhumed her body and tried to cut off her finger to steal one of her rings. Margorie woke up from the coma-like state and the terrified body snatchers ran off. She was dug up and her husband opened the door he fainted. Margorie lived in Lurgan for years after this. When she finally died, she was once again interred in Shankhill graveyard in Belfast, where to this day her gravestone bears the inscription: “Margorie McCall, Lived Once, Buried Twice.”
So many feared the resurrectionists that Glasnevin Cemetery built high watchtowers and employed night patrols with muskets and dogs. Relatives sometimes slept on top of graves for weeks to protect the bodies until they decayed beyond value to the anatomists. It was a time when the living still fought to keep the dead at rest, but the desecration left a mark. Some whisper that the restless spirits of those disturbed from their graves are still wandering the grounds, denied the peace they were promised.
A Cemetery That Never Sleeps
Glasnevin also bears witness to Ireland’s most tragic chapters. The Great Famine filled mass graves here with thousands, their names lost to history. Cholera victims were buried under hurried earth, and soldiers from wars far beyond Ireland’s shores returned only to find their rest here. Perhaps it is this sheer density of sorrow that gives the place its atmosphere. Some say the ground is too saturated with grief to ever be quiet.
Today, Glasnevin is open to those who dare walk its avenues. You may wander alone among the towering Celtic crosses and ornate angels, or you may join one of the Irish History Tours, where guides speak not only of patriots and poets but of the strange, unsettling stories passed down through generations. They will tell you that the past is not gone in Glasnevin. It lingers, waiting for those who listen closely.
If you find yourself in Dublin, step beyond the gates of Glasnevin Cemetery. But tread carefully. For in this vast necropolis, the boundary between the living and the dead is fragile. And not all the souls here rest quietly.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
Once, the city of Bern was filled with nuns working and living inside of the city walls. According to ghost stories though, some of them remained, even after the Reformation that closed their convents down. And those stories tell about them being guilty of terrible things with terrible ends.
In the winding alleys and cloistered ruins of Bern, ghosts drift beneath the vaulted ceilings of forgotten convents. Long before the Protestant Reformation swept through Bern in the early 16th century, the city throbbed with the sacred heartbeat of Catholic ritual. Monasteries, nunneries, and chapels dotted the cityscape, and pious women in black habits tended to the sick, the poor, and the orphaned. Some were devout and willing. Others were not.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland
By November 1523, the tides had turned. Under pressure from reformist leaders, the Bernese city council ordered that the words of the Bible be preached directly—without the filter of Rome. Within months, the convents were abandoned. The once-sacred cloisters stood silent. But silence is not absence. And in Bern, some souls remained behind… trapped.
The Walled-Up Nun
One of the ghost stories that were told about the Bernese nuns was one left behind, still inside of her old convent walls, and it is said that even in death, her face cries out.
It was an ordinary day when a man, strolling past a decaying monastery wall near the heart of Bern, caught sight of something horrifying. The story doesn’t really specify which building this happened in. It is also a story that is said to have happened before 1919, as it was printed in a collection of ghost stories that year.
Behind a narrow, crumbling window he claimed to have seen a face. Pale, pleading, trapped. He rushed into the building, but the room was empty. The very spot where she had stared down was bare stone and shadow. No sound. No warmth. No sign of life.
Haunted by the vision, he returned the next night. That’s when he heard it. A cacophony from beyond the walls: roars, thuds, the pounding of fists or perhaps hooves. Amidst the fury, a woman’s voice wept and moaned, begging for deliverance. He screamed for help. Together with another man, he began tapping along the walls until one section gave a hollow response. Stone by stone, they tore it open.
And there she was.
A skeleton, upright, impossibly intact, as though caught in her final scream. Her black robes hung in rags from brittle bones. A rosary was knotted in her clenched, skeletal hands. Her skull tilted ever so slightly toward the light, toward freedom that was denied.
She had been walled up alive. Whether for punishment, penance, or cruelty, no one knows. But her agony never left the stone.
The Dancing Beguines Around Christmas
On quiet, moonlit nights near the Nydeggbrücke, those with the rare gift of second sight may glimpse something truly otherworldly. Seven small lights rise from the river’s dark waters and begin to swirl and twirl, chasing one another in joyful abandon above the gentle current. This is from the collected ghost stories by Hedwig Correvon.
Beguines: Although they are called Beguines, were they really this? The Beguines were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal religious vows. Although they promised not to marry “as long as they lived as Beguines”, to quote an early Rule of Life, they were free to leave at any time. Beguines were part of a larger spiritual revival movement of the 13th century that stressed imitation of Jesus’ life through voluntary poverty, care of the poor and sick, and religious devotion.
These are no ordinary flames; they are the spirits of the Beguines, young women once cloistered in the monastery at Klösterlistutz against their will. According to legend, their restless souls are granted a fleeting moment of freedom each Christmas to dance above the river they were once forbidden to cross. As the clock at Nydegg Church strikes midnight, their ghostly game ends in a soft sigh and as they vanish, they are leaving only ripples on the water and a chill in the air.
The Sinful Nuns of the Old City Hall
There are also those claiming that a group of nuns have been haunting the area around the old cityhall at Rathaus for ages. Towards Schipfe, there is an iron door to the town halls, said to be so rusty that no one can open it. This is at least how it was described in 1919 in a collection of ghost stories from Bern.
At night, it opened however and a group of nuns dressed in all black comes out, walking to the fountain. It is said that without saying anything they start to throw the small and dead bodies of children they have drowned in the well.
The Faithless Nun and Her Black Cat
Just beyond the medieval city’s old west gate lies Bubenbergraine, possibly an old name and most likely referring to the area now known as Bubenbergplatz in Bern. The Bubenbergplatz is a plaza in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center. It is part of the area outside the third city walls. This is where the Holy Spirit Convent once stood, a place of quiet devotion, cloistered halls, and whispered transgressions. Though the convent was dissolved in the Reformation, not all its residents departed.
For over a century, a sleek, spectral black cat has haunted a house built on those same grounds. By day it hides in old cupboards or among the pergolas that once shielded nuns from worldly eyes. But at night, it stalks doorways and dreams.
One man, returning late, found the feline watching him. When he tried to shoo it, the cat’s eyes flashed like twin embers. Its body swelled to monstrous proportions. The man fell on the spot, unconscious. He died days later in inexplicable agony.
“The faithless nun beat him,” the old Bernese muttered. She had betrayed her vows in life—perhaps with men, perhaps with ambition. Whatever her sins, her punishment is eternal. She walks now in feline guise, dooming any who mock her presence.
She is not the only one.
The Poisoner of Bubenbergrain
Not all ghosts haunting the area called Bubenbergrain in the collection of ghost stories from Bern from 1919 were nuns though. Some spirits haunt out of guilt. Others out of pleasure.
On quiet, silver-drenched nights in Bubenbergrain, a woman appears on the terrace of her former home. Her face is still beautiful, adorned with the yellow Schwefelhütchen cap once worn by Bernese noblewomen. Moonlight glints on the gold chains of her ancient costume.
She stands at the very spot where she once mixed the poison meant for her husband and son, both of whom had discovered her betrayal when she had an affair. Both of whom now lie in Bernese soil. Though the years have passed, her spirit lingers. Those who have seen her say she never moves, never speaks, only watches.
Sacred Walls, Damned Souls
These are not sweet legends to comfort children. They are warning signs carved into Bern’s foundation. Once, these streets rang with the chants of nuns, the bells of convent towers, the echo of whispered prayers. But beneath those hymns lay darker stories of forced vows, secret lovers, silent punishments. And when the Reformation scattered the living, the dead stayed behind.
Ghostly cats now wander where piety once walked. Eyes shine from beneath doorsteps. Shadows rustle across crumbling convent walls. Some say they hear weeping at night from the stones of the Heiliggeistkirche, once the chapel of the Holy Spirit Convent. Others avoid Bubenbergraine entirely after sundown.
If you walk Bern’s Old Town, take heed. What looks like a cat may not be. What seems like a whisper may be a cry. And what appears to be a ruin may, in truth, still house the cloistered sins of centuries.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
Is Cell Number 11 in the former prison for the criminally insane haunted? The attic of the Norwegian Justice Museum in Trondheim, Norway has had many who come out, claiming so.
High above Erling Skakkes gate in Trondheim in Norway, beneath the slanted roof of an old and imposing building, lies a place many claim they will never forget. The former criminal asylum, now known as the Norwegian Justice Museum, is steeped in legal history, human suffering, and quiet despair.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway
Among its many rooms, one small space has earned a reputation that continues to unsettle visitors long after they leave. This is Cell Number 11.
The Haunted House: Almshouse (“Det nye fattghuset”, built 1843, in front, to the right) and Norwegian National Museum of Justice (Norwegian: Justismuseet, built as prison in 1833) in Erling Skakkes gate Street in Trondheim, Norway exhibiting artifacts from the country’s penal justice and law enforcement history. The building was built as a prison in 1833. // Image Source
A Building That Never Truly Fell Silent
The structure once served as a criminal asylum, housing inmates deemed unfit for ordinary prisons. Over time, the building became associated with isolation, punishment, and psychological torment. Today, the halls are clean and curated, filled with exhibits and glass cases. Yet those who work there speak of another side, one that emerges after hours.
Footsteps have been heard echoing from the attic cell wing when no one is present. Low voices have been reported, murmuring just beyond the edge of hearing. The sounds are not constant, but when they come, they seem deliberate, as if someone is pacing the narrow corridors with purpose.
The Haunted Prison Cells: The Norwegian Justice Museum in Trondheim, formerly a criminal asylum, is known for its eerie stories and haunted reputation. Especially inside of Cell Number 11, there have been rumors of ghosts haunting it still. // Source
Among other things, a young journalist claimed to have heard footsteps coming towards him when he was voluntarily locked inside the museum.
Nearly every story leads back to the same place.
The Legend of Cell Number 11
Cell Number 11 is small, windowless, and oppressive. It is barely large enough to stand upright in comfort. Over the years, it has become the center of Trondheim’s most enduring ghost stories.
According to accounts once published in local newspapers, a clairvoyant woman claimed the cell is haunted by the spirit of a judge. This judge, she said, had wrongfully sentenced a young man to a long period of confinement in that very cell. The prisoner eventually took his own life there, driven to despair by isolation and injustice.
After the judge’s death, the spirit is said to have returned to the cell, bound to the place where his decision had destroyed another life. Whether out of guilt or obsession, the apparition is believed to linger, trapped in the space where tragedy unfolded.
Nights Spent in the Cell
In later years, a number of visitors chose to spend the night inside Cell Number 11. Some entered confidently, treating the experience as a test of nerves. Many emerged changed.
Several reported hearing footsteps moving just outside the cell door, slow and deliberate. Others described the sensation of not being alone, of sharing the darkness with an unseen presence. A few spoke of whispers, too indistinct to understand but close enough to feel intimate and threatening.
According to museum director Johan S. Helberg, not everyone who entered the cell left with their bravado intact. Fear has a way of settling in when the door closes and the light disappears.
A Museum That Welcomes Its Ghosts
The museum has a separate room dedicated to World War II. Kunt Sivertsen describes himself as a retired police officer and is currently an advisor at the museum. He was responsible for putting together this exhibition in the 1990s. According to him, there was stuff happening in this room as well that they didn’t have any explanation for:
– On several occasions, it has happened that you suddenly smell the scent of Brut aftershave in the middle of the room.
No official claim has ever been made that the museum is haunted. Still, the staff have never attempted to banish whatever may dwell within its walls. When a priest once offered to cleanse the building, the offer was politely declined.
The reasoning was simple. If spirits exist there, they are part of the building’s story.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
Where the Nydegg Church is today, there once used to be a castle. Tales about ghosts lingering around the old Nydegg Castle and the stairs leading up to it still roams. And one of the more infamous and feared ghosts of Bern is the Burgträppe-Balzli.
High above the bend of the Aare River in Bern, where ancient cobbled alleys twist through the heart of the Old City, lies the Nydegg, an old district with centuries-old bones and whispers of things best left in the past.
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Though today the area bustles with the charm of a medieval town center, one shadow remains darker than the rest: that of Burgträppe-Balzli, the ghostly scourge said to haunt the ruined stairway of the once-mighty Nydeggburg Castle.
Burgtreppe in Bern: Castle stairs from Mattenenge to Nydegghöfli. // Source
A Castle Lost, but Not Forgotten
Nydegg Castle stood at the eastern tip of Bern’s Zähringerstadt, the city’s oldest neighborhood, founded in 1191. Built as a stronghold to watch over the Aare River and secure Bern’s eastern flank.
Nydegg Castle: Built by Berchtold IV of Zähringen (second half of the 12th century). The extent of the town founded by Berchtold V is also disputed: either the first castle reached as far as Kreuzgasse in 1191 and was extended at the beginning of the 13th century by a second castle roughly where the choir of Nydegg Church is today. After the destruction of Nydegg Castle (1268?), the (Nydegg) Stalden was created.
By 1268, the Nydeggburg Castle had met a mysterious and decisive end, destroyed with little fanfare or record. The Bernese demolished the castle to make room for the Nydegg Quarter and to prevent any claims by other noble families after the Zähringen family was conquered. In a charter dated January 16, 1274, King Rudolf I of Habsburg forgave the city of Bern for the destruction of the castle.
In its place rose homes, workshops, and busy water-powered mills that soon filled the air with the grinding and creaking of early industry. Also the Nydegg Church was built on the site.
The Gruesome Ghost of the Burgträppe
Locals call him Burgträppe-Balzli, and his tale has been whispered down generations and is perhaps one of the more well known ghosts from Bern. He is no ordinary phantom and is said to be strange, bitter, and even violent, Balzli seems to choose his victims carefully. According to legend, he doesn’t go after the women at all, but men walking up and down the stairs claim to have been beaten by some unseen force.
Burgtreppe: Castle stairs at Nydegg Church // Source
But who is this ghost said to still linger in the stairs? Did he have connections to the castle that once stood there? Did something terrible happen on the stairs that he is now trying to get back at?
Whatever the truth, his rage is eternal. On cold winter nights, passersby near the stairway report hearing echoing thumps like fists pounding stone and the sudden appearance of bruises on the bodies of those who dared tread too close.
Ghostly Builders in the Night
Balzli is not alone in his haunting the area around Nydegg and where the castle once was. Witnesses have reported hearing ghostly craftsmen from older times. They are heard hammering, dragging stone, and dismantling invisible walls. These apparitions appear on bitter winter nights, just when the fog off the Aare is thick.
Ruins of a Castle:Not much remains from the old castle. Landing gate of Nydegg Castle in Bern, around 1300. // Source.
According to legend, these ghosts are the restless spirits of the workers who tore down the castle in 1268, cursed to repeat their demolition for eternity.
So, if you find yourself wandering the Nydegg at night, mind the stairway. Avoid the shadows clinging to the stones. And if you hear footsteps behind you on the stairs, don’t stop and don’t turn around.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
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.
Hidden among quiet fields outside Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, the ruined walls of Old Beaupre Castle rise in broken silence. Known in Welsh as Hen Gastell y Bewpyr, this medieval fortified manor has carried many names through the centuries, from Beawpire to Y Bewpur, but its reputation has remained unchanged.
Long after its halls fell into decay, something else is said to have remained behind in Llanfair. Since Victorian times, Beaupre has been whispered about as a place where the past refuses to lie still.
Old Beaupre Castle: The haunting ruins of Old Beaupre Castle in Wales, shrouded in mist and mystery of the The Gwrach y Rhibyn. // Source
A Castle Steeped in Shadow
Old Beaupre Castle dates back to the medieval period, once serving as a fortified manor for powerful families who controlled the surrounding lands. The structure was never a grand military stronghold, but it was a place of authority and domestic life, standing close to a river that winds quietly through the landscape. From it was built in the 1300s until the 18th century, it was owned by the Basset family.
Over time, the manor fell into ruin, its stones reclaimed by ivy and weather, until only fragments of walls and arches were left to mark its presence.
Yet even as the castle faded from practical use, reports of strange happenings persisted. Victorian era accounts describe unease among those who lived or worked nearby. Owners of the land spoke openly of a phantom tied to the ruins, a presence that made itself known at dusk and lingered long after night had fallen.
Courtyard: View through the arches of Old Beaupre Castle, showcasing its medieval architecture and tranquil courtyard. // Source: Beaupre Castle Courtyard by Guy Butler-Madden
The Gwrach y Rhibyn of Beaupre
According to folklore recorded by Alvin Nicholas of Supernatural Wales, Old Beaupre Castle was once believed to be haunted by a fearsome spirit known as the Gwrach y Rhibyn. This entity, often described as a Welsh counterpart to the banshee, is a harbinger of death whose appearance signals tragedy to come. At Beaupre, the Gwrach y Rhibyn was said to rise from the river beside the castle as twilight settled over the ruins.
Witnesses described a horrifying figure emerging from the mist. She wrung her hands in anguish, her arms ending in leathery, bat-like wings that flapped weakly as she moved. Her cries echoed through the broken stone, a sound of grief so raw that local workers reportedly froze in place when they heard it. Some claimed to see her wandering among the ruins, wailing and sobbing as if mourning something long lost.
Kissing-gate on the footpath to Beaupre Castle: An entrance gate leading to the serene landscape near Old Beaupre Castle, a site steeped in Welsh folklore and haunted legends. // Source: Image by John Lord
Her appearance was never seen as harmless. Like the banshee, her presence was believed to foretell death or disaster for those connected to the land.
The Witch in the Courtyard
When the solicitor bought the estate, he became interested in the story of the Gwrach y Rhibyn. A year or two before the owner’s death, an old man in the Vale of Glamorgan shared the following tale: Above the castle entrance, a panel shows the Bassett arms and motto, ‘Gwell angau na chwilydd’ (‘Rather death than shame’). The old man was working near this door at twilight when he heard a soft, sad wailing sound in the courtyard. He noticed a shadowy figure in the grand porch, wringing its hands and appearing distressed. As he approached, the figure vanished.
Curiosity led him deeper inside, where a voice whispered, ‘Lost! lost! lost!’ He looked around but saw no one. Quietly, he returned to the porch, where the wailing began again. The figure with waving hands reappeared, and he heard a sweet yet sad voice crying, ‘Restore! restore! restore!’ The next day, he shared his experience with the solicitor who owned the castle. ‘I know all about it,’ the kind gentleman from Glamorgan said. ‘Strange voices often remind us of the past and guide us for the future.’ The old man realized the owner had also encountered the Gwrach y rhibyn wandering and wailing around the beautiful old Beaupré.
What binds the Gwrach y Rhibyn to Beaupre Castle remains unclear. Some believe she is the restless spirit of a woman who died tragically near the river, bound to the place by grief. Others argue she is something older, a manifestation of ancient Welsh folklore drawn to sites of power and loss. The river, the ruins and the long abandonment of the manor may have created the perfect conditions for such a spirit to linger.
Old Beaupre Castle: The haunting ruins of Old Beaupre Castle, steeped in history and folklore, stand in the Vale of Glamorgan. // Source: Wikimedia/by John Lord
Echoes Among the Ruins
Today, Old Beaupre Castle stands open to visitors and the elements. By day it appears peaceful, almost forgotten by the rest of the world as a place thought to have some of the Magna Carta written here. But as evening falls and the light fades, the ruins take on a different character. The river nearby reflects the darkening sky, and the wind slips through the broken arches with a mournful sound.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
It is said a cross shows up in the window of the Iveagh House in Dublin, the former home of the powerful Guinness family. Legend has it’s a haunting that happened after a maid was denied her last rites in the house.
Along St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, a garden square and public park in the city, Iveagh House at 80-81 in that bustling street, is a gleaming Georgian mansion that holds centuries of secrets behind its refined white façade. There is also a ghostly mystery said to occur there, seen through the windows every Holy Thursday.
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Built in 1736, it was once two separate houses before Benjamin Guinness, grandson of the famed Arthur Guinness, merged them into one grand residence in 1862. Today, the stately home serves as the headquarters of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
The legend tells of a young servant girl who once worked for the Guinness family. When illness struck her, she lay dying in her room upstairs, pleading for a priest to administer her last rites as she was a devout catholic.
The household, devout Protestants themselves, refused her this last request. Desperate and feverish, the girl clung to her rosary beads, but the story says they were torn from her hands and thrown from the window into the garden below. Her cries faded, and by morning she was gone.
The Cross on Holy Thursday
Not long after her death, the house began to draw attention from the city. On every Holy Thursday from then, a faint yet unmistakable cross appeared on one of the panes of glass in the girl’s room. Crowds were said to have gathered in the street below to witness it, murmuring prayers and tracing the sign with trembling fingers. No matter how many times the window was cleaned or replaced, the cross was said to reappear, glowing faintly against the light.
There are also those claiming it is the spirit of Dermot O’Hurley, the Archbishop of Cashel, who was hanged nearby on the 20th of June, 1584.
To this day, staff working late in Iveagh House sometimes speak of a quiet unease that settles in the upper rooms, as though someone still lingers there in restless faith. The cross may have faded into legend, but the sorrow of the servant girl seems etched into the air of the old Guinness mansion.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
Said to have been conjured up by a sorcerer or even the fairy folk themselves, Pennard Castles history is both mysterious and haunted by the sound of the howling witch left in the sandy ruins of the abandoned castle in Wales.
Rising above the windswept coastline of the Gower Peninsula, the crumbling remains of Pennard Castle sit watchfully on their cliff, surrounded by shifting sands and centuries of uncanny legends where only ghosts remain.
What stands today is little more than weathered stone and silent arches, yet the castle has inspired some of the most unsettling stories in Welsh folklore. Its desolation is not simply the work of time. Locals whisper that Pennard’s downfall began with curses, fairy vengeance, and the dark attentions of a supernatural hag.
There is little recorded about the castle and throughout centuries more myths and legends than facts have etched themselves into the mind of the locals.
Folklore claims Pennard Castle was slowly built with mortar and sweat like its neighbors. Instead, it appeared in a single moonlit night. The fair folk, who were said to haunt the nearby woods and hollows, are sometimes credited with its construction. Sometimes it is said it was a sorcerer who conjured the castle one night to save himself from death by the Normans.
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The ruins of Pennard Castle overlay an earlier Norman earth timber ringwork fortification. The cliffs on the north and west side offered strategic defences, and a stone castle was built in the 1300s. The castle changed hands from the Broase clan to the Mowbray, Despenser, and Beauchamp families.
Exceptionally stormy weather in the 13th and 14th centuries blew large amounts of sand into and around it. The sandy storms damaged the castle structure so much the ones living in it abandoned it. By the 1650s, the historical records talk about the desolate ruins of the castle buried in sand.
The Curse of the Fair Folk over Pennard Castle
So who were these fair folk said to be the ones building the castle? Along the Parkmill route in the area, you will also find an abundance of Buckthorn, the favourite of the Welsh Faeries, or Lunantisidhe from Irish folklore. Some also say this is a sign of the Welsh version of them and their presence around the castle.
One of Pennard’s most enduring legends tells of a wedding feast held by the lord of the castle. As he and his guests celebrated, music drifted into the hall from the courtyard. There, the fair folk, or Verry folk, “verry-folks”, the fairies of Gower, were dancing beneath the moon.
The Verry-Folks: The Gower Peninsula is a region rich in folklore and a particular one because of the present population being by ancestry of English and Flemish as well as Cornish and Welsh. One of its more endearing legends is that of the Gower Verry Volk – fairy folk. Local mythology describes these little people as capricious, lively, and fond of music, dancing and general merriment. // Source
Instead of welcoming them or offering hospitality, the lord reacted with anger and drove them out. Insulted and furious, the fairies cursed the fortress and its master. That same night, winds howled across the coast and a tide of sand rose like a living force. By dawn, the castle was half buried. Within a few short years, so much sand had piled against the walls that Pennard became uninhabitable. Some tales claim that while Pennard was choked by sand, the beaches of Ireland were stripped bare, the grains carried across the sea as part of the curse.
The Hag of Pennard Castle
The legends of Pennard do not end with the fair folk. The castle is also tied to a terrifying spirit known as a Gwrach y Rhibyn, a witch or hag of death whose screeches and cries echo across the cliffs. Like the banshee of Irish folklore, she appears before a death in certain old families, often in the form of a crow-like creature hunched in the shadows.
Some say that it was the sorcerer who conjured up the castle who invoked her to protect him from the Normans and that she would not let any mortal spend the night in the castle.
If that were not frightening enough, she is said to physically attack anyone foolish enough to sleep among the ruins. Some versions of the tale say she leaps upon any living soul who beds down inside the castle walls. Others claim she only assaults those from the ancient local lineages she has shadowed for generations. The outcome is seldom good. Those who dared to sleep in Pennard Castle were said to awaken mad, die before morning, or in stranger cases rise as poets, cursed with visions they could never fully express.
Legend has it that one Carmarthen man, daring to spend the night in the ruined castle, was attacked by the Gwrach. The ghostly figure swooped down upon him, leaving him bruised and bloodied. Though he survived, he was cursed to live the rest of his life as a madman.
The Weeping Woman in the Ruins
Visitors sometimes report the sound of a woman crying among the broken walls when the wind dies and the dunes lie still. Some believe she is a tragic bride, forever mourning a lost love. A maiden reputedly threw herself off nearby Penrice Hill after avenging the death of her lover.
Others insist the weeping maiden is none other than the gwrach herself, changing form as suits her purpose. Whether a spirit of sorrow or a harbinger of death, her presence lingers in the night air, carried over the sands like a lament for the castle and the lives it claimed.
A Place Where Time Does Not Rest
Pennard Castle has long since fallen to ruin, its halls open to the sky and its gates claimed by sand. the rare county flower of Glamorgan extensively on the castle site.
Yet the stories remain. The curses of the fair folk, the deathly hag, the unseen bride, and the chilling fate of those who sleep within its walls all cling to the site as stubbornly as the dunes that smothered it.
A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.
An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.
In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
Old cities carry old ghost stories, and Bern in Switzerland is no exception. From the old buildings filled with history to the depth of the Aare river, here are some of the most haunted places in Bern.
Centuries after the vampire panic starting with the death of Petar Blagojević, another vampire was said to haunt the Serbian village, Kisiljevo. Who was Ruža Vlajna and what happened to her?
Said to be the mass burial place for the dead Irish Independence rebels from 1798, the Croppie’s Acre in Dublin is said to be haunted by their lingering souls.
Once a green paradise, the legend says the fairies protected the people of Val Gerina valley in the Swiss alps. Driven by greed to impress a woman however, the son meant to continue the tradition and friendship with the fairies, brought it all down.
Haunted by its former Fellows, Trinity College in Dublin is said to be filled with eerie spirits where even the bell tolls after dark when the shadows take over campus.
Crammed into the ancient towers and dark corner of St Donat’s Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, the ghosts lingering within these walls are old and persistent.
On the cliffs overlooking the restless waters of the Bristol Channel, St Donat’s Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan has stood for nearly a thousand years 25 km west of Cardiff. Some claim that for the longest time, ghosts have been roaming the area.
The Haunted St. Donat’s Castle: Said to be haunted by plenty of ghosts and phantom figures, it is today used as a school. // Source
Built in the twelfth century and once the proud seat of the powerful Stradling family, its towers and battlements have seen war, wealth, and whispered tragedy. Since 1962, it has housed an international secondary school called Atlantic College.
The St. Donat’s Castle History
Antique ceilings, fireplaces, a moat, battlements, dungeons – in short, over 800 years of history, which also included Celtic kings defying the Romans, the Norman invasion of Wales and centuries of slowly decaying neglect.
Castle & church, St. Donats, Glamorganshire from around 1835.
The oldest parts of St Donat’s castle were built in the 12th century by the De Hawey family, though the only surviving parts left are the keep and what is now the inner curtain wall.
The castle was passed into the ownership of the Stradling family in 1298 with the marriage of Sir Peter Stradling to Joan de Hawey. The new owners spent a fortune expanding the castle and added many features including the outer gatehouse and curtain wall in 1300, as well as making the keep larger, with the inner court being built some 200 years later.
The Ghost of Lady Stradling
The most fearsome spirit said to haunt St Donat’s is Lady Stradling, a restless ghost whose sorrow has never found peace. It is also one of the ghost stories told the longest, and there are written sources about her haunting to at least the pre-1880s.
There are tales about seeing a Lady in White drifting through the corridors, bearing a sense and atmosphere of intense melancholy. It is said that her husband died in one of the many crusades Europeans took in medieval times. Her name or who her husband supposedly was has been up for speculation.
There are many variations to her story though. Some versions tell of betrayal and murder within her own family. Some say her haunting is because of her mourning as her husband fell in battle, some she was slain by a jealous husband, others that a violent relative ended her life in a fit of rage.
Whatever the truth, her spirit lingers, bound to the castle that witnessed her end. She has most commonly been reported in the Long Gallery area. Around the Lady Anne Tower, an apparition of a woman dressed in Medieval clothing, believed to be Lady Stradling has been spotted. It is also said that screams and moans are coming from the haunted tower.
The Hag of the Mist
Witnesses who claim to have seen Lady Stradling describe her in many unsettling forms. Some say she appears as an old, haggard woman with eyes hollowed by centuries of grief, her long fingers scratching at the windows as she cries into the storm. Others speak of a figure of an elegant lady clad in a gown of fine silk, her footsteps light and rhythmic, the soft click of high heels echoing through the corridors long after midnight.
Like the banshee of Irish lore, her wailing is said to herald death within the family. In Wales, this form of a ghost is called The Gwrach y Rhibyn, or the Hag of the Mist. When her voice is heard piercing the night air, the Stradlings or those connected to their legacy know that loss is soon to follow.
Ghost of Pirates and Phantom Pipers
In 1449, Henry Stradling, along with his wife and child “while sailing from his house in Somersetshire to his house in Wales” were captured by the notorious Breton pirate, Colyn Dolphin, who plundered the Welsh coast from Lundy Island. The pirate demanded a large ransom which was met by the Stradlings after they sold off two of their manors (Tregwilym in Wales and one in Oxfordshire) and a large quantity of wool.
After the stories spread and were exaggerated by poems, songs and legends, and ghost stories of pirates haunting the area around the castle started.
Many visitors have recounted hearing the distant sound of bagpipes echoing through the castle, despite there being no visible source for the music. Local legend suggests this phenomenon is the work of a Scottish piper who met his demise at St. Donat’s Castle.
The Headless Horseman
Stories of a headless horseman riding through the castle grounds have persisted over the years. While rare, those who claim to have seen him describe a spectral figure mounted on a ghostly horse, illuminated by an eerie glow. Although not a very descriptive haunting, a very common one around the British Isles.
Some visitors have reported hearing the plaintive cries of a child reverberating through the castle, particularly during the night. The origin of these sorrowful wails remains a mystery, though local tales speculate they may belong to a child who met a tragic end within the castle’s walls.
There was even a witch called Mally-y-Nos. a perplexing lady named Mallt-y-Nos (Matilda of the Night), said to haunt the area around the castle.
The Ghost of Thomas Stradling
The Stradling’s managed to hold onto the castle until the death of Sir Thomas Stradling in 1738, when ownership passed to Sir John Tyrwhitt, his friend.
Sir Thomas Stradling was unmarried and in his twenties when he planned to go on the Grand Tour with his close friend from university, Sir John Tyrwhitt, the fifth baronet of Stainfield. Before the two young gentlemen set out on this great adventure, they made a pact with each other. If either was to die while on this tour, then the other would inherit the estate of the deceased. Or so it was claimed.
While travelling Sir Thomas Stradling was killed in a duel on the 27th of September, 1738 in Montpellier in France. According to folklore, Sir Thomas Stradling’s nurse, who had raised him since he was a baby, wished to pay her respects and invited to see his body.
She was convinced that the man in the coffin was not Sir Thomas, but an imposter. She knew that, as a small boy, Sir Thomas had lost a finger on his left hand as it had been bitten off by a donkey, at least that’s what the story said.. But the man inside the coffin had all his fingers intact. But where then was Sir Thomas?
Gossip was rife on the subject, and for years afterwards, locals visiting St Donat’s Church would point at Sir Thomas’ tomb and declare: “That is where the imposter lies”.
Sir Thomas had left no heir, but made a verbal agreement with Sir John Tyrwhitt as well as a written will. In it, he had left the castle and his entire estate to his cousin, Bussey Mansel, the 4th baron of Margam. But when Bussey had visited St Donat’s Castle after his death, he had been confronted by the ghost of one of the Stradling ancestors. The ghost had declared that it would never give the castle to a Mansel. Terrified, he turned his horse and fled as fast as it would carry him, never again to return to the castle.
The answer to who actually owned the castle remained in litigation for over 60 years. Ultimately, St Donat’s Castle did pass to the Tyrwhitts, much to the dismay of the people of St Donat’s. In fact, it is claimed that the vicar of St Donat’s Church was so incensed that ‘in his fury’ he destroyed a windmill and two watermills. It was despite all of the work, never used as a primal residence, and it started to fall into disrepair.
Hollywood Connections
American millionaire William Randolph Hearst who bought the castle after seeing photographs of the castle in Country Life magazine. Hearst, who at the time was having an affair with the actress Marion Davies, spent a fortune renovating the castle, bringing electricity not only to his residence but also to the surrounding area. The locals enjoyed having Hearst in residence at the castle as he paid his employees very well, and his arrivals always created a big stir in a community not used to American excesses.
Hollywood Era: Randolph Hearst (centre) with Alice Head (managing director of Good Housekeeping) and Federico Beltran-Masses (Spanish artist) at St Donat’s Castle in Wales, taken in 1928.
Hearst spent much of his time entertaining influential people at his estates and holding lavish parties at St Donat’s with guests like Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and a young John F. Kennedy. Upon visiting St Donat’s, George Bernard Shaw was quoted as saying: “This is what God would have built if he had had the money.”
He spent a huge amount of money turning the castle back into its former self but due to economic reasons put the castle up for sale again in the late 1930’s.
Godfrey Williams and the Exorcism
An exorcism was reportedly performed in the early 20th century, which was claimed to have succeeded in ridding the castle of several apparitions, including a hag and a mysterious disembodied eye in several guest rooms. The owner at the time, Godfrey Williams, disliked the castle and may have been responsible for the spread of these stories.
The castle was bought by Morgan Stuart Williams in 1901 and after his death in 1909 it went to his son Godfrey. But Godfrey was so “disturbed” by the castle hauntings that he put the place up for sale. Godfrey had seen a ghostly panther prowling the castle corridors at night and reported seeing a single giant glowing eye appearing nightly in one of the bedrooms.
It’s said that Godfrey brought an exorcist to the castle and after the usual rituals a great gust of wind swept down the staircase and out went the panther and the glaring eye.
After being used by British and American troops during the war it was finally bought again in 1962 by Monsieur Antonin Besse II, and given to the Governing Body of Atlantic College. Today it still functions as an international college but is also open to the public for general viewing.
The Feline Haunting in the 90s
There are also tales of a phantom cat, a large, semi-transparent black creature that prowls the corridors and stairways. This was said to have been reported on in the 90s when the castle was used as a boarding school for the richer kids around the world. Was it the black panther coming back? Or simply the stories of it? Those who have seen it claim it brings with it a feeling of dread so heavy that the air seems to thicken around it.
And then there is the piano that is said to be one of the more haunting objects in the castle in modern times. In one of the great halls of St Donat’s, a piano stands near the window that overlooks the sea. It is said that when the castle lies quiet, its notes begin to play by themselves. The melody is never the same twice, as though the unseen player improvises a song of sorrow for each soul the castle has claimed. Staff, visitors, and even students from Atlantic College, which now occupies the castle, have all spoken of hearing the music late at night when no living hand could possibly touch the keys.
The Haunting supposedly got so bad that they had an exorcism done to deal with it. Again.
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An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
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In the dark Hendrick Street in Dublin, there once were two houses said to be some of the most haunted ones in town. Occupied by at least six ghosts, some say they still linger in their old street.
In the pre civil war Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, the mausoleum of W.W Pool is said to be the grave of The Richmond Vampire. A more recent urban legend is now also connected with The Church Hill Tunnel collapse.
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