In 1852, the alleged psychic Erika Larsdatter Bogen, arrived at Børholmen, a small island in western Norway. She claimed that she had found the ghost and corpse of the dead child, and she named the mother who allegedly buried it. But what was the truth?
In Norwegian folklore, few spirits are as disturbing as the utburd, the ghost of an unwanted child left to die and denied a proper burial. These beings were said to cry, whisper, and wander restlessly, demanding justice or release. Sometimes in these stories, they would come back and accuse their parents for murder.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway
Most utburd stories belong to legend and oral tradition, but one case from western Norway in the mid-1800s went far beyond fireside storytelling. It ended not with prayers or exorcism, but in a courtroom.
Crying of an Utburd Beneath the Floor
In 1852, people living on Børholmen in Eivindvik on the windy west coast, reported something deeply unsettling at the small island with less than 20 living there. At night, they claimed to hear crying and faint whining sounds coming from beneath the floor of the living room. The noises were described as those of a child, soft yet persistent, impossible to ignore. In a society where belief in spirits was still widespread, the explanation came quickly. Many believed the sounds were caused by an utburd that had returned to lament its fate. But what was the truth behind the rumours, and exactly who were they who claimed to hear it?
Into this tense situation stepped Erika Larsdatter Bogen, a young woman from Lindås, an island not too far from Børholmen, who was known locally for claiming clairvoyant abilities. Born in 1828, she was only in her early twenties when she announced that she could communicate with the spirit beneath the floor.
She was described by the priest responsible for her confirmation as poor and the youngest of six siblings from a farm. She was also said to have been vain, and would always have a mirror she could check herself with and not interested in the words of God at all. After her confirmation she was sent out to work, but by Christmas 1951, she was back with her parents with too many people to feed. This is when her alleged gift revealed itself.
She claimed to have started hearing knocking sounds in the walls of her parents room and passed out and claimed that an angel had visited her and given her the gift of sight. She fell ill and had to stay in bed for weeks.
A Ghost Names its Parents as Killers
After she had come to herself, she started to travel around with her gifts as far as Bergen. People wanted to talk to her about her abilities. She never asked for payment during her travels, but never refused when it was offered. She wasn’t met without controversies, although she became popular. A priest said about her so-called angel who told her about stuff:
“If something supernatural revealed itself to her, it is no good angel, but either Satan, the lord of darkness himself or some of his angels.” – Priest Holtermann
This is how she ended up at Børholmen. She had tired the locals on Lindås, and she moved to Eivindvik, where she was given housing at the vicarage. When she arrived she looked tired and her clothing was torn. Her grand tour of being psychic hadn’t been too lucrative.
Strange things started to happen over the next months, but only when Erika was present and this happened when she moved into the house of Peder Jakobssønn at Børholmen who wanted to have her around to talk about ghosts and angels she claimed she got the information from..
According to Erika, the crying came from an utburd that revealed not only its suffering, but also its identity. The spirit allegedly named its parents as Kristine Kværnøen and Knut Stevnebø, accusing them of having killed the child and buried it in secret. Kristine was a 30 year old woman who had given her clothing and kindness when Erika first arrived. Knut was a man Erika knew from Bergen, and she claimed that Kristine had gone there five years ago and gotten pregnant. Kristine and Knut had served at a house together six years ago.
Erika further claimed that the ghost told her exactly where its remains could be found. The Utburd didn’t say if it was stillborn or killed at birth. It was also claimed that Kristina was after Peder Jakobsønn’s 18 year old son, Knut, whom she had seen talking in church at times. Erika claimed that she wanted to protect Knut from Kristine’s clutches.
She reportedly dug at the indicated spot and produced a piece of cloth containing two bones. If her story had been true, it could have led to a serious criminal case for infanticide, one of the most feared and morally charged crimes of the time. Rumors spread quickly, and suspicion fell heavily on the accused parents as well as Erika.
Doubt and Investigation of Erika Larsdatter Bogen
However, not everyone was convinced and Kristine took the accusations with surprisingly calmness. But when Erika didn’t want to back down with the haunting and claims that Kristine’s Utburd ghost was haunting the area, she reported Erika to the police. Erika didn’t show up at her hearing and an officer was sent out to investigate this strange case.
The cloth Erika presented appeared with the bones appeared new, not five years old and buried, and the bones did not seem to belong to a newborn child. These inconsistencies raised serious doubts about the entire story more so than the question of the ghost did.
During Erika’s interrogation, events took an even stranger turn. A thin, piping voice suddenly interrupted the questioning, seemingly defending Erika. Some present believed this to be the voice of the ghost itself. The sheriff could not be certain where the sound came from, but he noticed something telling. Each time the voice was heard, Erika moved her head from side to side, and just before the sound appeared, she brought her fingers to the corners of her mouth.
From these observations, the sheriff reached a conclusion. Erika was not speaking with a ghost. She was practicing ventriloquism and was a fraud.
From Haunting to Fraud
The case shifted dramatically. What began as a terrifying ghost story became an accusation of deliberate deception. The authorities concluded that Erika Bogen had fabricated the entire haunting and had falsely accused two innocent people of a crime that could have destroyed their lives.
The county governor, Amtmann Landmark of Nordre Bergenhus, ordered that Erika be prosecuted. She initially avoided trial by claiming to be too weak and frail to appear in court. During this period, she married Knut Børholmen, the man who she had tried to keep away from Kristine, and the couple moved to Bergen, where they opened a small business and attempted to start anew.
On 31 May 1854, Erika was finally brought to justice as she couldn’t keep a low profile and again started to claim she could talk with ghosts, starting a ruckus in a house in Bergen as well. The district court in Ytre Sogn sentenced her to seven months of hard labor. She appealed the verdict, but the case reached the Supreme Court, which took an even harsher view. The court ruled that her serious and unfounded accusations against Kristine Kværnøen warranted no less than one year of hard labor, along with legal costs. The prosecution was led by Bernhard Dunker, a prominent legal figure of the time.
Apparently, Knut had sent her a letter, saying that he bore Erika no warm feelings. Many speculate though that Knut was one of her helpers with the haunting. Still, when Erika was imprisoned, she was pregnant with her own child, a daughter that Knut came to pick up after she gave birth in prison. And according to records, it looks like they had seven children in total. Locally, she has been remembered as Rikke Bokken.
And a case of accusing someone of burying children, ended up with her having some of her own.
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References:
Erika Larsdatter Bogen : gjengangerhistorier fra Bergenskanten i 1850-Aarene
Kremmarleiet på Børholmen | Kringom
