The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
Basel is a city where history lingers not just in its ancient streets and Gothic spires but in the very earth beneath its feet. Nowhere is this more palpable than in the Cathedral and its adjoining Double Cloister of Basel Minster. solemn, shadow-cloaked place where the line between the living and the dead has always felt unsettlingly thin.
Read also: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland
Built in the 15th century, the cloisters once rang with sacred hymns and church rites, housing as many as six altars for medieval services. There are actually two different cloisters, connected by the open gardens surrounding them.
After the Reformation, one of the cloisters turned into a marketplace, but also a cemetery for the city’s upper middle class. Long after the Reformation’s sweeping changes silenced the rituals of the monks, the ritual of burial within the cloister’s cold embrace.
Basel Minster
A Cemetery Hiding in Plain Sight
For centuries, this peaceful cloister functioned as a cemetery for the city’s wealthy and influential, seen as their graves marked with ornately carved stones, some still intact within the shaded arcades. This was known as Münster Cemetery. Even as the world outside modernized, these hallowed grounds remained a final resting place, with burials continuing into the 19th century. The place is heavy with history, and as any Basler will tell you, such places seldom stay quiet after dark.
When the evening mists curl in from the Rhine and the last of the daylight dies behind the Minster’s towers, strange things are said to stir amid the cloister’s arches.
Cloister of Basel Minster
The Moaning of Emanuel Büchel
Among the restless souls tied to these ancient stones is Emanuel Büchel (1705–1775), a respected draftsman and master baker whose demise is steeped in grim folklore. He also painted, mainly nature and landscapes.
Emanuel Büchel completed his apprenticeship with a master baker in Basel in 1723. He then set out on a journeyman’s journey, and upon his return in 1726, he applied for membership in the city’s bakers’ guild. In 1728, he applied for the position of gatekeeper to the Steinentor. He married Susanna Felber in 1726.
Self Portrait
In 1773 he was assigned the task of copying the dance of death in Basel, a huge honor for an artist. At that time he was 68 and he died 2 years later at 70, 24 September in 1775. The question his legend asks though, did he truly die on that day though?
Legend insists that poor Büchel was buried alive, mistaken for dead in an era when death’s finality could sometimes be tragically premature. On long, hushed nights, visitors claim to hear his ghost moaning, wheezing, and rustling beneath the cloister’s stones, a soul forever reliving the terror of suffocation in his tomb.
The Malevolent Shade of Master Tailor Schnyyder Hagenbach
But if Büchel is a sorrowful spirit, Master Tailor Schnyyder Hagenbach is an entirely different creature of the night. Even in life, the tailor was, by all accounts, an unpleasant man. It was said he was cruel to his family, dishonest in business, and feared by neighbors. It comes as little surprise, then, that his spirit would choose to linger in malevolence.
The Cloister Cemetery: The cloister of Basel Minster consists of a small and a large cloister. Numerous epitaphs (grave and memorial monuments) are attached to their walls.
For generations, tales have spoken of an invisible, vindictive specter haunting the cathedral cloister. Passersby walking the dim, ancient pathways have felt sudden, icy slaps on their faces or hands, delivered by unseen forces. Locals blame Hagenbach’s ghost, a being said to emerge not at the witching hour, but as early as dusk, prowling the arcades in search of fresh victims to torment.
His ghost, it’s said, lashes out without warning — a sudden blow accompanied by mocking laughter, leaving the victim shaken, their skin cold where the invisible hand landed.
A Living Monument to Basel’s Darker Past
The Double Cloister stands as both a treasured historical site and a place of uneasy quiet. Its arched walkways and sun-dappled courtyards are beautiful by day, but at night, the air thickens with something ancient, something watching.
A cemetery masquerading as a courtyard, a sanctum where moaning spirits and unseen hands remind the living of the unforgiving past.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
The little island Munkholmen outside of Trondheim in Norway has had many haunted rumors for a long time. From an old Viking execution place to a state prison, who is still lingering there in their afterlife?
Rising quietly from the waters of the Trondheim Fjord, Munkholmen appears peaceful by day. Tour boats glide past its rounded shores, seabirds cry overhead, and the island seems little more than a picturesque landmark. But beneath this calm surface lies one of Norway’s darkest historical sites, a place shaped by execution, imprisonment, and spiritual isolation.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway
For centuries, Munkholmen has carried a reputation as a haunted island where the past has never fully loosened its grip.
From Holy Ground to Place of Execution
Munkholmen’s troubled history began long before its stone walls were raised. In the early Middle Ages, the island served as a site of executions. Criminals and enemies of the crown were brought across the water and put to death, their bodies often left exposed as a warning to others on spikes. It is said that Olav Tryggvason had the heads of Earl Håkon and the slave Kark impaled here in the year 995.
Later, a Benedictine monastery Nidarholm Mariakloster was established on the island, giving Munkholmen its name as the country’s oldest monastery. The monks came seeking solitude and devotion, but even prayer could not erase the island’s grim legacy. Fires repeatedly destroyed the monastery, and many believed the land itself was cursed, soaked in blood long before the first chapel stone was laid.
The Prison Island
Munkholmen’s darkest chapter began in the 17th century, when it was transformed into a state prison and fortress. Political prisoners and criminals. Some were kept in damp underground cells where daylight never reached. Others were chained in small stone chambers, listening to the waves crash endlessly against the walls.
One of the most infamous prisoners was Count Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, once the most powerful man in Denmark-Norway. Under Christian V he became the king’s foremost advisor and by far the de facto ruler of Denmark-Norway.
Peder Griffenfeld:Peder Griffenfeld (1635–1699) (original name Peder Schumacher ) was a Danish count and statesman, who was Chancellor of the Crown from 1673. He spent 18 years on the island in solitude and is believed to be haunting it.
Griffenfeld failed in his efforts to prevent war, and in 1675 Denmark-Norway entered into armed conflict with Sweden, the Scanian War . Various negotiations surrounding the beginning of the war and his friendliness to the French contributed to his being accused of treason and lèse-majesté .
After falling from royal favor, he was imprisoned on Munkholmen for nearly two decades. He spent his time reading, teaching children and writing small religious writings. After this, he was moved to Trondheim city, where he lived under guard for the last time, and died the following year.
Victor Hugo published the novel The Prisoner on Munkholmen in 1831 about Griffenfeld’s time in prison. Visitors and guards later claimed that his spirit never left, pacing unseen corridors long after his death.
Many prisoners died on the island from disease, exposure, or despair. Their bodies were buried nearby or cast into the sea. Over time, stories spread of anguished voices heard at night, echoing from empty cells and sealed passageways.
Ghostly Sightings and Unexplained Phenomena
Reports of hauntings on Munkholmen date back hundreds of years. Guards once spoke of shadowy figures moving along the fortress walls after sunset, disappearing when approached. Others described the sound of chains dragging across stone, even though no prisoners remained.
Some report sudden drops in temperature inside the fortress, accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of dread. Doors have been heard slamming shut on calm days, and footsteps echo where no one stands.
The story was popularized once again when the papers started to publish a picture, claiming to show the ghost roaming the island in 2008.
Tommy Skog and his son were visiting the island and was taking pictures of the prison towers where an oval hole in the wall on the first floor caught his attention. When looking at the picture, he was certain he had taken a picture of the ghost of a man, sitting in the opening.
An Island That Never Truly Sleeps
Today, Munkholmen is a popular destination in summer, but its darker reputation persists. Locals often say the island feels different once the last boat departs and silence returns. As dusk settles, the fortress seems to watch the fjord, its thick walls holding centuries of suffering within.
Whether haunted by monks, prisoners, or those executed long before history was written down, Munkholmen remains a place where the past feels uncomfortably close. The sea may surround it, but it has never truly washed the island clean.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
Could Junkerngasse be the most haunted street in Bern? From a former monastery that used to be here, locals complained for a long time about the haunting of a monk who committed a sin so grave that neither his body, nor his soul ever left.
Beneath the elegant façades of Bern’s Junkerngasse and its parallel Gerechtigkeitsgasse, now known for its stately houses, flagstone walks, and commanding views of the Aare, lies a buried past of devotion, downfall, and damnation.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland
In medieval times, this street, then called Kirchgasse or Church Lane, was the sacred artery of Bern’s religious life. It wound past chapels, cloisters, and courtyards belonging to powerful abbeys. Among these was a quiet but significant property: the Frienisberghaus, the urban residence of the Cistercian monks of Frienisberg Abbey, who came to the city on church business or for rest.
But for centuries after the Reformation, the house was shunned, whispered about, and eventually torn down. It was said to be haunted by a monk, one who carried a sin so grave that death could not bring him rest.
Junkerngasse: Known as one of the most haunted streets in Bern perhaps. A street with a long history, with a new street built on top of what used to be there. Here you se number 57, 55, 53, 51, 49. // Source: Tilman2007/Wikimedia
The Monastery in the City
The Cistercian Order was one of deep discipline and purity, founded on silence, labor, and a vow of chastity. The monks of Frienisberg Abbey, located in the Seeland region northwest of Bern, were among the many religious orders who held property within the city walls. As early as 1285, they owned a house in Bern. In the 14th century, their holdings expanded when the city filled in the old moat of the Nydegg fortress, granting the monks their monastery courtyard next to the Interlakenhaus, the biggest monastery courtyard in the city, a stone’s throw from the Nydeggkirche and what would later become the Nydegg Bridge.
Old Bern: Map of Berne, wooden cut by Hans Rudolf Manuel, 1549. Earliest topographically accurate depiction of Berne.
This was not a grand abbey, but rather a quiet urban refuge, a place to shelter monks traveling from Frienisberg. And yet, in this serene setting, something terrible happened.
Sin in the Cloister
One monk, whose name has been lost to history, committed the unthinkable: he violated a nun, a crime so heinous in the Cistercian world that it still lingers. The details remain vague, but the sin of lust, in a setting that demanded purity, sealed the monk’s eternal punishment.
After the Reformation swept through Bern in the 1520s, the monasteries and their property were dissolved or repurposed. The Frienisberghaus became a state building used for charitable causes, but its halls were never peaceful again.
For years afterward, locals reported that a ghostly monk would wander the courtyard at midnight, his hood drawn low, his feet never touching the ground. He climbed the stairs slowly, mournfully, only to descend again moments later, as if condemned to walk in infinite, unfulfilled penance. His form was pale and nearly transparent, a whisper of cloth and shadow.
Later still, as the house aged and became derelict, the haunting intensified. Groans, sighs, and scraping sounds echoed from the attic. Tools rusted without cause, and workers who tried to repair the building reported a sense of dread they couldn’t shake. During the building’s eventual demolition, something even more sinister was uncovered: a skeleton, walled up in a sealed niche, curled in on itself in a final pose of suffering. His blackened robes and rotted rosary still clung to bone.
It was confirmation of the old fears. Whether buried in secret as punishment or hidden to avoid scandal, this monk had been walled up alive, and his soul had never left.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
References:
P. Keckeis & M. Waibel, Legends of Switzerland. Bern, Zurich 1986
Pale and with blood shot eyes, a group of mysterious women set their foot on Louisiana ground for the first time. Shipped from France, they were the promised girls for the colonial men to be their wives. Who were the Casket Girls? Just innocent women far away from home, or blood thirsty vampires?
In a city saturated with ghost stories, voodoo queens, and haunted mansions, few legends hold as eerie a grip on New Orleans folklore as that of Les Filles à la Cassette — the Casket Girls. Even today, the colonial mail order brides of Louisiana suffer from inaccurate memories and dark legends and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction..
Their tale, with its whiff of vampirism, colonial intrigue, and the restless dead, is as much a part of the French Quarter’s haunted past as the foggy alleys and crumbling tombs of St. Louis Cemetery. And like all great New Orleans ghost stories, it begins with a boat ride and ends with a coffin.
The Casket Girls: The Les Filles à la Cassette as they were originally called, were a group of women shipped to the colonies in order to marry and grow the colony of New France. They got their name from their little trunks they carried all their belonging in. Years later, the supernatural rumors surrounding these women, doesn’t seem to be letting go.
Daughters of the King or the Women Without a Future
The Casket Girls were a group of mail order brides sent from the old country to New France to populate the colonies, severely lacking European females. It was not the first time the country had sent a shipment of women for this purpose. In the early 18th century, when New Orleans was a young, swampy French colony teeming with soldiers, fortune-seekers, and rogues, women were in short supply. In a move both practical and ominous, the French government arranged for young, virtuous women from convents and orphanages to be shipped to Louisiana to marry settlers and help “civilize” the rough colony.
It was not only to get the men a wife, but a white and European wife, because, as Commissary Jean-Baptiste Dubois Duclos said: “[i]f no French women come to Louisiana, the colony would become a colony of mulastres” (people of mixed race).
The Governor of Louisiana hoped for something like the Filles du Roi of Quebec in New France and Jamestown, that had young gentlewomen volunteering to go to colonies to marry the men in exchange for a dowry by the king. These were seen as proper brides and a welcome addition to creating a new world in the colonies. At first at least, and they too would later be remembered as prostitutes by many. Although much needed, the much needed brides are remembered through a thin veil of misogyny and sexism.
The Pelican Girls Comes to Louisiana
When the southern part of North America started to form as a colony, they needed brides for the frontier men here as well. The first shipments to the French colony in Biloxi in Mississippi on the Pelican in 1704. This was the capital of the French owned North America called La Louisiane. Coming on a boat known as Pelican, the woman was later known as: The Pelican Girls. The women there had been chosen for their virtue and piety.
The King’s Daughters: The Arrival of the French Girls at Quebec, 1667.This is the type of group they were hoping to get with The Casket Girls.
Their voyage over the Atlantic held them chained together in the ship’s hold and some never made it across and died of yellow fever. After six months at sea where they stopped at Havana for supplies, twenty three women with their nun chaperones arrived. The women were accompanied by three gray nuns called soeurs grises from the charity hospital La Salpêtrière in Paris.
The women, seeing the harsh conditions and lack of comfort felt tricked and tried to leave. Dirty shacks as houses, deer skin over the windows as curtains and men that were never home. Many of them returned to France, some were denied and forced to marry. In the end, no one wanted to come to Louisiana. They rebelled and refused to cooperate in what was known as the Petticoat Rebellion.
Comfort Women: Engraved by Pierre Dupin ( 1690-1751 ) after Antoine Watteau, this Departure for the Islands represents the deportation of the “comfort women” to America, to whom the legend ironically invites in these terms: “Come on, we must leave without being asked, Darlings,…”
After the women started to demand a decent living, the French men changed their perspective on them, thinking the women difficult because of their demands. They thought about sending a different set of women. For the next shipments to the colonies, the government went to darker places to pick out the brides.
A Strange Cargo from France
Then there was the Casket Girls, and there is little documentation that they ever did exist, at least as to how they are remembered in legend.
258 women were shipped from France to Louisiana between 1719 to 1721. 80 of them came over on La Baleine in 1721 to Mobile bay in Alabama. 29 of them were orphanages, 35 were from poor houses and 194 were convicted criminals from La Force prison. French officials called them “women without futures.” Some of the womens families had even sent them there themselves to be rid of them.
Cassette: 17th century chest, similar to what the Casket Girls must have been carrying. // Source: Courtesy of the Canadian Museum of History.
These young women, the youngest a 12 year old former sex worker in Paris, arrived from France carrying small rectangles that were rather coffin-shaped luggage trunks called cassettes, meant to hold their modest belongings — linens, and clothes, caps, chemise, stockings. Over time, the word cassette became casquette and was translated from French to casket.
Mail order Brides: In 1713 a group of 12 women arrived. They were described as ugly and poor with no linen, clothes or beauty vallet The Casket Girls. Rumours circulated that the captain had raped all of them during their voyage. Only three of them married, and that the future mail order bride should be more beautiful than pretty. Image depicting Women coming to Quebec in 1667, in order to be married to the French Canadian farmers. Jean Talon, intendant of New France, and François de Montmorency-Laval, bishop of Quebec, are waiting for the arrival of the women.
To the lonely, desperate colonists, these girls seemed heaven-sent at first, but then, fear and suspicion crept up on them. As the shipment started to give them other than the “virtuous” like the Pelican Girls, the treatment of them also worsened. To the officials in Louisiana, they were appalled by the backstory of the women they had been sent.
Many complained about their behavior and some men even refused to marry them, although most of The Casket Girls were married within six months of stepping off the ships. Some of the women were also forced to marry. To the more superstitious locals, they seemed to bring with them something… unnatural.
The Casket Girls have later in legends been described as looking more dead than alive when they stepped off the boat. Pale from the lack of sunlight and emancipated after the long months at sea. In the harsh sun, their skin burned quickly and blistered.
The Vampire Rumors Take Root
Soon after the arrival of the Casket Girls, strange happenings reportedly plagued the colony. Having been picked out from prisons, there was certainly an uptick in crime and prostitution from the little female population.
Illness swept through the settlements, livestock died under mysterious circumstances, and tales of bloodless corpses began to make the rounds. Was it the humid and harsh environment of Louisiana, or something darker? Legend spoke of bodies found with their throat ripped open and drained of blood.
The Vampires at the Old Ursuline Convent
The most persistent version of the story of The Casket Girls claims that the cassettes were taken to the Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter of New Orleans, still an outpost of the colony. The building is still on Chartres Street and is the oldest in the Mississippi Valley. On the first floor, there was an orphanage with classrooms and an infirmary, and the nuns lived on the second floor. On the third floor there was an attic and a couple of living quarters for those in need.
Ursuline Nuns: Sister Marie-de-Jesus, “Arrival of the Ursulines and the Sisters of Charity in New France,” Painted in 1928. Photo from the Virtual Museum of Canada.This nun order was the first nun order to set their foot and work on the New France colony.
The Ursuline Order came from Rouen in France, to the marshy frontier of New Orleans, or Nouvelle Orleans as it was then. They were said to chaperone a shipment of The Casket Girls when they arrived, but the order has denied their involvement with the mail order brides.
In 1728, a group of Casket Girls arrived from France. They were taken to the convent for safekeeping until they could find suitable husbands to them, but soon, rumors started to form. Strange sounds were heard at night — rustlings, scratching, and sighs that no mortal throat could make.
The Sealed Attic Mystery
Perhaps the creepiest element of the legend involves the convent’s attic The Casket Girls were said to have been placed in. Some of the nuns were suspicious of the casket-like trunks they traveled in (here the lore has enlarged the trunks). Their suspicion grew when the strange deaths kept happening around the convent. When the nun checked them, the coffins were empty. Some say that the Casket Girls smuggled the vampires to the crescent city of New Orleans in the trunks or that they themselves were the vampires, sleeping in their coffins when the sun was out.
Local lore insists that after unnerving occurrences and when the nuns discovered that the brides were actually vampires, the nuns moved the cassettes — and possibly something else — to the third-floor attic and sealed the shutters tight with silver nails blessed by the Pope himself to keep them trapped. 800 of these nails to be exact. How the Pope heard about this and sent them from the Vatican is never mentioned though.
More Than Vampires Haunting the Convent: In addition to stories about the Casket Girls, there are also stories about ghosts of soldiers from the War of 1812 haunting the former convent as it was used as a hospital then. Ghost children from the time as an orphanage are heard laughing and playing in the garden. Later, bones from children were dug up on the property. // Source
To this day, it’s said the shutters on the attic’s windows remain closed and secured, even through the fiercest hurricanes. Some claim that attempts to open them have been met with bad luck, death, or worse. Occasionally claim to see pale faces or flickering figures at the darkened windows, said to be the spirit of The Casket Girls or perhaps the starved vampires they turned out to be.
And when tourists pass by the convent at night, many report a lingering sense of being watched — or of catching fleeting movement from the sealed windows above or hearing their footsteps from the third floor, following them through the building.
The Undead Legacy of the Casket Girls
In the legends, the caskets are often told to fit the girls themselves, being shipped in lockdown. In truth, these trunks they were named after were small so that the women could carry them themselves. The legend of the Ursuline Convent mostly talks about them arriving in 1728, however, historical records claim that only Ursuline nuns came over to New Orleans that year and that the Casket Girls came as mentioned earlier. New Orleans wasn’t founded as a city until 1718-1721. Some even argue that there were no Casket Girls in New Orleans at all.
In addition, the convent building we see today wasn’t even finished until 1752-1753. So where did the legends come from? Is it simply something made up in the 20th century after the meaning of the words transformed over time? There are, after all, no sources found for the casket girls being vampires until then.
Some speculate that them being vampires, were something that came from the Anne Rice novels about vampires in New Orleans.
But the legend is far from dead. There is also a persistent rumor that a group of ghost hunters did some investigation to the legend in the 70s. They turned up dead the next morning, and all the footage they got from their investigation was destroyed and the evidence for the lingering casket girls having anything to do with it, erased.
New Orleans, a city forever teetering between life and death, has a knack for breathing unholy life into its own legends. Whether born from coincidence, homesick imaginations, or darker forces, the tale of the Casket Girls has never truly been laid to rest.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
A devious and unholy monk called The Hunderprest, was said to haunt the countryside on the Scottish border as well as Melrose Abbey. Was this specter really a bloodsucking vampire?
In the Scottish Borders, the ruins of Melrose Abbey have stood since the 12th century as a brooding, atmospheric relic of medieval piety and power. Melrose is a seemingly picture perfect place, drawing people in as the best salmon and trout fishing in the country.
The Melrose Abbey is on the north east side of the town center and some of the more iconic buildings from the area. Behind its beautiful Gothic arches and solemn grave markers lies a dark legend: the tale of the Hunderprest, or the dog priest, a vampiric monk whose foul deeds and undead existence chilled even the most devout.
The Mysterious and Magical Melrose Abbey
The Abbey was founded by a colony of Cisterian monks in 1136 by the River Tweed. Once, it was said a miracle happened here, when the corn in their cellar multiplied in the time of a great famine, and the monks could feed them all. This and more miracles were said to have been performed by Abbot Waltheof, the stepson to King David I of Scotland.
Through its time of operation it was one of the wealthiest monasteries in Scotland, but through all the years of war on the Scottish border it was badly damaged by the English in 1385 and rebuilt in the late 14th century.
Melrose Abbey: A view of the interior of the ruined Melrose Abbey, Scotland. Heath’s Picturesque Annual 1835 by Roger Griffith
Today it’s a museum, although a big part of it is now lichen-covered ruins. In the Chapter House there is a burial casket of a heart, thought to belong to King Robert I, also called, The Bruce. In 1812, an old stone coffin was found close to the altar, thought to be the final resting place of Michael Scot, the mysterious Scottish wizard from the 13th century, said to have changed the River Tweed with his staff and turned the single peak of the Eildon Hills to the three we see today.
But not all miracles were as magical as these wonderful things. Some say that the magic happening around the cloister was also the work of evil, perhaps even a bloodsucking vampire.
The Hunderprest of Melrose Abbey
According to medieval chronicles, the Hunderprest was a monk of Melrose Abbey during the 12th or 13th century. The Cistercian monks who lived and worshipped there had built the Abbey, the first Cistercian Abbey in the country, at the behest of King David I. They were famous for their Melrose wool they sold to the rest of Europe.
Though little is known about his mortal life, legend says he was a man of great vice and depravity, a predator hidden behind a habit, whose sins were so grave that even in death, the earth rejected him.
Melrose Abbey in 1800, when part of the abbey was still in use as the parish church
Exactly what his sins were is not explicitly said always, but he was often claimed to have been a womaniser and drunkard, bringing shame upon his order. The region was a place of unlawfulness though, being controlled by independent clans called The Border Reivers that often clashed together in violence. It was both a time and place of ruthless lawlessness.
Some say that in life, he used to be a chaplain to a lady who lived nearby. He was given the name Hundeprest as his favorite thing to do was hunting on horseback as a pack of howling hounds followed him.
Howling Hounds: Often in William Newburghs tales of the undead, there is a pack of dogs following as the dog motif has been connected with death for ages in European mythology. The black dog is a supernatural, spectral, or demonic hellhound. It is usually unnaturally large with glowing red or yellow eyes, is often connected with the Devil, and is sometimes an omen of death.
Some accounts claim he practiced the black arts in secret, while others allege unspeakable acts committed under the guise of spiritual authority. The locals whispered of his unnatural appetites and sinister nature — rumors that seemed confirmed after his passing.
The Undead Haunting of the Abbey
Because of his sins in life, there was no way he was getting into heaven, and his soul could not find any peace. Livestock were found drained of blood, villagers claimed to see a shadowy figure lurking near graves, and monks reported being stalked by a ghastly presence within the cloisters at night.
He tried to enter the Abbey in the night in the form of a winged bat, only driven away after vigorous prayer and rituals from the monks. Because he was unable to cross the threshold to the holy ground, he needed another place to torment.
He found the cottage to a woman who he had known when he was alive. Said to be the woman he had been the chaplain for in life. She was also rumored to have been his lover. Her neighbors reported that a vampire roamed around her house, moaning and screeching at her, scaring her. Every night he returned to torment and terrorize, lusting after her blood. Because of this, they decided to summon an elder monk from the abbey for an exorcism.
The Exorcism of a Vampire
Determined to put an end to the terror, the abbot of Melrose called upon the services of a particularly devout and courageous monk, often believed to be William of Newburgh, a respected chronicler of supernatural events. He ended up writing about a lot of monsters and ghosts in the middle ages.
William of Newburgh: Many of the tales about the British vampires comes from the 12th century historian, William of Newburgh. William’s major work was Historia rerum Anglicarum or Historia de rebus anglicis (“History of English Affairs”), a history of England from 1066 to 1198, written in Latin. It is written in an engaging fashion and still readable to this day, containing many fascinating stories and glimpses into 12th-century life. He is a major source for stories of medieval revenants, animated corpses that returned from their graves, with close parallels to vampire beliefs.
According to the old accounts, a group of monks were put to task and went to the grave of the priest to investigate. As the day waned, the priest appeared like he was levitating out of his grave. They managed to shove the vampire back with a staff. Sometimes this is changed to a mighty axe the monks swung at him. The earth swallowed the Hunderprest like nothing had happened, the ground undisturbed again. This is when the elder monk knew they were dealing with a vampire and knew what to do.
They waited for daylight and dug up his grave again. They exhumed the Hunderprest’s corpse and what they found only deepened their horror: though dead for some time, the monk’s body was fresh, his face ruddy, with blood at his lips curled up to a grin, classic signs of the undead in medieval folklore.
It was also said it was through praying and fasting that they managed to defeat him. How they killed the vampire, although not named as such in the early sources, varies. Did they stake him through the heart? Probably not, but they do mention setting him on fire and burning him to ashes as most of the stories of the undead mentions. The legend of the stake came later.
Revenant: The term vampire or the undead was not used in medieval time, but several of the stories about the Revenant, Sanguisa or the bloodsuckers of folklore bear resemblance to what the modern world would classify as a vampire legend. In folklore, a revenant is a spirit or animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living and was in medieval times used interchangeably with ghosts. They come from various cultures like the Celtic and Norse, some reminding more about a classic ghost story, some more of a vampire legend. Although today a mixed version of the western and eastern European mythologies of the undead.
After they burned him to ash, they took him to Lammermuir Hills where the wind carried him to the north along the borders.
To this day, visitors to the hauntingly beautiful ruins of Melrose Abbey claim to feel a chilling presence lingering among the weathered stones. Some report seeing a shadow moving through the broken cloisters at night, or hearing faint whispers in the darkened archways.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
A house of God turned into the sinful playground of the rich and powerful nuns, the former Dominican Cloister, Kleines Klingental in Basel is said to be haunted by the ghostly nuns, still to this day praying to be released from their sins.
In the cityscape of Basel, few would suspect that beneath its serene facades and picturesque medieval streets, lurk tales of scandal, sin, and spectral unrest. One of the city’s most persistent and unsettling legends clings to the site of Kleines Klingental, a former nunnery turned barracks, museum, and, by some accounts, one of Basel’s most active haunted sites.
Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland
Today it goes under the name of The Kleines Klingental Museum and showcases statues from the Cathedral. It is here, in what was once a house of prayer and seclusion, that shadows from centuries past still move in the dark corners. And if the legends are to be believed, the ghosts that roam these halls were once no ordinary nuns.
Museum Klingental Basel: The old nunnery is said to be haunted by the sinful nuns that used to live there, centuries ago.// Source: Mikatu/Wikimedia
A Cloister of Contradictions
Founded in the 13th century, the Klingental Monastery was established in Kleinbasel, just across the Rhine from Basel’s bustling old town. It dates back to at least 1274 when twelve Dominican nuns settled in Kleinbasel, having come to Basel from Alsace via the Black Forest.
Officially a place of pious retreat for noblewomen, it soon became something altogether different. The Klingental Monastery, which at its peak was home to 52 nuns, was the richest and most distinguished monastery in Basel. The women who sought sanctuary here were largely from wealthy, aristocratic families, bringing with them not only their dowries and fine possessions but also their personal attendants and, as rumor has it, a disdain for the strictures of monastic life.
Nuns in Medieval Europe: There were few career options for a woman except marriage or cloister. Many nuns excelled as illustrators, tapestry-makers, musicians, gardeners and cooks. Some wrote diaries and texts that survive today and provide interesting insights into the way in which they lived and thought.
Among the nuns spending time in the cloister were two representatives of the Eptingen family, the cousins Sophie and Elisabeth, appear. Susanna, a daughter of Georg von Hattstatt and Elisabeth von Tierstein, is also documented as a nun in 1334. Clara, the daughter of the Basel mayor Henmann II von Ramstein, was also a nun at St. Clara.
There were cases of women being sent to the convent against their will, like Anna von Ramstein. She was the cousin of Susanna von Ramstein, whose father was mayor of Basel in the 15th century. She was said to have been rebellious at the Steinen monastery and, after a failed escape attempt, was brought to St. Clara that she successfully escaped from in 1462.
The nun Katharina, mentioned in 1357, was the stepdaughter of Claus Berner the Younger and the records curiously says she was “taken from the Jews.” In a pogrom before the plague in 1349, the Jewish inhabitants of Basel were expelled from the city or killed. Many of their children were forcibly taken from their families to convert them to the Christian faith, and this nun was most likely one of them.
The four nuns Agnes, Ennelin, Gredlin, and Katharina von Hachberg were of roya blood being the daughters of Margrave Rudolf III of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1343-1428) and Röteln and his wife Anna von Neuenburg (1374-1427).
So how then, did this seemingly pious and respected community of women get the reputation of evil and sinful nuns?
Position of Power: In the 13th century, the abbess of the Fraumünster abbey in Zurich was the chief office-holder of the city. She appointed mayors and judges, had voting rights and the right to sit in the Imperial Diet of the assembly of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire.
From Sacred to Profane at Kleines Klingental
By the late Middle Ages, the Dominican cloister’s reputation was in tatters. Cloistered walls became veils for intrigue. Lovers came and went under the cover of night, and luxuries forbidden by monastic vows flowed freely behind thick stone walls. Chroniclers of the era spoke darkly of secret births and whispered of infants drowned in the cold, rushing waters of the Rhine to preserve the illusion of chastity.
Attempts by church authorities to restore order and penitence to the monastery met with clever defiance and the noble-born nuns using their rank and influence to evade the scrutiny of even the most zealous inquisitors.
Now, how true were these rumors? Did they really do all of the things their legend accuse them of? Or is this just yet another example of the male dominated church looking down on the female community, perhaps the most powerful women could be at that time? Or was it when the male dominated military moved in that the ghostly legends started?
The Old Haunted Nunnery: Detail from Matthäus Merian’s 1642 bird’s eye view of the city of Basel in his work Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae . The area of the Klingental Monastery can be seen in the center.
The Military Takes Over
With the arrival of the Reformation in the 16th century, the monastery was secularized, and much of its land was repurposed. By the 19th century, the site had become a barracks. But the soldiers stationed at Kleines Klingental soon discovered they shared their quarters with more than just their fellow men.
Nights in the old nunnery became restless affairs. Strange wailing echoed through the empty corridors. Disembodied footsteps padded softly across stone floors. Soldiers reported encountering ghostly figures clad in flowing black habits, faces hidden in shadow, clutching rosaries or silently weeping. It was whispered that these were the unquiet souls of the sinful nuns, cursed to wander the halls where they had once schemed, sinned, and sought fleeting pleasures.
Some claimed that the phantoms prayed aloud at midnight, their voices mournful, seeking forgiveness too long denied. Others spoke of ghostly processions in the dead of night — pale women gliding past candlelit walls, vanishing into darkness. Apparitions of a mother cradling a child before disappearing into the old well, rumored to have once been used to dispose of unwanted infants, chilled even the most hardened soldier’s blood.
Even the soldiers quartered there left a deadly imprint on the barracks. As they were renovating the place, 29 skeletons of the soldiers, most likely dying in an outbreak of the Spanish flu and buried on the grounds, were found.
The Ghostly Legacy Lives On in Kleines Klingental Museum
The soldiers left in 1966. Today, the Kleines Klingental Museum occupies part of the historic site. While much of the monastery was lost to time and urban development, several original monastic cells and the old cloister remain intact. And with them, so too, it seems, do the phantoms.
Artists in the art studios in the right wing of the barracks and caretakers who have spent long evenings within the ancient walls speak of unexplained chills, flickering lights, and strange nocturnal sounds. Some report seeing figures in habits lingering in shadowed doorways or passing by in mirrors, only to vanish when pursued. The local legend insists that the unrepentant souls of Kleines Klingental still walk, their sins too great to allow them peace centuries after their death.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
Dubbed the rose city because of the red rocks it is carved out of, the mysterious Petra in Jordan has captivated the local Bedouins as well as the tourists across the world for centuries. But what ghosts and ghouls are haunting the place?
Petra, Jordan, is a city steeped in mystery and intrigue. Known as the Rose City, Petra is home to some of the most impressive ancient architecture in the world. But behind the stunning facade lies a dark and haunted history. From tales of curses and lost treasure to unexplained apparitions and eerie sounds, Petra is a place where the paranormal and the historical collide.
From the ghostly whispers of ancient spirits to the curses of long-dead pharaohs, there’s no shortage of spine-tingling stories to be found in Petra, often called Rose city because of the reddish sandstone cliffs.
Haunted Ancient City: The stunning Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, carved into the rose-red cliffs of Petra, Jordan. A lot of strange things and legends about the place have made many think that the city is haunted.
The History of Petra
Petra is an ancient city that was once the capital of the Nabataean kingdom. The city was founded in the 6th century BC and was a major trading hub for spices, incense, and other valuable goods. Petra’s location at the intersection of several important trade routes made it a wealthy and powerful city.
The Nabataeans were skilled architects and engineers who carved their homes and temples out of the sandstone cliffs that surround Petra. The most famous of these structures is the Treasury, a magnificent temple that was carved into the rock face and served as the tomb of a Nabataean king.
There are huge Hellenistic structures carved into solid rock that served as a mausoleum for the wealthy dead.
Petra’s glory days came to an end in the 2nd century AD when the city was conquered by the Roman Empire. There were also earthquakes that changed the trade route that contributed to the decline of Petra. Permanent residency of Petra essentially ended in the 6th century CE, when water access was diminished for the city’s 20,000 inhabitants and regional competitor Palmyra took the reins of the trade between the Persians and the Romans.
Over time, Petra was abandoned and fell into ruin. It wasn’t until the 19th century that Petra was rediscovered by Western explorers in 1812, when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt made the locals bring him there, and it became a popular tourist destination. Despite its ancient origins, Petra’s history is not all sunshine and roses. The city has seen its fair share of tragedy and bloodshed over the centuries, which has given rise to some of the most chilling ghost stories in the world.
The Forgotten Treasury Al-Khazneh
One of the most famous legends associated with Petra is that of the lost treasure of the Nabataeans called Al-Khazneh, or the enchanted Treasury. According to this legend from Bedouin folklore, the Nabataeans were incredibly wealthy from spice and silk trade and amassed a vast fortune over the centuries. When the Romans invaded Petra, the Nabataeans were forced to flee, leaving their treasure behind. It is said that the treasure is still hidden somewhere in Petra, waiting to be discovered by a brave and lucky adventurer.
Al-Khazneh: The stunning Treasury of Petra, a testament to Nabataean architecture carved into the rose-red cliffs. It is thought that Al-Khazneh was built as a mausoleum and crypt at the beginning of the 1st century AD during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris.
One legend about the treasury is that to protect the treasure, a pharaoh put a curse on the place. According to the story, an Egyptian pharaoh and some in his army escaped when the Red Sea closed when they hunted Moses. They created the treasury with magic as a safe place before they continued to hunt Moses down. And those willing to break the rules and search for the treasure, will feel the wrath of the curse.
Some think that the treasury was more a place of worship or a burial chamber, more than a place of hiding away treasures. Many of the sculptures are of various creatures from mythology that were associated with the afterlife.
Petra is also home to several mysterious and unexplained phenomena. Visitors to the city have reported hearing ghostly whispers and moans coming from the ancient ruins. Some have even claimed to have seen apparitions of long-dead Nabataean warriors and priestesses wandering the streets of Petra, still protecting their home.
The Haunted Stories of Petra
Visitors to Petra have reported a wide range of paranormal activities. Some have reported seeing orbs of light floating through the ancient ruins, while others have claimed to have heard disembodied voices and footsteps. Some have even reported feeling a cold breeze or a sudden drop in temperature, even on the hottest days.
The Siq: The narrow sandstone gorge leading into Petra, known as the Siq, offers a glimpse of the stunning red rock formations characteristic of the Rose City. The Siq literally ‘the Shaft’, is the main entrance. Also known as Siqit, it is a dim, narrow gorge (in some points no more than 3 metres (10 ft) wide) and winds its way approximately 1.2 kilometres (3⁄4 mi) and ends at Petra’s most elaborate ruin, Al-Khazneh.
Some say that the ghosts haunting Petra are Nabatean merchants or Roman legionnaires who died in battle. There are also those saying that the place is haunted by a group of school girls.
In 1963, a sudden flood killed 23 Lebanese schoolgirls. According to some, their spirit is haunting the halls and you can hear their laughter turning into screams after night echoing through the red walls in the mile long gorge or Siq, leading into Petra.
The Djinn Blocks
When you walk down the Street of Facades you will come across three enormous obelisks called Djinn Blocks. The blocks are probably from the 2nd century B.C and according to bedouin legends, they were the dwellings of the djinns, an Islamic legend about the Djinns, made from smokeless fire.
They appear to visitors as a flash of light or as a blowing whirls of wind. Djinns are said to appear at night and are said to be behind the nightly haunting when they came from the burial chambers and dark corners of Petra.
The Monastery Ad-Deir
Getting to higher ground, you will find the Monastery, or the Ad-Deir. This monumental building was probably carved out from rock in the mid-first century AD. It is perhaps the second most known building in Petra after the Khazneh.
The Monastery Ad-Deir: a stunning architectural marvel carved into the rock, stands majestically against the backdrop of Petra’s rugged landscape. The building is believed to be haunted by someone guarding this sacred ground.
According to stories, the ghost of a guard is haunting this location. There are also those saying they have seen someone looking like wearing ancient robes like a Nabatean monk, disappearing around behind the walls.
Like someone is still protecting their sacred ground.
The Mystery of Petra’s Lost City
Despite its haunted history, Petra remains a popular tourist destination. Visitors flock to the city from all over the world to explore the ancient ruins and experience the rich history and culture of the Nabataean people.
In fact, the surface of Khazneh has receded by 40 mm in less than ten years from people touching, leaning or rubbing against the walls.
Perhaps the greatest mystery of Petra is the city itself. Despite years of archaeological research, much of Petra remains shrouded in mystery and intrigue. The city is home to several hidden tombs and underground tunnels, many of which have yet to be fully explored. Some believe that these tunnels lead to secret chambers where the lost treasure of the Nabataeans is hidden.
Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
In the old town of Elche there is an old library that is said to be haunted. Securitas have claimed to have witness an entire procession of ghost monks wandering through the halls that once used to be a Franciscan Monastery.
The Historic and Haunted Library of Elche has a long and storied history. Originally established as a convent of Franciscan friars in the 16th century, it later served as a charity hospital before being converted into a library in the 18th century. This transformation laid the foundation for the library’s reputation as a place of both knowledge and mystery.
Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain
The library’s location within the historic city center of Elche adds to its significance. Elche itself is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, and the library stands as a testament to the city’s commitment to preserving its past.
The Historic and Haunted Library of Elche is no stranger to tales of paranormal activity. Over the years, numerous stories have circulated about ghostly encounters and unexplained phenomena within its walls. One of the most enduring legends is that of the spirit of the monks who once inhabited the library.
According to local folklore, the ghost of a friar roams the library at night, his presence felt by those who dare to venture into the dimly lit corridors. Visitors have reported hearing soft footsteps and murmured prayers, as if the spirit of the friar is still carrying out his duties even in death. Some have even claimed to have seen the apparition of a hooded figure, silently gliding through the shelves, disappearing into thin air.
Haunted Encounters in the Library
One such encounter of the paranormal involved a group of security guards who were stationed at the library during the night shift. They reported strange noises, cold drafts, and flickering lights that seemed to have no logical explanation. Some even claimed to have seen shadowy figures darting in and out of the corners of their vision, and even an entire monastic procession.
On this particular night in the early 1990s, they were making their rounds as usual when one of them heard the sound of chains being dragged on the ground from the courtyard. Later that night, around 3 o’clock, he heard the same again inside of the library. When he went to check, he found piles of books stacked on the table, without anyone having gone inside. He tried to ignore it and went back to work. But then the specter of a ghost monk appeared and he fled from the library, running as fast as he could and spent the rest of the night in his car with his weapon ready, scared to death.
The case reached the press, but the staff of the library was asked to not talk about ghosts and phantoms in the library. Their work was to offer the service of books, not ghost stories. What could it be?
Sure, there are many things that could explain strange things happening in an old building like the library. According to a staff member at the time, it was apparently a rat infestation in the air-went, making strange rattling and scratching sounds. The books could be a prank or just something the security guard forgot about. The wind can also create mystical sounds. But a whole procession of monks?
Scattery Island has many legends about it. There are dangerous sea monsters, healing waters and ghosts from the monks and priests that lived in the monasteries there.
Off the coast of Kilrush in County Clare, nestled amidst the tumultuous waves of the Atlantic Ocean, lies Scattery Island. This idyllic isle that is called Inis Cathaigh in Irish, conceals secrets that echo through the annals of time, from tales of sea monsters to ancient legends of saints and spectral apparitions that gave name to this mystical island.
The Monstrous Cathach
Before the dawn of the sixth century, Scattery Island was a place shrouded in fear, as its inhabitants lived under the ominous shadow of a sea monster known as the Cathach. This malevolent creature, a Peist of unimaginable dread, terrorized the islanders.
Read More: Check out all of the ghost stories from Ireland
Legend tells of a divine intervention by Saint Senan, a holy figure who would change the destiny of Scattery Island. According to the ancient tales, Saint Senan received a celestial visitation from the Archangel Michael. This heavenly messenger bestowed upon him the knowledge and power to banish the wicked Cathach from the island.
Sea Serpent: At Scattery Island there is stories about a vicious sea serpent that plagued the area for a long time. Pictured is a sea serpent from Olaus Magnus’ book Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (History of the Northern Peoples, Rome, 1555).
Saint Senan confronted the Cathach, invoking the name of the Holy Trinity. He commanded the malevolent creature to depart from the island, never to return. The powers of divine intervention prevailed, and the Cathach was banished from Scattery Island, cast into the depths of the Black Lake in County Mayo.
Monasteries and a Healing Well
Saint Senan’s divine presence left an indelible mark on Scattery Island. He founded monasteries that thrived through the ages, bearing witness to his miraculous deeds. To this day, a visit to the grave of Saint Senan is believed to possess the power of healing, where the faithful seek solace and renewal.
There was a rule that no woman should ever set foot upon the grounds. There are also legends about miracles and magical water that could cure anything in the Holy Well. Even Saint Senan’s grave on the site is said to have healing powers to those that visited it.
Over the years, vikings attacked and the monasteries were abandoned during Elizabeth I’st reign, leaving it empty, except from ghosts.
A Fisherman’s Haunting Tale
It has always been a place of mystery, even without the tales of the sea serpent. When the Captains of the Shannons and their families inhabited the island again in the 1800s, they were the only people in the area that were somewhat spared from the Famine, and because of this, many thought there had to be something special about the place.
It is also thought to be a haunted place, something we are told about in the legend where a fisherman sought refuge on the island in a storm in the 19th century.
He entered the ruins of an ancient church to offer his prayers, seeking divine protection from the fury of the storm. As he knelt in solemn devotion and closed his eyes, an eerie transformation occurred. The air seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly presence as the disembodied voices of monks and priests filled the hallowed space. Oblivious to the fisherman’s presence, they celebrated mass at the altar, a spectral congregation from a distant time.
The fisherman’s heart raced with terror, realizing that he had unwittingly stumbled upon a supernatural realm. Overwhelmed, he closed his eyes once more and fervently prayed for their departure. When he dared to open his eyes again, the ghostly apparitions had vanished into the ethereal mist, leaving behind an island steeped in history and haunting mysteries.
Scattery Island Enigmatic Legacy
Scattery Island, a place where sea monsters met their match in a saint’s unwavering faith, and where the echoes of ancient monks’ chants linger in the air, stands as a testament to Ireland’s rich tapestry of history, myth, and the supernatural.
The last person living on the island moved in the 1970s, and churches, monasteries and even a castle were left in the ghost town. The enigmatic island beckons the curious to explore its haunted shores, where the past and the spectral converge in a realm of haunting beauty and timeless wonder.
The Castle of Loarre has more than one ghost. Perhaps you can spot the ghost of the abbess said to haunt the place, or perhaps of the traitor Count Don Julian. Or maybe it is the ghost of Violante de Luna that was exiled by the pope that you hear in the dead of the night?
Spain is a country with a rich history, and with that comes many tales of the supernatural. Some of the most intriguing ghost stories involve the beautiful castles that dot the Spanish countryside. These haunted castles have been the inspiration for countless legends and are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.
Towering majestically atop a rugged hill in the heart of Spain, this medieval fortress holds secrets that have remained hidden for centuries. Ridley Scott was so impressed by The Castle of Loarre that he chose it as a location for his movie Kingdom of Heaven.
Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain
From its origins as a strategic stronghold to its dark days of war and betrayal, the Castle of Loarre has witnessed it all, its walls echoing with the echoes of past tragedies.
Historical Significance of the Castle of Loarre
The Castle of Loarre, also known as Loarre Abbey Castle, is a remarkable architectural masterpiece that stands as a testament to the rich history of Spain and is a very well preserved castle in Huesca. It is also one of the oldest castles in Spain.
Built in the 11th century, it served as a strategic stronghold during the Reconquista, a period marked by the Christian kingdoms’ efforts to recapture the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. With its strategic location on a hill overlooking the surrounding plains, the castle provided a vantage point for surveillance and defense.
The castle’s architecture is a marvel in itself, blending Romanesque and Moorish influences. Its imposing walls, constructed with large stone blocks, are a testament to the craftsmanship of the time. As you walk through the castle’s corridors and explore its towers, you can’t help but marvel at the intricate details carved into the stone, telling stories of battles fought and victories won.
The Castle of Loarre as an Abbey
Back in the day the Castle of Loarre was used as an abbey for nuns as a spiritual sanctuary, not a fortress for defense. It is from this time that the haunted rumors came from and the legend says the old abbey is haunted by an old abbess that appears on the night of San Juan.
It is said that during a military conflict the abbey got caught in the middle and got to pay for it. The Abbess in charge was taken prisoner and locked up in the dungeons of the castle.
Castle of Loarre: The supposed haunted castle by night.
According to local lore, on the night of San Juan, the abbess makes her spectral appearance, wandering the halls and corridors in search of peace or perhaps retribution for past sins. This is said to happen on the night of San Juan.
San Juan’s, or St John’s, feast day falls on the 24th of June every year, but it’s on St John’s eve, the 23rd of June, that the celebrations take place.
Visitors to the castle have reported hearing her ghostly footsteps echoing through the empty chambers, accompanied by the flickering of candlelight that mysteriously appears and disappears.
The Ghost of Violante de Luna
Another version of this legend is that the ghost haunting The Castle of Loarre was a runaway abbess and not necessarily in charge of this place.
Her name was Violante de Luna living in the early 1400s in Spain where the pope had power throughout all of catholic Europe. She was the niece of Papa Luna, or Pope Benedict XIII and enjoyed the privileges it gave her. But little did she know the price for crossing him would be too high.
In her youth she took her cousin, Anton de Luna as her lover and she became pregnant. After her bastard son was born she entered the convent where she became abbess of the Trasobares convent and did quite well for herself. Perhaps she could have it all?
But then, rumor spread and the pope found out about this affair though and excommunicated them both and burned down her convent. They ran off to this very castle and lived together and it was said she led the siege that came to the castle as Anton had to go fight.
Because it was not only their life together that angered the pope, but also their involvement in the rebellion in defense of Jaime de Urgell’s candidacy for the Aragonese throne against Fernando de Antequera, a candidate who was finally elected in the Caspe Compromise. And the two lovers fell out of the popes grace in the middle of the feud.
Their time together was short in the castle as Anton had left for battle and Violante was captured by those chasing them when she lost the siege after three months. She was locked up for a few months in Sora, giving the impression to her jailers, due to her fierceness, that she was a woman “who had the devil in her body.”
What happened next to her is uncertain, some say that she was reunited with her lover in France, some say that she was buried in a monastery.
But all of the legends say that she is still haunting the castle she gave her all to protect. Some say she appears from time to time, walking through the castle as a ghost, standing in the queen’s balcony waiting for news from her beloved. Some say that she has a sword in her hand, still defending the castle from the enemies knocking on the doors.
The Haunted Legends and of Count Don Julian
Aside from the ghost abbess, the Castle of Loarre is steeped in other chilling legends and ghostly tales. One such story revolves around Count Don Julian, who is said to be buried within the castle walls.
There is also the version where Don Julian was buried at the entrance at the church as a traitor for having opened the gates and thereby giving free entry to the peninsula to the Moors to take over large parts of Spain.
During the battle of the Guadalete River in 711 there was a supposed betrayal by Don Julian that ended in defeat for the Visigothic King Don Rodrigo and the Arabs led by the warlords Tarik and Muza gained entry through the Strait of Gibraltar. Count Don Julian’s beloved daughter Florinda was known as La Cava and they supposedly withdrew to this castle to regain strength. But according to the story, they were both captured and imprisoned in the fortress.
The daughter was so scared of what would happen next that she took her own life. She supposedly threw herself from a tower. Don Julian was buried at the entrance to the church of San Pedro so that everyone would step on his grave as the traitor he was. This version seems a bit of a stretch though as in the time of Don Julian the castle was not yet built. Even so, the legend is that every Tuesday you can see him walking along the battlements.
Legend has it that his spirit still wanders the castle, seeking revenge on those who wronged him. His tormented soul laments and yearns for the tragic end his daughter suffered.
Visitors claim to have seen a shadowy figure lurking in the corners of their vision, only to vanish when approached. Others have reported feeling an icy chill in certain rooms, as if the count’s vengeful spirit is still present.
Visit the Haunted Castle
So, if you ever find yourself in Spain, don’t miss the opportunity to visit this ancient castle. Step through its gates and immerse yourself in the haunted history that lies within. But be warned, the Castle of Loarre is not for the faint of heart. The spirits that linger within its walls may just leave you with an unforgettable experience that will send shivers down your spine.
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Mirroring the famous Dance Macabre mural that used to hang on the walls near the Predigerkirche in Basel, it is said that plague victims were buried in the patch of grass outside of the church. Legend has it that when the city needs it, the dead will rise from it in a macabre procession, as a warning of an oncoming disaster.
Where history whispers and shadows reign, the Rathaus in Bern is said to be haunted by a myriad of ghosts. Who are the ghosts lingering in the City Hall after dark?
The two adjoining cloisters by Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by a couple of spectres entombed within the building. In the darkness of Basel’s Double Cloister, it is said you can hear the moaning of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unsuspected slap from a man, as mean in death as he was in life.
A lock keeper from the adjacent lock next 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 an old sanatorium in Switzerland the ghost of Hermann is said to have been haunting 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?
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.
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.
Seeking new land and a new life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but brought a silent killer with them: Consumption. Falling into odd superstitions, they believed the only way to stop the disease was to stop the undead from rising from their graves.
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.
Now a place you can rent and stay at, the Beck House in Canada is said to be one of the more haunted places. Those who have stayed the night come back with stories of strange encounters, believed to be the ghost of the Beck family members.
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.
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.
