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The Queen of Wildegg Castle and the Grave of Marie Louise St. Simon-Montleart in the Forest

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A true story morphed into a fairytale, the life and death of the French Countess Marie Louise St. Simon-Montleart has become the stuff of legends. Buried in the forest close to Wildegg Castle in Switzerland, it is said she is haunting the castle and the forest, her sanctuary.

High above the Aare River, perched on the Chäschtebärg hill near Möriken-Wildegg in the Swiss canton of Aargau, stands Wildegg Castle. With origins dating back to around 1200, built by the powerful Habsburgs, this proud fortress has witnessed centuries of wars, dynasties, and secrets. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

Yet among its long and tangled history, one ghostly tale still lingers in the mists of local legend of an outsider who took sanctuary within the castle walls from the French Revolution. This is the story of the sorrowful queen, Marie Louise St. Simon-Montleart (1763-1804).

A Tale of Loneliness and Loss

They call her a queen of Wildegg Castle in the legends, but she was actually a French Countess. Long ago, Marie Louise lived at Wildegg Castle with her husband, according to legend, a king known more for his indulgence in hunting, carousing, and feasting than for any affection toward his wife. 

She was however married to Louis Marie de Montléart. Originally from Paris, she had fled to Switzerland after the French Revolution. It is however true that she was unhappy in their marriage. 

Marie Louise St. Simon-Montléart (1763-1804)

In Versailles at the French court, she became close friends with Baroness Sophie von Effinger, who was herself unhappily married and whose ancestral seat was at Wildegg Castle. As the French Revolution ravaged the French Court and Paris, she fled to her friend who took her in as the battle went on. She was accompanied by another Duchess, but it’s unsure if her husband even followed her. 

As the legend goes however, her husband neglected the countess, leaving her to wander the vast and shadowed forests surrounding the castle, seeking solace among the ancient trees. Around the Wildegg Castle as her own country went up in flames in the bloody revolution. 

The forest, wild and eternal, became her only refuge. It’s said that within its depths, she found peace from her sorrows, the trees whispering comfort to her heavy heart. There, far from the noise of courtly revels, she is believed to have breathed her final breath. 

During a later visit to Wildegg in 1804, Marie Louise St. Simon-Montléar died of tuberculosis. As her spirit left her body, a mournful rustling wind swept through the forest, carrying away the last traces of her grief.

The King’s Guilt and a Haunting Memorial

According to the legend of her being the queen of the castle, her husband was overcome with guilt for his neglect, and is said to have built a grand tomb for his lost queen deep within the castle grounds, near her beloved woods. This part is not true, but her grave does really sit in the nearby forest.

The simple rectangular gravestone bears the inscription written by Count von Redern of Bernsdorf : 

“Here rests, after the storm of life, a noble woman. Marie Louise St. Simon-Montléart, born in Paris on October 12, 1763, died in Wildegg on June 21, 1804. She was born a violet among thorns and thistles. She fought courageously against bitter misfortune from early childhood to her grave. She died peacefully among friends, happily sensing a higher destiny, for her actions were just and her words true.” 

Count von Redern was the business partner of her brother Henri Claude and had accompanied her from Montpellier to Wildegg Castle.

The Forest Grave: The forest grave of Countess Marie Louise St. Simon-Montléar near Wildegg Castle. // Source: Michael Frey & Sundance Raphael / Wikimedia.

To this day, visitors claim to feel a strange, uneasy presence when approaching the grave. On still nights, when the wind stirs the branches and the leaves sigh like whispered words, many say it’s the queen’s restless spirit, forever roaming the forest she loved.

In time, nature reclaimed the resting place, dense trees and creeping vines entwining it as though fulfilling Marie Louise’s unspoken wish to forever be part of the forest. The grave inspired Walter Fähndrich when he wrote “Music for a Forest Grave” in 2001 and The 15-minute piece begins at the time of local sunset from loudspeakers in the vicinity of the grave.

The Girl and the Ghosts

There is another ghostly legend retold by El Rochholz: Swiss Legends from Aargau from 1856 about a girl seeing a ghost around Wildegg Castle. It is said that all those born around midnight on Lent are capable of seeing spirits. But if they keep silent about what they last saw for 24 hours, no ghosts can harm them. There was such a child in the village of Holderbank.

Once upon a time a girl and her colleagues were walking home from work at Wildegg Castle to Holderbank village. It was between 10 or 11 o’clock. As she was crossing, over the mountain to their village, a man dressed in green and armed with a rifle suddenly stepped into her path. She immediately changed her route and after a long detour, she reached her house by 1 o’clock. 

The other girls that had been walking with her, didn’t know where she had gone and had already spread the word that she had been shot by a huntsman. She didn’t say a word about it. 

Later, as she was on her way from Holderbank to Saffenwil as a bride, a small black dog ran between them. She immediately crossed to the other side of the road, evading once more the spirits she could see. And despite all her fiancés’ questions as to why she was leaving him, she failed to answer him for a full 24 hours, believing the legend about not saying a word after seeing ghosts. 

A Castle of Secrets

Wildegg Castle, with its commanding view of the Aare and its centuries of layered history, remains one of Switzerland’s most atmospheric historic sites. Though the Effinger family, the castle’s last noble residents, passed away in 1912 and the property now belongs to the Canton of Aargau, echoes of its haunted past still cling to its stones.

And on certain misty evenings, as the wind stirs the trees on the Chäschtebärg, one might sense a faint rustle — and wonder if it is merely the wind… or Marie Louise St. Simon-Montleart still walking among her trees.

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References:

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

Schloss Wildegg – Alemannische Wikipedia

Das Fraufastenkind und die Hasenpfoten – Schloss Wildegg

Marie Louise St. Simon-Montléart – Wikipedia 

https://www.fairyhills.com/waldtreu.htm

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The Burgträppe-Balzli Haunting: The Ghost of Nydegg Castle

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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. 

Read more: Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen Haunting the Old Town in Bern

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.

Just keep walking

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References:

Burgenwelt – Nydegg – Schweiz

Burg Nydegg – Wikipedia 

Die Burg des Stadtgründers – Historisches Bern 

Geisterstadt Bern – SWI swissinfo.ch 

Diese Geister spuken durch die Gassen und Häuser der Stadt

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The Wailing Spirit of Old Beaupre Castle

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

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.

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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.

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References:

Old Beaupre Castle – Wikipedia

The allegedly haunted Old Beaupre Castle and Farmhouse goes for sale | The Vintage News

Historic Old Beaupre Castle goes on sale for £950k | Daily Mail Online

folklore and folk stories of wales ───────────────────── marie trevelyan

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The Haunted Legends of Pennard Castle

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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.

Source

A Castle Built in a Night

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

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References:

Myths of Pennard Castle, Gower – History Points

Pennard Castle

Pennard Castle | Visitor Information

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Haunted Family Tragedies at Larnach Castle, New Zealand’s

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For a long time, Larnach Castle was New Zealand’s only castle, and for a long time, also one of the more haunted places in the country. Built by a rich banker to live with his family, his dream of a lasting dynasty ended when personal tragedies as well as failed political and business ventures started to turn the family against each other. 

In 1994, Dunedin’s Fortune Theatre presented the play Castle of Lies, which explored the historical tragedies of the Larnach family. This performance took place in the castle’s majestic ballroom, providing a dramatic and evocative backdrop for the theatrical representation. Over a hundred were invited to watch. 

When the performance started, a strong and not predicted storm started outside. The wind was so strong it blew right into the fireplaces, causing small white particles to be blown into the ballroom. Hail began to crash onto the iron roof loudly and when the performers got to the part where the main character, William Larnach shot himself, a flash of lightning shot through the room. Many guests thought it was part of the play, but it was not. Could it actually have been the Larnach patriarch and builder of the castle who came back to haunt it? 

History of Larnach Castle

Larnach Castle, situated on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, New Zealand, is a majestic and imposing building that has captured the imagination of locals and tourists alike for over a century. Known as one of the country’s most haunted attractions, the castle has a rich and chilling history that has earned it a reputation as a hotspot for paranormal activity. From murder and suicide to betrayal and heartbreak, the stories surrounding Larnach Castle are as fascinating as they are eerie.

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Larnach Castle was built in 1871 by William Larnach, a wealthy merchant and politician who spared no expense in creating his dream home after he made his fortune in banking after the discovery of gold in Otago. The castle was designed by Robert Lawson, a prominent architect of the time, in the Gothic Revival style, with turrets, ornate carvings, and stained-glass windows from Venice and marble from Italy. 

William Larnach: 1890

The castle was also built using local materials, including Oamaru stone and Rimu timber, and featured the latest modern conveniences, such as flushing toilets, gas lighting, and a central heating system. It took over a decade to complete the whole mock castle and when it was done it had 43 rooms and 46 servants to run it. Ironically it was actually called The Camp at first. 

The Ghosts of His First Wife Eliza

However, Larnach’s dream home was short-lived, as tragedy struck his family several times over the years. 

His daughter Kate died when she was 29 of typhoid and Larnach’s beloved first wife, Eliza, died in 1891 when she was only 38 of a stroke. 

The Larnach Family: William Larnach with family. He was banker, politician and builder of Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand

It has been rumored that she died in the castle all alone as her husband was in Australia. Eliza who is said to haunt the landing near her bedroom where it is said she died. However, the guides of the castle underlines that this is actually not true. It is also said that William built the house to impress his beloved wife, but it is also said that Eliza preferred to stay in Dunedin town as the castle was far away from everything and cold. 

The Ghost of his Favorite Daughter, Kate

The oldest Larnach daughter, Kate, was often said to be William’s favorite daughter. She died of typhoid when she was in Wellington where she is now buried. 

She allegedly haunts the ballroom where they say that she was put to rest for a time in a glass coffin. Local legends state that the ballroom was a gift to her for her 21st birthday, but as she was actually older than that at the time, that’s rather unlikely and that it was to all of his children and the gift was actually presented to her younger

The Haunted Ballroom: The ballroom in Larnach Castle, in Dunedin from 2004. // Source: Donovan Govan

His other daughters, Colleen and Alice left for Christchurch and the lights in the ballroom remained off.

Today it is used as a cafe and people sometimes claim to catch a glimpse of their favorite daughter taken too soon. Often she is described as the Gray Lady haunting her former home and the sounds of dishes or glasses being moved around can be heard by those passing by. 

The Death and Haunting of William

Crushed by the terrible tragedies, William later remarried Eliza’s half sister Mary Alleyne, who had been living with them since 1867. Some say it was a marriage of convenience as his and Eliza’s smallest children were so little, some point to the strange sleeping arrangements in their house, where the two sisters had bedrooms on each side of William’s bedroom door. There were also talks about the more grown children not liking her because she was drinking too much. This would not be a lasting match however as Mary passed away in 1895, also 38 after she contracted blood poisoning when she operated on a cyst in her womb. . 

The third and final time William married, it was to the much younger Constance de Bathe Brandon. He was 58 at the time, she was 37. It’s written in books about the speculations that his wife had an affair with his son, Douglas. Larnach himself committed suicide in October, 1898 on New Zealand’s Parliament Buildings, after a time of personal tragedies and financial troubles. 

It would not be a peaceful rest however. Some time after his death, Larnach’s skull was stolen and was recovered in 1972 from a college student’s bedroom with a whole in the head after his gunshot. Now, hopefully he is at rest in his family mausoleum in the Dunedin Northern Cemetery. 

Was his death and turbulent afterlife the reason that he has come back to haunt his life work? The home that ended up tearing his family apart? Some of the most common sightings say there is a ghostly apparition of a bearded Victorian gentleman believed to be William, haunting the ballroom and the master bedroom and castle gardens. Visitors have reported seeing his ghostly figure walking around the castle, and some have even claimed to feel his presence in the room and the smell of his cigars and port.

The Ghost of Constance

The castle was left to his six children, who could not afford to maintain it and was trapped in a tense legal battle over his will as he died without a valid one. The Larnach family sold the house in 1906.

Constance de Bathe Brandon

Another of the family said to haunt the castle is the 3rd wife, Constance. She was by law promised a third of his inheritance, but the older brother Donald and the rest of the siblings took her to court to dispute her claim. They won and the only sibling siding with Constance was Douglas. 

There have been many rumours about these two, even that William shot himself when news about their affair reached him. He supposedly found it out when they went to Australia in 1898 together, and when he returned, he was depressed and bought the gun. 

Truth is, we will never truly know what went down then. They didn’t end up with each other though, and Douglas went on to marry someone else. Constance gave birth to a child in England, where she left him in an unknown foster family. She returned to Dunedin and never met Douglas Larnach again. She died in 1942. Douglas Larnach passed away in 1949.

A couple got pushed apart while entering Constance’s Room on the second floor. Her lace wedding dress is on display here as well as many of her Victorian toiletries. The room is also much colder than the other rooms in the building. 

Some think it’s the spirit of Constance who still haunts her former room. Some think that it’s actually Eliza, angry about the third wife taking her place.

Other Ghostly Rumours at Larnach Castle

For a short time it was used as an asylum for the shell shocked soldiers returning from the first world war, and the castle fell into disrepair and was eventually sold to the government in 1967.

It is during this post-Larnach period that David Mills, a guide working at the castle suspects the ghost sightings originate, although it was a totally different ghost than what it is known of today.. “There are stories told by two separate staff members of being out in the garden and having a young boy come and take hold of their hand. Apparently, the boy then said to them ‘I’ve got to go in now’ and left. But it wasn’t a real boy,” David explains. “I have heard of two people having that same experience on different occasions.
source

And many more strange occurances was to come. After falling into disrepair for many years, Larnach Castle was purchased by the Barker family in 1967. The Barkers undertook a massive restoration project, spending over 20 years and millions of dollars to restore the castle to its former glory. The castle was opened to the public in 1972, and it has since become one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist attractions.

And the rumours grew. There’s a legend about a blood stain on one of the baths upstairs. But the bath is original marble and there are no blood stains, or even any rust stains to blame it on. Still, visitors continue to report on strange things happening around the house. In 2012, Otago Daily Times received an email about a man and his wife who experienced a force coming between them and pushing them apart in the music room. 

“We stayed where we were and it happened a second time. Then my wife moved and I stayed in the same spot, wondering if it would happen again and it did, but this time the wall unit next to me started a slight creaking rocking at the same time.”
Source

The Future of Larnach Castle

Today, Larnach Castle is a thriving tourist attraction that attracts visitors from all over the world. The castle is open to the public for tours, and visitors can explore the many rooms, gardens, and grounds of the castle. The castle also hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including weddings, Victorian high tea, concerts, and special events as well as one or two ghost tours to explore the more supernatural history of the castle.

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References:

William Larnach – Wikipedia

Early History – Larnach Castle & Gardens – New Zealand’s castle, visit us in Dunedin 

Larnach Castle: clearing the ghost stories

Larnach Castle – Haunted NZ – The Quantum Foundation

Papers Past | Newspapers | Evening Post | 13 October 1898 | TRAGEDY AT PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. THE HON. W. J. M….

Haunted castle was once a family home | The West Australian

Ballroom Cafe – Larnach Castle & Gardens – New Zealand’s castle, visit us in Dunedin

History

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The Ghosts of St Donat’s Castle – The Wailing Lady and the Watchful Eye

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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.

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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”.

Source

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. 

Source

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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References:

St Donat’s Castle 

Exploring St. Donat’s Castle: Wales’ Haunted Past | Mary Ann Poll

Haunted Castles Wales Sorted by Name 

British goblins : Welsh folk-lore, fairy mythology, legends and traditions 

The imposter of St Donat’s Castle | Glamorgan Star Newspaper

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/medieval-welsh-castle-princes-princess-26682356

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Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen Haunting the Old Town in Bern

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Said to be unhappy with the fate of the city he once led, the ghost of Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen is said to be haunting the old city in Bern, around the Nydegg Church where his monument is placed. 

On the eastern edge of Bern’s historic Old Town, where the cobblestones whisper with age and the fog from the Aare River creeps through alleys at dusk, stands Nydegg Church, a place of prayer, peace, and if we are to believe the rumours, a paranormal mystery as well. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

Built on the ruins of the once-mighty Nydegg Castle, which belonged to Bern’s founder, Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen, the church and its surrounding streets are thick with centuries of buried secrets, and the shadows of those who refuse to rest.

Nydegg Area: A panoramic view of Bern, showcasing the Nydegg Church and the Aare River, steeped in history and ghostly legends where the old Nydegg Castle used to be.

A Ghostly Legacy of Power and Loss

Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen, who ruled from 1186 until his death in 1218, was the last of his line. His dynasty, which had shaped the early contours of Bern, vanished with him, and with it came a fracture in the balance of power. After Berchtold’s death, Nydegg Castle was eventually demolished to prevent rival claims. Where the stronghold once stood, Nydegg Church rose in its place, an act that seemed to silence the stones but not the souls once bound to them.

The Zähringen monument: Duke Berthold V. of Zähringen (Berchtold V. of Zähringen), born ~1160, died 1218, as pictured at the Zähringerbrunnen (Zähringer fountain) in Bern, Switzerland. // Source

Today, the Zähringer Monument stands quietly in the Nydegghöfli, just beside the Nydegg Church, honoring the man who once laid Bern’s first stones. But local lore says that the duke is not content to remain a statue. On cold nights, when the air grows thin and the fog presses against the old façades, Berchtold V is said to step down from his pedestal. Clad in medieval finery, his ghost walks solemnly down Kreuzgasse below, the narrow alley connecting Kramgasse with the Cathedral and Town Hall. There he is seen observing the city he founded with a grim, disapproving air, unhappy about how things turned out.

Beneath the Church, Beneath the Streets

The hauntings around this particular church aren’t limited to Berchtold V. Beneath Nydegg Church, tunnels that once connected the castle and various monastic buildings still snake under the city. Local historian Erismann notes that strange noises are sometimes heard echoing up from these ancient corridors like whispers, the clanking of armor, and footsteps pacing when no one is there. 

Read More: The Haunted Underground of Bern

These underground paths, long sealed off to the public, are believed to hold memories too restless to fade.

Ruins of a Castle: Not much remains from the old castle. Landing gate of Nydegg Castle in Bern, around 1300. // Source.

The Dancing Beguines

Another ghost story from this area is the Christmas haunting of the Beguines. At Christmas time those with the sight can see seven tiny lights dancing across the gently flowing waters of the Aare River. They rise and fall, darting around each other, trying to catch each other, and then dance in a circle. This game lasts for some time until the clock tower of Nydegg Church strikes midnight. A twitch runs through the tiny flames. Then a loud, painful sigh. The second strike – and the lights are gone.

Read More: Check out Ghosts of the Holy Season: The Christmas Hauntings of Bern

These are Beguines, according to popular belief, who were placed against their will in the monastery at Klösterlistutz at a young age. If they were really Beguines is uncertain though, as Beguines were unofficial and had a rule that you could leave anytime you wanted. But there were plenty of women sent to convents throughout the years. During the holy season, they are granted a few moments to atone for their stolen youth. And they do this with their dance above the murmuring waves in the moonlight.

So if you find yourself near Nydegg Church after dark, walk softly. And if you catch a glimpse of a tall figure in noble garb watching you from the misty alley, don’t meet his eyes. The duke sees much. And he remembers everything.

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References:

Geisterstadt Bern – SWI swissinfo.ch

Kreuzgasse (Bern) – Wikipedia 

https://www.maerchenstiftung.ch/maerchendatenbank/11833/tanzende-beginen

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The Slave Trader of Ebenrain: A Tormented Spirit in the Shadows of Sissach

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Meant to be a peaceful summer residence in Sissach, outside of Basel in Switzerland, the Ebenrain Castle turned into a haunted one after one of its former inhabitants is still haunting it. 

In the peaceful town of Sissach, nestled amid the soft hills and dense forests of Baselland, stands the elegant yet somber Ebenrain Castle. Built as a summer residence for the rich and wealthy from Basel city in 1774–1776, it is considered the most significant late baroque residence in northwestern Switzerland. 

Today it serves as a venue for art exhibitions, concerts, and cultural events, but behind its grand Baroque façade lingers a chilling story — one of guilt, scandal, and restless spirits.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

The ghost said to haunt this stately estate is none other than Johann Rudolf Ryhiner-Streckeisen, a wealthy Basel merchant whose checkered past and tragic end cast a long, eerie shadow over Ebenrain.

Haunted Castle: Ebenrain Castle in Sissach, Basel-Land canton, Switzerland. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a potential slave trader. // Source: Ikiwaner/ Wikimedia

A Man of Wealth and Sullied Reputation

Martin Bachofen (1727-1814), Basel silk ribbon manufacturer, builder of Ebenrain Castle

The story of Ebenrain begins with Martin Bachofen (1727–1814), a prosperous Basel silk manufacturer who built the castle as his country residence. But it was in the hands of Johann Rudolf Ryhiner-Streckeisen that the estate’s most notorious chapter was written.

Ryhiner was a man of considerable means, but also of questionable morals. Whispers surrounded him — not only for his extravagant lifestyle and tangled personal affairs, but for his alleged ties to the transatlantic slave trade, a grim and unspoken stain on Basel’s mercantile history. These rumors would cling to his name, long after his death.

Faced with accusations of bigamy — a scandal that threatened to unravel both his public and private life — Ryhiner’s world crumbled. On July 29, 1824, he took his own life with a pistol shot in one of the castle’s stately rooms, leaving behind a legacy of shame and whispered curses. Two years later, his widow sold the castle to Ludwig Vest, a businessman from Liestal. 

A Restless Presence in the Dusk

But death did not silence Ryhiner. According to local legend, the merchant’s spirit returned to Ebenrain, condemned by his crimes and cowardice to linger in the place of his demise.

At dusk, when the mist gathers low along the castle’s lawns and the evening air turns chill, a tall gentleman has been seen strolling through the park. He swings a walking stick, his posture stiff and his gaze vacant. Some witnesses even claim he is accompanied by another indistinct, shadowy figure — perhaps a former accomplice, or one of the countless lives entangled in his dark dealings.

Those who have wandered the castle grounds after dark speak of sudden cold drafts, of unseen hands brushing their skin, and of a bloodstain in the west room — the very chamber where Ryhiner ended his life — that no servant or owner has ever been able to scrub away. Even after renovations, it is said to bleed through fresh plaster and paint, a grim, unyielding mark of guilt.

The Weight of an Unquiet Past

While Ebenrain Castle today stands as a proud cultural landmark, its ghostly past endures in local memory. The story of Johann Rudolf Ryhiner-Streckeisen is a reminder of the unspoken histories that linger in beautiful places. His restless spirit is said to prowl not for revenge, but tormented by a lifetime of sin and silence — a phantom burdened by the weight of lives lost and wrongs unrighted.

Schloss Ebenrain, Sissach, Schweiz. // EinDao/Wikimedia

So should you find yourself in the gardens of Ebenrain as the sun sinks behind the Jura hills, watch the tree-shrouded paths carefully. You might just glimpse a figure in 19th-century dress, cane in hand, forever pacing through the estate he could neither truly possess in life nor leave in death.

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Huhuuuh! – Sieben Spukhäuser in der Region | TagesWoche

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The Bailiff of Brunegg: A Ghostly Hunt Through Swiss Snow and Sin

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After taking his regime of terror too far on a stormy winter night, the Bailiff of Brunegg committed a sin so huge on a hunt that would send him into a haunted afterlife. 

High in the canton of Aargau, where the shadow of Brunegg Castle falls across the land, a legend as cold as the alpine wind lingers through generations. The castle was built on a hill at the edge of the Jura mountains in the 13th century, probably as part of the Habsburg border defences.

When dark clouds gather and the holy season approaches, those living near the castle in Brunegg village at the foot of Chäschtebärg mountain swear they hear a distant thundering, like hooves pounding across frozen earth, echoing from above. This is no storm. It is the Bailiff of Brunegg, rising once again for his eternal, damned hunt.

Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

This grim tale, recorded in the 19th century by folklorist Ernst L. Rochholz in Swiss Legends from Aargau, paints a chilling portrait of cruelty, hubris, and supernatural justice. And even today, locals will tell you: when winter bites and silence settles heavy over the land, listen for the call of “Hop-Hop!” may come riding down the slopes.

The Tyrant of Brunegg Castle

The story begins in Brunegg Castle, an imposing stronghold nestled in the rural Swiss countryside. The castle, though quiet now, once housed a bailiff, or Landvogt as it is in German. During the medieval period in Switzerland, a bailiff, known in German as a “Vogt,” played a significant administrative and judicial role. The bailiff was typically a nobleman appointed by a higher authority, such as a king, duke, or lord.

Read More: Check out all haunted castles around the world

He was a man of power, authority, and, according to legend, unrepentant cruelty. One fateful winter, as snow blanketed the land and bitter cold pierced even the stone walls of his keep, the bailiff resolved to go hunting.

Schloss Brunegg: The Brunegg Castle on the hill overlooking the village below. This is where the ghost hunt is said to start on stormy winter nights. // Source

With a black horse, a pack of snarling hounds, and a retinue of servants, he charged into the deepening snowdrifts. The cold was so fierce, the breath of man and beast froze in the air. As the storm worsened, their feet froze, their limbs stiffening with frostbite.

But the bailiff, obsessed with his hunt and blinded by ego, would not turn back.

Murder for Warmth

As his followers collapsed around him, the bailiff stumbled upon a lone woodcutter working in the forest, perhaps hoping to survive the winter with what little firewood he could gather. Rather than ask for aid or offer mercy, the bailiff murdered the man outright, slicing him open and warming his frozen feet in the steaming belly of the corpse.

This gruesome act was the last straw.

As if in divine retribution, the sky darkened and a furious snowstorm erupted over Brunegg. Blinding winds swept through the forest and fields. The bailiff, his dogs, and his remaining attendants were never seen again. All were buried in snow, swallowed whole by the wrath of the mountain. The castle, high on its hill, stood silent. 

Each winter, the people at the foot of Brunegg Castle claim they hear phantom hooves galloping above. The hounds bark. The bailiff’s voice rings out with a sinister “Hop-Hop!” — urging his invisible dogs onward. But always, at the spot where the woodcutter died, the sound ceases.

It is said that the bailiff’s ghost is cursed to hunt eternally, never able to pass that spot, doomed to repeat the sins of his final ride through blizzard and blood.

A Tyrant Reborn: Gessler or Ghost?

Interestingly, well-read Swiss citizens have long drawn parallels between the Bailiff of Brunegg and another infamous tyrant of legend, Albrecht Gessler, the ruthless official from the tale of William Tell, the hero of Swiss independence. Albrecht Gessler, also known as Hermann, was a legendary 14th-century Habsburg bailiff at Altdorf, whose brutal rule led to the William Tell rebellion and the eventual independence of the Old Swiss Confederacy.

Gessler is the man who famously forced Tell to shoot an apple off his own son’s head — a story of oppression, defiance, and eventual retribution.

No sources that predate the earliest references to the Tell legend of the late 15th century refer to a bailiff Gessler in central Switzerland, and it is presumed that no such person existed. Some believe the Bailiff of Brunegg is Gessler, or at least a folkloric echo is another example of how abuse of power and cruelty earn not only rebellion but eternal punishment in Swiss legend. 

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Brunegg Castle – Wikipedia

The Bailiff of Brunnegg: A Swiss Legend

Albrecht Gessler – Wikipedia

Ukategorisert

The White Lady of Rouelbeau Castle Ruins Appearing for Christmas

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In the ruins of the former castle of Rouelbeau in Switzerland, the ghost of a Lady in White is said to appear during Christmas times. As one of the Weiße Frau from Germanic folklore, she is believed to have been the mistress of the castle until she was cast away for not bearing a son. 

In the marshlands and forests of western Switzerland, the crumbling ruins of Rouelbeau Castle stand as a lonely reminder of medieval ambition and restless spirits. The name Rouelbeau, which is commonly used today, may consist partly of the French verb roiller , which means “to rain heavily” and is translated as “to strike” in the old local dialect. And partly of bot, which means “frog”. One explanation for the meaning of Rouelbeau built on the marchy plain near the Seymaz river, is that the lords of the castle could not sleep at night because of the loud croaking of frogs and therefore had their servants strike the water.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

While few stones of the fortress remain, it is not the broken walls that draw uneasy glances from passersby, but the enduring legend of La Dame Blanche, or in German called Weiße Frau, the White Lady — a sorrowful ghost whose presence is still feared along the winding path known as the Chemin de la Dame Blanche and around the ruins of the castle.

Rouelbeau Castle Ruins: Oil painting of the ruins of Rouelbeau Castle in Meinier in what is now the Swiss Canton of Geneva, by an unknown artist. An inscription on the backside uses the alternative spelling “Roilbot” and feature a number which may be read as the year “1808” From a private collection.

The Tragic Tale of Rouelbeau’s White Lady

Stories about the spirits of the Lady in White have been told in Europe since pre-christian times, and has been a part of folklore for ages. There are now hundreds of so-called Ladies in White, haunting decaying European castles, ancient forests and deep waters. 

The origins of this particular legend of the Lady in White of Château de Rouelbeau, trace back to 1318, when Knight Humbert de Choulex ordered the construction of Rouelbeau Castle in what is now the municipality of Meinier, in the canton of Geneva. He was a vassal of the Faucigny-Baron. While intended as a defensive stronghold against rival factions and the restless borders of medieval Switzerland, the castle’s history quickly turned dark.

According to oral tradition, Humbert’s first wife was cast aside, cruelly divorced after failing to provide him a male heir. Her name is now lost and what became of the discarded woman remains a mystery. Some say she died of grief, others that she was locked away, or met a violent, unrecorded end. It is her anguished spirit, so the legend tells, that took the form of La Dame Blanche, forever bound to the castle grounds.

For generations, travelers and villagers alike have reported sightings of a pale woman dressed in flowing white, a shimmering diadem crowning her head, gliding silently through the misty fields surrounding the castle ruins. Most eerily, her appearances are said to coincide with tragic or unexplained deaths in the area.

The Haunted Castle Ruins: The south-western tower and the southern wall of the Rouelbeau Castle. // Source

A Haunting Presence in the Christmas Night

Local accounts vary as to when the White Lady is most active. Some say she emerges under the cover of a new moon’s darkness, while others claim she walks under the ethereal glow of a full moon. But one certainty endures: Christmas Eve remains the most sacred and sinister night in the legend of La Dame Blanche.

It is on this night, according to stories passed down since the 19th century, that the entire castle is said to rise again from its ruins, bathed in ghostly light, with spectral inhabitants returning to reenact scenes from long-forgotten feasts and torments. The Lady herself appears resplendent, her otherworldly beauty made all the more chilling by her silent, sorrowful gaze.

There is even a curious twist to the tale. In one solitary account from the early 1800s, a destitute orphan, lost and starving in the winter woods, encountered La Dame Blanche on Christmas Eve. Instead of vanishing in terror, the child accepted the ghost’s beckoning hand and was led to a hidden cache of gold and silver, a reward for his pure heart and desperate plight. The treasure, it is said, lifted the boy from poverty — but he was forbidden from ever revealing the source, save to the dying.

The following year punished one of his greedy relatives by locking him in the castle vault to his death.

The Chemin de la Dame Blanche: Path of Shadows

Even today, the path running alongside the ruins bears the ominous name Chemin de la Dame Blanche, and locals approach it with quiet caution, especially during the cold months. Strange lights have reportedly flickered in the trees, and unexplained cold drafts creep through the marsh even on still summer nights.

Christmas Haunting: Oil painting by Alfred Dumont from a private collection: «Ice skating at Pallanterie in front of the ruins of Rouelbeau Castle» from around 1870.

Hikers and amateur ghost hunters claim to have heard faint weeping near the site, or seen a pale figure moving just beyond reach in the gloom. Some modern investigators suggest the damp, misty conditions of the marshland might explain these apparitions — but those familiar with Rouelbeau’s legend know better than to tempt the unseen.

Source

The Legend of the Black Cat

A second legend surrounding the castle ruins is about a black cat, le chat noir, with glowing eyes. It is said to roam the grounds, especially on foggy days at nightfall, suddenly attacking its victims with razor-sharp claws, tearing them to pieces. It is said to be the devil himself, who can only be repelled with a firm blow from a club. If the cat successfully defends itself, it should not be given a coup de grâce, as otherwise it would regain all its strength and abduct its victim into the underworld .

The story is partly linked to an incident in 1567: At that time, the brothers Claude and Jenon Dexert, who lived on the edge of the swamp, were accused of witchcraft and executed after a confession extracted under torture. According to tradition, the cat is their avenging angel.

Whether a cautionary fable or a true haunting, those who tread the path beside Rouelbeau’s ruins on a winter’s night would do well to keep their distance should a lady in white appear from the mist — for her intentions, like the history of the castle itself, remain forever shadowed in sorrow and mystery.

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References:

Weiße Frau – Wikipedia

Ruine Rouelbeau – Wikipedia