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The Cursed Forest and Poltergeist of Finnskogen at Välgunaho

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Bordering Norway and Sweden, the mysterious Finnskogen forest, with its deep rooted trees holds ghosts, curses and lingering spirits. Like the poltergeist-like ghost at Välgunaho farm, who drove its residents away and left it abandoned for over a century. 

Deep along the border between Norway and Sweden lies Finnskogen, a wilderness that has frightened generations. The spruce forest closes in, the air turns unnervingly still over the marshland and twisting rivers, and the weight of something unseen settles over the dark paths. Even seasoned woodsmen avoid walking alone in certain parts beneath these branches once dusk arrives.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway or Sweden

The forest and area is rather undefined, but one of the more well known hiking trails crossing it, stretches for 240 km on the border between Sweden and Norway. It gets its name from the Finish people that settled here in the mid 1600s. They needed wood for their farming. This created a unique culture with their own ways, language and they are now a recognized minority. Because of their own nature based shaman religion and rituals, there has been a lot of mystery and magic surrounding the place that was considered foreign and haunted. 

The Haunted Finnskogen: The serene landscape surrounding Vermunden in Finnskogen, a forest steeped in mystery and folklore. // Source

Välgunaho: A Settlement Driven to Abandonment

In Röjden on the Swedish side of the forest sits Välgunaho, also spelled Velgunaho, a place so plagued by haunting that it was completely deserted in 1901, although some sources state it was in 1900. The year before had already become infamous as the ghost summer, a season of relentless activity that drove fear into the hearts of every resident and drove them out.

The Halinen and Saastainen family moved into Valea aho, “the bright shack”, in the 19th century. The name changed over time though, and when they moved out, their home was Velguna ho,  “the ghost shack”.

Read More: Check out more haunted forests around the world

In 1866, a man named Henrik married Marit Olsdotter Saastainen in Röjden. She was eighteen years older than him, who had joined the family as a maid a few years earlier. Marit had serious problems with her eyesight and would eventually become completely blind.

He lived at Välgunaho with Blind-Marit who was practicing rituals, sometimes called witchcraft. She was said to be sensing the ghosts haunting her home, and she would say and warn others by saying: “Now the little ones are coming again”. She would also feed them, thinking they lived underneath the floorboards, and she poked down breadcrumbs from the edge of her bed. 

Henrik’s brother Olof was deaf and mute and his sister Brita or Bitta is recorded in the church register as “almost deaf and mute”. Hearing loss seems to have been a hereditary trait in the Halinen family. A lot of family members were diagnosed as “deaf and dumb” by the priests. Meaning deaf and unable to speak of some sort of muteness most likely. 

Every long Friday at Easter, Blind-Marit ordered Bitta to walk around the barn three times towards the sun and read ‘Our Father’ out loud. If they were churning butter, they put money in Kjinna they were churning in, and if strangers arrived for coffee, Henrik always put his finger in the coffee. If he didn’t, all hell would break loose. And even with all their precautions and superstitions, it did. 

The Haunting Starts at Välgunaho

The first noticeable events occurred during an Easter weekend when the family’s cows ran around in the forest one morning, instead of staying safely in their locked stalls.

Henrik’s nephew, Sanla-August, or August Andersson that was his full name had been working in the forest in Trysil in Norway when he came home and heard about all the commotion at his uncle’s farm. Although not a particularly superstitious person himself, he went there on a bright summer day for a visit and experienced the darkness taking over the farm. He was often called over to help them clean up the mess the poltergeist was said to make. 

Sanla-August who we have most of the story from said: “The hauntings began, if I remember correctly, during an Easter weekend. The cows were let loose in the barn and invisible hands untied the cowhides as soon as they were put around the cowhides. The milk pails were thrown over and every conceivable mischief that could harm the farm people arose. The invisible forces eventually became so common that they were given the name ‘he’. Many doubters, both learned and unlearned, visited Välgunaho. Some did not gain anything from the trip to the haunted place. ‘He’ chose to remain still. I saw that you had to hold on to the food containers, plates and pans, etc. with all your might, which wanted to turn over immediately when you sat down to eat. Välgunaho is and remains a mystery.”

When Marit and Brita were milking the cows, large stones would suddenly fly into the air, as if they were intended to harm the two women. The fear and anxiety grew stronger and stronger in the small family and the mysterious phenomena seemed to escalate over time. Soon “he” had moved into the warmth of the cottage and was also haunting the indoors.

“You had to use all your strength to hold on to the food containers, plates and pans and more that promptly wanted to turn over when you sat down at the table and ate.”

People reported objects hurled across rooms with violent force, as if angry hands were tearing through their homes. Crockery exploded against walls, furniture toppled without warning. In the middle of the night they were woken up by the long-table made from heavy wood that was turned around on the floor. Even furniture fastened was thrown across the room and was torn apart. In the barn, the cows were let loose and even the stove pipe from the house ended up on the roof of the barn. 

Biblical Exorcism and Shamanic Practices

They tried to get Kosila-Ola, a person well versed in the mysterious rituals of the forest-finns to scare the evil forces away with gun-powder and salt and pepper. It didn’t really work. They summoned a Christian priest who brought his bible, but as soon as he put it on the table it was thrown into the wall. Nothing seemed to work, and it only seemed to worsen. 

Ole Henriksen, a Norwegian teacher from Rotberget didn’t believe any of it, and decided to stay over one night. A coffee burner or pot above the stove was thrown through the room and knocked on his fingers. Eventually, everyone left, and Henrik Olsson moved that fall and they tore the farm down, leaving only cairn stones and rusty copper cauldrons. After this it remained abandoned and known as the haunted place.

Back at the Haunted Välgunaho: Sanla-August who talked about his family’s experience at the place where it all happened, years after. Photo taken by Dagfinn Grønoset. // Source: Digitalt museum

Afterwards, they preferred not to talk about what happened in Velgunaho. When people told them about the ghosts, August from Sanala interrupted and said: “Don’t add to it. What happened is more than enough.”

The Forest That Punishes the Living

Those who know the legends warn never to remove anything from Finnskogen. A pinecone, a stone, a fragment of old wood. It does not matter. The forest’s guardians are said to punish anyone who steals from it. Tales circulate about travelers whose luck soured immediately after pocketing a harmless trinket, suffering accidents, illness or a strange streak of calamities that only ceased when the object was returned.

Throughout time, people wandering there came for the haunting. We know about it today much to the work of Dagfinn Grønoset who wrote Finnskof of Trollskap where he interviewed Sanla-August, then an old man in 1953. Another well known Finn, Nitaho-Jussi once brought a group of people up to see, warning them about not disturbing, “the little grey ones.” as he called them. But one kicked a stone and in the same moment, his home caught fire and burned to the ground according to the stories. 

Even in more recent times, people have blamed the mystery that happened on the farm for strange things happening. A bus of tourists once had a motorstop after they had passed through. Two women were taking white stones with painted crosses that the locals had put up around the farm. The guide Kjell Magne Nordvi convinced the driver to pretend to not be able to turn his key. He asked if someone had taken something from the place and asked them to deliver it back. After this, the bus started just fine, but definitely helped add to the story. 

According to stories, the ghostly phenomena were now instead moved due east, to Rikkenberget in the southern Finnish forest.

A Wilderness That Watches

Finnskogen remains a place where folklore and fear walk hand in hand. The wind seems to whisper in a language older than the trees, and many believe the spirits who tormented Välgunaho never left. Wanderers swear they have felt unseen eyes following them on the trails. Others hear knocking in the underbrush or the sudden rustle of branches when no breeze stirs.

Why did the haunting occur? Some speculated that the old woman at the place was said to have been in contact with the devil and “became blind and unable to fulfill her obligations to the highest of the same.”

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References:

Finnskogens hemmeligheter – Aller Travel Reisemagasin

Spøkelset på Välgunaho – Finnskogene

Finnskogen – inte bara mystik

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The Ghosts of Løp Gård North of the Veil

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In the old farm for the rich and the powerful in the northern parts of Norway, Løp Gård is said to hold many of their former inhabitants, even in their death. 

Løp Gård in Nordland, Norway has long carried a reputation that unsettles locals after nightfall for centuries. Løp Gård is today a tourist attraction run by Salten Museum and in the summer times, it turns into a cage. Parts of the house are up to 300 years old.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

The old farmstead is steeped in whispered stories, but none are as enduring or as eerie as the legend of the twin sisters said to haunt its halls. Their presence is not announced by screams or violence, but by something far more unsettling. The feeling that someone is watching from just beyond the edge of the light.

Shadows That Move on Their Own

Throughout Løp Gård’s history, people who have had great power have lived here, such as civil servants, skippers and policemen as a center of power. Layers of exclusive tapestry, a rarity in Norway at the time, shows how much riches were poured into the house. The house as it stands today is made up of seven different houses and to this day, a lot of the original furniture is still the museum and cafe. 

Some believe that young children are more sensitive to the supernatural. It has been reported that infants and young children refuse to go inside the house. If they are carried inside, they scream, howl, and want to get out.

The Ghosts of the Sisters at Løp

One of the stories is about an artist and his wife who lived in the house in a room that is now called the Boys’ Room. The room is on the second floor. It is said that the two often heard the main door on the first floor open and close, as if someone was entering the house. They often heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but when they went to check, no one was there. This happened over and over again, but there was never anyone there.

One day, as his wife was painting a picture, she turned around and saw a woman in white. She slowly turned back to the picture. She decided that she wanted to paint the woman, but when she turned back to her, she was gone.

Hanna Krogh-Hansen (1873 – 1971)

It is said that the woman in white was Hannah Løp, who also had a hobby of painting, an early owner of the house. It is said that both of the sisters are haunting their old home today. 

The Sisters Haunting their Home

Sisters Hannah and Arnolda inherited the house after their father Lauritz died, and became sole owners of the house, often called Frøknene på Løp (The Misses on Løp) and were known to be hard working ladies. They still serve their famous lemoncake in the cafe in the summertime. 

Before taking over the farm, Hanna learned photography from Louise Engen and was a professional in Oslo from 1898 until the 30s. Although a learned and well travelled woman, she sought back to her roots together with her sister after her father died in 1945.

Source

They lived there until they died in 1971 and 1979, 97 and 103 years old. The bed they spent their last days in is in one of the rooms in the house and is called the four-poster bed. There they both lay under several quilts to keep warm.

The Maid With the Red Bow

Another story is about a maid who once lived in the house. She fell in love with a civil servant and her employer and became pregnant after a short time. He rejected her though and she confronted him before she left the house forever. But where did she go?

In the 1990s, renovations were done and two workers loosened the floor and found a tiny red bow lying there. It is said it was the exact type of bow the maid had been wearing the last time she was seen. The workers ran out of the house and didn’t return to finish their job at all, according to some stories.

But what happened to the maid? There are many theories. Anna Elisabeth Westerlund is one of the psychics who has visited the farm and presented her own. When she was in the pantry where the two workers found the red ribbon, she said that something terrible had once happened here. The manager for the museum, Barbro Laxaa claimed that she believed the bow was still in the same place to this day. 

Some also said that the maid actually had the child there at the house. The son screamed and cried every day the mother left for work. And it is said that the sound of a child’s cry can still be heard in the house. But what happened to them though, is still a mystery. 

The Shipwrecked Man who Comes Knocking

Once a ship is said to have sunk off Løp. There were reportedly several people on board, but there was one man who managed to climb up from the beach at Løp and up to the farm, fighting his way from the freezing Norwegian winter waters through the equally freezing air.

He knocked as hard as he could on the door, and a man came and opened it. At that time, the farm was inhabited by some people of very high social rank, and they refused to let the man into the house. The poor man is said to have frozen to death outside the house during the night because he could not get anywhere else.

Cold gusts are blowing through the house, some workers say, and they think it’s the man just stopping by for a look.

The Civil Servant in the Ceiling

It is said that a female from the eastern part of Norway came to visit and had heard about the farm. This was after the house had become a tourist attraction and she wanted a tour of the house. The staff were simply too busy preparing for the party and running the café, so they told the lady she could just take a walk around the house and see what she wanted. 

The woman looked around and when she reached the second floor, she entered the room called the Great Hall. There she saw a man hanging from the ceiling. In that very room, it is said that an official had hanged himself, and according to some, his spirit is still hanging. 

At Løp Gård, even in silence, you are never truly alone, as more than one room holds the eternal residences from just beyond the veil. 

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References:

Spøker det på Løp?

Løp gård — Nordlandsmuseet

Hanna Krogh-Hansen (1873 – 1971) – Hederskvinner Nordland

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The Limping Ghost of Fossesholm

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After tragedy struck Birthe Svendsdatter, she threw herself from the window and ended up with a limp and a brain injury. Called Halte-Birthe because of her limp, she is said to haunt Fossesholm Manor to this day. 

At Fossesholm Manor in Vestfossen, Buskerud, love is said to have left a wound that time itself could not heal. This was the main estate of the Foss estate , which was united in 1541–1548 by the lord of Akershus, Peder Hanssøn Litle , to gain control over the profitable sawmilling business in the area.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

When night settles over the old estate and the trees cast long, trembling shadows across the empty buildings, some claim that a figure still moves behind the upstairs windows. She limps. She waits. And she remembers.

Fossesholm: It is said that a limping ghost of a girl who used to live at Fossesholm manor in Vestfossen is haunting it. //Source: Wikimedia

A Broken Promise

In the mid eighteenth century, Birthe Svendsdatter lived a life of privilege as the daughter of a wealthy family. Or was she? Some say that she was actually a servant girl at Fossesholm in the 18th century. And if not, she certainly became one after her tragedy. 

Her future should have been secure, but her heart led her elsewhere. To a German officer in some versions of the legend that her parents didn’t think was good enough to marry. She secretly held her own wedding in the forest, a place between Lier and Røyken. 

But the ending wasn’t a happy ever after though. What happened is not known. Was she tormented by her parents who when they learned about the wedding, made her life a misery? Was she betrayed by the man she loved and carrying his child, Birthe saw no escape from her shame and despair. In a moment of desperation, she threw herself from a second floor window at Fossesholm Manor.

Death did not claim her that night.

Instead, Birthe survived with terrible consequences. The fall left her permanently crippled. She lost both her sanity and the child she carried. What was meant to be an ending became a fate many would consider worse than death.

Legend has it that after the brain damage, she could not count beyond three. People are said to have teased her by asking how many chickens there were on the farm. To this, Birthe is said to have replied “one, two, three in a heap”. It is said that she was treated with great respect by the manor house, but was unpopular among the other servants because she had been asked to gossip if someone was not doing their job.

The Ghost from the Tapestry: One of the motifs shows a lady standing bent forward and pointing at the chickens and turkeys that are tripping around her. The lady’s name was Birthe and was called hen-Birthe or lame-Birthe. She is supposed to be haunting the manor house.

After this, her husband also leaves her and travels back to Germany. Once home in Germany, he feels guilty, sits down to write a letter and the rescuer is again Cappelen at Fossesholm. He writes to Cappelen and asks if he can use Birthe on the estate. We will never know what Cappelen sends in response to Germany, but Cappelen builds a small house a short distance out towards Lake Eikeren where Birthe can move in. Birthe does not want that, she wants to live with Cappelen and his wife at Fossesholm. 

A Life Reduced to Shadows

At the time, Fossesholm was owned by Gabriel Cappelen, who took pity on Birthe and allowed her to remain on the estate. Some say that he was the one who stepped in and convinced the priest to marry the two lovers. 

Despite her background and wealth, her life was reduced to that of a servant. The renowned artist Eric Gustav Tunmarch was commissioned to paint her, and the image still hangs on the manor walls today.

In the artwork, Halte Birthe appears bent and broken, dressed in servant’s clothing, feeding the farm’s chickens and turkeys. This despite the fact that she owned chests filled with fine dresses she would never wear again. It is a portrait not of dignity, but of quiet humiliation and loss.

Birthe died at 64 in 1788, recorded in church books as a pauper. But many believe her story did not end there.

The Window on the Second Floor

Locals whisper that Birthe never truly left Fossesholm. Late at night, when the manor stands silent and abandoned, witnesses claim to see a figure in the second floor window. A woman who moves unevenly, forever marked by her fall. This is where she leapt. This is where her life was broken.

Some say her ghost is drawn back to that window again and again, trapped in the moment when love failed her and despair took hold. A reminder that not all ghosts are born from violent death. Some are created by lives that were allowed to continue, long after they should have ended.

At Fossesholm, Birthe Svendsdatter is remembered not as the woman she was, but as the limping ghost she may still be.

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References:

FLERE GJENFERD SOM OGSÅ VILLE VÆRE MED – Issuu 

«Halte-Birthe» Eller «Hønse-Birthe» Fra Vestfossen – Sagnfigur Og Historisk Skikkelse – Historier.no

Fossesholm 

Sagn, spøkelseshistorier og dystre skjebner

Fossesholm

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The Tragic Ghost of the Maid Haunting Visnes Hotel

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A maid who once worked at the hotel allegedly took her own life at the old Visnes Hotel, deep in the Norwegian fjords. Now it is said she is lingering in the afterlife in the old rooms she once worked in.

Visnes Hotel stands quietly on the edge of Stryn, its Swiss style facade looking out over the dramatic landscapes of western Norway. Surrounded by fjords, mountains, and deep history, the hotel is known today for its charm, warmth, and long tradition of hospitality. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

But what is it about the haunted rumors that seem to follow the hotel, even after several rebrandings and renovations? It is said that behind its carefully preserved rooms and peaceful gardens, a far darker story is said to linger.

Haunted Hotel: Visnes Hotel in Stryn, Norway. Wooden hotel built in 1850. It is said to be haunted by a maid who took her own life in the hotel. // Source: Jorid Martinsen/Wikimedia

A Hotel Built on Long Memory

The story of Visnes began in 1850, when Anton Visnes opened his farmhouse to travelers passing through the region. Over the decades, the property slowly evolved, until his son Arne formally transformed it into a hotel in 1887. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

Since then, Visnes Hotel has remained in operation, carrying the marks of many eras within its walls. The large courtyard, the old barn, and the historic interiors give the building a sense of deep continuity, as though the past never truly left.

It is perhaps this unbroken history that has allowed one restless spirit to remain behind.

Stryn: DXR/Wikimedia

The Maid Who Never Left

Local legend speaks of a young maid who once worked at Visnes during its early hotel years. Both her life and death carries almost no details and proof, and little is known about both her and the legends she left behind.

She was said to be hardworking and quiet, spending long days tending to guests, cleaning rooms, and moving silently through the halls. 

Over time, sorrow settled over her. Some say she fell in love with someone she could never have, while others believe she was overwhelmed by isolation and hardship. What is agreed upon is that her life ended tragically when she took her own life within the hotel grounds.

Her death was quietly buried in time, but her presence, according to many, was not.

Signs of a Restless Spirit

Guests and staff have reported unexplained footsteps in empty corridors late at night, doors that open and close on their own, and a feeling of being watched when no one else is nearby. Some claim to have seen the faint outline of a young woman in old fashioned clothing near the rooms once reserved for staff. 

There have been reports of strange knocking sounds in the walls as well as the sound of someone crying, although the rooms and corridors are empty. Others describe soft sounds, like someone tidying or moving furniture, long after the building has gone still.

The old barn on the property, now being restored, is also said to carry an uneasy atmosphere. Workers have spoken of sudden cold air, strange noises, and the sense that someone is standing just out of sight.

A Gentle but Lingering Presence

Unlike many ghost stories filled with terror, the spirit of Visnes Hotel is often described as sad rather than threatening. She is believed to be bound to the place where she lived and worked, repeating the quiet routines of a life that ended too soon. Some say she appears most often to those who are alone, as if drawn to familiar loneliness.

Today, guests come to Visnes Hotel for its history, beauty, and tranquility. But as night falls and the halls grow silent, some believe the young maid still walks softly through the building, unable to leave the place that defined her life and her death.

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References:

Visnes Hotel – Historisk hotell i Stryn 

Visnes hotel | Kulturminnefondet 

Forbruker, Reiseliv | Tør du sove her?

Skremmende overnattingssteder Norge rundt – steinkjer24.no 

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The Nordic Grave Dwelling Haugbúi Draugr (ᛏᚱᛅᚢᚴᛦ)

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An ancient ghost coming from the depths of graves across the nordic countries, the Haugbúi Draugr could be both dangerous and even deadly. Not merely a specter, but the rotten flesh of the dead, the ghosts are remembered as The Walking Dead of the North.

The draugr is not a distant spirit or a whisper in the dark, but the body itself, risen from the grave, swollen with death and driven by hatred, envy, or an unbroken will.

To the Viking mind, death did not always end a person’s power. A strong, malicious, or deeply wronged individual might carry their force beyond the grave. And even after the vikings are long gone, the stories of the draugr haunting the lands remain. 

The Norse Draug: The word draug itself is derived from the Old Norse word draugr , which originally could mean the ghost of any deceased person. The draugen was originally a dead person, either living in a mound (in Old Norse called haugbúi ) or going out to haunt the living. They were corporal ghosts.  // Illustration: Kim Diaz Holm

The Living Corpse of the Draugr

Unlike ghosts made of mist or memory, the draugr is corporeal. It has weight, strength, and substance. It can leave footprints in snow, crush bones with its grip, and wrestle the living like a man made of cold iron. In many stories, the draugr guards its burial mound or the land it once owned, attacking anyone foolish enough to trespass.

Haugbúi Draugr: In the Bronze and Iron age, people of power were often buried inside huge mound dwellings or tumuli. This led people to believe that the hills were haunted, and that these corporal ghosts resided inside of them. Although the Haugbúi is rather a type of draugr, it’s used as an umbrella term to separate it from the Norwegian Sea Draug. // Image: Osberghaugen / by Karl Ragnar Gjertsen.

Descriptions vary, but certain traits return again and again. Draugrs are often bloated and dark, their skin stretched tight by decay. They reek of death, a thick, sour stench that announces their presence before they are seen. Their eyes may glow with an unnatural light, or stare blankly from faces frozen in rage.

Some draugrs grow in size and strength after death, becoming far more powerful than they were in life. Others can change shape, slipping into the form of animals or mist, or riding the night winds to terrorize farms and villages. The draugr’s motivation was primarily envy and greed. 

Glámr and the curse of the draugr

One of the most famous draugrs appears in Grettis saga. Glámr was a shepherd whose arrogance and defiance marked him even before death. When he died under cursed circumstances, he rose again, haunting the countryside, killing livestock, and driving men mad with fear. Glámr’s draugr is not merely violent, but malevolent, spreading despair wherever he goes.

The Icelandic Draugr Types: The Draugr tale evolved differently in the nordic countries. In Iceland, the closest draugr ghost after the viking age and the saga era would be the Skotta or Mori. They also fall under the Old Norse Mythology of a Fylgja, that were supernatural spirits that followed or latched onto people. But the tales of the Fylga evolved and when we read about Skotta, they were not like totem animals or someone coming with your prophecy like in the old sagas. Icelandic ghosts are often described as being not like apparitions, but in real flesh that interacted with the living, like the nordic Draugr. And when we read about Skotta, the female version, she was highly dangerous and also deadly. // An illustration to the Icelandic legend of the Skeleton in Hólar Church (Beinagrindin í Hólakirkju). From Icelandic Legends : Collected by Jón Arnason, illustrated by Jules Worms.

When the hero Grettir finally defeats Glámr, it requires enormous physical strength and courage. Even then, the victory is incomplete. With his final breath, Glámr curses Grettir, ensuring that the shadow of the draugr follows him for the rest of his life. This reflects a core belief in draugr lore: even destroyed, the dead can still leave scars.

A second death

In Norse belief, killing a draugr was rarely simple. Weapons alone were often useless. To end its reign, the animated corpse had to suffer a second death. This might involve beheading the body, burning it, or destroying it so completely that nothing remained to rise again. Burial mounds were opened, corpses pinned down, and ashes scattered to the wind.

The main indication that a deceased person will become a draugr is that the corpse is not horizontal and is found standing upright, or in a sitting position, indicating that the dead might return. Breaking the draugr’s posture is a necessary or helpful step in destroying the draugr.

The Sea Draugr of Norway: Originally, the word draugr simply meant ghosts, and there are stories about them across Scandinavia since before the Viking area. This ghost is not the same creature as the draugr of the Viking sagas, the corporal ghost even though they share a name. The sea draug belongs to coastal Norwegian folklore and is shaped by centuries of fear, loss, and respect for the unforgiving ocean, especially along the coast of western Norway stretching up to the north, the draug is almost always a ghost from the sea. Read More: The Sea Draug: The Ghostly Fisherman of the Norwegian Coast

Heavy stones were placed on graves. Bodies were buried with care, or weighted down, to ensure they stayed where they belonged. The most effective means of preventing the return of the dead was believed to be a corpse door, a special door through which the corpse was carried feet-first with people surrounding it so that the corpse couldn’t see where it was going. The door was then bricked up to prevent a return.

The Mound Dwelling Ghost Across the North

The draugr is not confined to one land. Variants appear across the Nordic world, from Iceland to Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Each region shaped the creature slightly differently, but the core idea remained the same. The dead could walk. The past could rise up and harm the present.

The Nynorsk terminology, which often differs from the Bokmål usage by being more closely related to Old Norse, still defines the draug primarily as a revenant. Ola Raknes could therefore define a vampire as a “Blodsugar-draug” in his English-Norwegian dictionary .

Today, draugrs are often portrayed as Norse zombies or vampiric undead in games, films, and novels, mostly because of their slowness in movement and how sometimes, their form and fate could sometimes be contagious and they could make the living one of them. 

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References:

draug – Lille norske leksikon

Draug

Draugr – Wikipedia

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Cell Number 11: Whispers in the Attic of the Norwegian Justice Museum in Trondheim

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Is Cell Number 11 in the former prison for the criminally insane haunted? The attic of the Norwegian Justice Museum in Trondheim, Norway has had many who come out, claiming so. 

High above Erling Skakkes gate in Trondheim in Norway, beneath the slanted roof of an old and imposing building, lies a place many claim they will never forget. The former criminal asylum, now known as the Norwegian Justice Museum, is steeped in legal history, human suffering, and quiet despair. 

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Among its many rooms, one small space has earned a reputation that continues to unsettle visitors long after they leave. This is Cell Number 11.

The Haunted House: Almshouse (“Det nye fattghuset”, built 1843, in front, to the right) and Norwegian National Museum of Justice (Norwegian: Justismuseet, built as prison in 1833) in Erling Skakkes gate Street in Trondheim, Norway exhibiting artifacts from the country’s penal justice and law enforcement history. The building was built as a prison in 1833. // Image Source

A Building That Never Truly Fell Silent

The structure once served as a criminal asylum, housing inmates deemed unfit for ordinary prisons. Over time, the building became associated with isolation, punishment, and psychological torment. Today, the halls are clean and curated, filled with exhibits and glass cases. Yet those who work there speak of another side, one that emerges after hours.

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Footsteps have been heard echoing from the attic cell wing when no one is present. Low voices have been reported, murmuring just beyond the edge of hearing. The sounds are not constant, but when they come, they seem deliberate, as if someone is pacing the narrow corridors with purpose.

The Haunted Prison Cells: The Norwegian Justice Museum in Trondheim, formerly a criminal asylum, is known for its eerie stories and haunted reputation. Especially inside of Cell Number 11, there have been rumors of ghosts haunting it still. // Source

Among other things, a young journalist claimed to have heard footsteps coming towards him when he was voluntarily locked inside the museum.

Nearly every story leads back to the same place.

The Legend of Cell Number 11

Cell Number 11 is small, windowless, and oppressive. It is barely large enough to stand upright in comfort. Over the years, it has become the center of Trondheim’s most enduring ghost stories.

According to accounts once published in local newspapers, a clairvoyant woman claimed the cell is haunted by the spirit of a judge. This judge, she said, had wrongfully sentenced a young man to a long period of confinement in that very cell. The prisoner eventually took his own life there, driven to despair by isolation and injustice.

After the judge’s death, the spirit is said to have returned to the cell, bound to the place where his decision had destroyed another life. Whether out of guilt or obsession, the apparition is believed to linger, trapped in the space where tragedy unfolded.

Nights Spent in the Cell

In later years, a number of visitors chose to spend the night inside Cell Number 11. Some entered confidently, treating the experience as a test of nerves. Many emerged changed.

Several reported hearing footsteps moving just outside the cell door, slow and deliberate. Others described the sensation of not being alone, of sharing the darkness with an unseen presence. A few spoke of whispers, too indistinct to understand but close enough to feel intimate and threatening.

According to museum director Johan S. Helberg, not everyone who entered the cell left with their bravado intact. Fear has a way of settling in when the door closes and the light disappears.

A Museum That Welcomes Its Ghosts

The museum has a separate room dedicated to World War II. Kunt Sivertsen describes himself as a retired police officer and is currently an advisor at the museum. He was responsible for putting together this exhibition in the 1990s. According to him, there was stuff happening in this room as well that they didn’t have any explanation for:

– On several occasions, it has happened that you suddenly smell the scent of Brut aftershave in the middle of the room.

No official claim has ever been made that the museum is haunted. Still, the staff have never attempted to banish whatever may dwell within its walls. When a priest once offered to cleanse the building, the offer was politely declined.

The reasoning was simple. If spirits exist there, they are part of the building’s story.

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References:

Skremt fra vettet på celle nummer 11 – Trondheim

Spøkelsesjegere til seks steder – NRK Trøndelag – Lokale nyheter, TV og radio

Spøker det på Justismuseet i Trondheim? – nearadio.no

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Munkholmen: Trondheim’s Island of Chains, Prayers, and Restless Dead

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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.

Read More: Check out The Most Haunted Places on Mackinac Island in Michigan, Isla de Pedrosa – the Haunted Islandand The Haunting History of Spike Island for more ghost stories from haunted islands around the world.

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. 

Source: Tommy Skog

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. 

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References:

Ser du spøkelset? – adressa.no

Peder Griffenfeld

Munkholmen

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The Ghost of the Deep: The Legend of Blåmannen at Blaafarveværket

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The haunting of the Blue man, or Blåmannen at the cobalt mine, Modum Blaafarveværk in Norway has been told for ages now. What truly lies inside the darkness of the mines?

Blaafarveværket was Norway’s largest mine and also Norway’s largest industrial enterprise in the first half of the 19th century and is the largest and best-preserved mining museum in Europe. Could it be that it’s also one of the most haunted ones?

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Far inside the old cobalt mines of Blaafarveværket in Modum, a figure has been reported for nearly two centuries. The tunnels once rang with the strikes of hammers and the clatter of ore carts as workers extracted the cobalt-rich stone used to make the famous deep blue pigment. But beneath the sweat and industry lurked a story every miner knew: the warning spirit called Blåmannen.

Roger Pihl.

A Shadow in Uniform Haunting the Deep Mines

Blåmannen (The Blue Man) was said to appear wearing a miner’s uniform, his lamp burning with an uncanny, bluish glow. He never spoke. He simply showed himself before the disaster. Miners claimed he emerged from the darker shafts just moments before a collapse, his presence a silent signal to get out while there was still time. Those who saw him whispered that he looked more resigned than frightening, as if burdened with a duty he could not escape.

According to Kai Hunstadbråten’s article, “The Blue Man in the Rock at Modum“, the Blue Man is also said to have been called “Hans med knappene” (Hans with the buttons), due to the Blue Man’s uniform. Hunstadbråten also claims that the miners called one of the open pits at Nordgruvene “The Blue Man’s Mine”.

The Miner’s Demon: The element cobalt got its name from a mythical rock demon, a kind of gnome-like creature, who terrorized miners in German mines. German miners traveled to Norway in the 15th and 17th centuries to work in Norwegian mines. Agricala described, among other things, a rock demon from the silver mines of Annaberg in present-day Germany, with “wild eyes and a long neck like a horse.” This demon is said to have killed 12 miners simply by breathing on them. The German mining demons probably joined the crossing, but had difficulty gaining a foothold among the Norwegian workers. Norway had its own traditions of underground mines, plots and pits.

Another miner who claimed to have met the Blue Man was Hans Simen Røtter. He also worked in the cobalt mines in the 19th century. One story goes: 

“Once when Hans Simen Røtter was burning a log at Norsgruva […] a blue man came to him […] and asked him to go out, because the mine was not safe. But Røtter now wanted to set the fire first, and would not go. Then the blue man came back one or two more times and almost threatened him to go, and no sooner had he come out than the log collapsed.”

The Christmas Collapse of 1854

The most chilling encounter came in December 1854. Seven workers entered a narrow tunnel, unaware that the supports had grown dangerously unstable. Deep inside, Blåmannen appeared before them, striding toward them with urgency. Only when he pointed toward the exit and shoved the lead worker backward did they grasp the danger. The men fled in a panic, but the last of them was buried under the collapse. The sole survivor was the one who had been pushed away first.

It was December 13th and Christmas was coming. Miner Ole Torstensen noticed that a fox was following him on his way to the mines. This omen could mean a sudden death, but what was he to do? The boss was not going to give him the day off just because of superstition. Legend has it that several workers saw the Blue Man that day, and that birds pecking ominously at the windows of the sugar house where the workers slept. Ole Bøenstøa was also going to work that day, and perhaps he and Ole Torstensen mentioned the omens to each other as they set off down the mine shaft to work. It was so narrow that the eight workers had to walk in a single file.

When they had gone a little way in, a shadowy man suddenly came towards them. He was dressed in a blue miner’s uniform and held an oil lamp in his hand. The blue man looked at them and pointed towards the exit, which if he wanted them to turn around. But the miners didn’t stop. The blue man disappeared, but it wasn’t long before he reappeared and wanted them out. This time they couldn’t be persuaded either.

The miners were now restless. For the third and final time, the Blue Man appeared in the darkness. This time he went straight for the first worker in line and tried to push him out of the mine. They realized that this was a warning they had to heed, but by then it was too late. The mine began to collapse around them.

People outside heard the terrifying roar. The oldest miners quickly realized what had happened. A landslide! When the masses of rock had settled, they could hear the trapped workers’ desperate cries for help. They managed to pull three men alive from the landslide, but one of them died afterwards. Five men were found dead. One of them was Ole Torstensen. Ole Bøenstøa came out of the incident unharmed, even though the two were standing right next to each other when the landslide came. Was it the Blue Man who saved Bøenstøa, while the encounter with the fox made Torstensen’s fateful day?

From that day on, Blåmannen was no longer seen as a guardian spirit. He became a grim omen, a ghost tied to death and ruin whether he wished it or not.

Where Did Blåmannen Come From?

After the Napoleonic Wars, the enterprise was taken over by the private owners Benjamin Wegner and Baron Benecke with Wegner as director, and their ownership period from 1822–1848 is known as the works’ heyday, and possible when the rumours about Blåmannen emerged. 

One of the oldest written sources though, sets the emergence of Blåmannen to the late 1840s when a man retold a story in a newspaper called Buskeruds Blad from 1903, only signed O:

Mother often told me about an incident that happened at one of the Blaafarveværket’s pits at Modum in the late 1840s, when a man by the name of Røtter, who worked in the so-called Nordpit, was alerted in a miraculous way, so he avoided being crushed by the collapsing pit.

At night he was busy in one of tunnels burning “Stull”. The fire blazed bright and cast its shine through the dark Tunnels. Røtter stands with his back to the fire and warms himself, when a young man comes up to him from one of the side passages of the pits and says: “You must get out quickly”.

Røtter was amazed at the young man’s appearance, when he knew that there was not a human being besides himself in the pit that night.

He replied: “No, I cannot do that.” The figure disappears, but comes back after a few minutes and says to him: “Yes, now you must go”. Røtter then replied again: “No, I can’t; I have to take care of the fire and can’t leave my post”.

The figure disappears, but immediately comes back, goes right up to him, follows him to the ladder and says: “Now get up”.

He ran up the ladder as fast as he could, and then went into a nearby chair room and sat down on a bench. But he had hardly sat down before he heard a huge bang, and the ground shook. Right after there is another bang, more violent than the first, the door bursts open, and he thought the mine was collapsing.

Now it was quiet. He began to wonder what had happened, but did not dare to go out; he wanted to wait until morning. Then he came down to my parents and told them what had happened that night. When people came to the mine in the morning, the whole tunnel where he had been working had collapsed and were the banging sounds he had been hearing.

Who was the mysterious young man who made him leave the pit, so that his life was saved at the last moment? In the mines, as mentioned before, there was no one but himself. The figure was a handsome, young man, wearing blue clothes with a cut, which was not used around there.

When I read some pieces in your magazine about “Visions and Omens” some time ago, I thought of writing down what Mother has told me so many times.

Was it a Warning?

– O.

The Warning Still Stands

Even now, visitors to Blaafarveværket sometimes speak of a dim blue light flickering deep within the closed tunnels or the sound of footsteps pacing in shafts that have been empty for generations. Guides tell the old legend quietly, and with a gravity that suggests they believe every word.

One thing remains constant in the stories. If you ever glimpse Blåmannen standing in the dark with his lamp raised, do not hesitate.

Run.

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References:

Buskeruds Blad, fredag 25. desember 1903

Halloween spesial – Blaafarveværket

DØDENS BUDBRINGER i koboltgruvene på Modum – Issuu

Blaafarveværket – Wikipedia

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The Blue Room’s Lament The Haunted Legend of Hotel Union Øye

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Left by her lover, the ghost of a maid who once worked at the Hotel Union Øye in Norway is said to be lingering inside of the Blue Room. Is she still staying there?

Hotel Union Øye beside the still waters of Norangsfjorden in Sunnmøre, is known as one of Norway’s most breathtaking historic hotels. Could it be that it is also one of the most haunted ones?

In 1887, Christian Thams, a Norwegian architect, industrialist and diplomat, experienced a violent earthquake that shook the Italian and French Rivieras where he lived, claiming 600 lives, mainly due to the collapse of mortar and brick buildings. He believed that such a tragedy would have been prevented if the building tradition of Norway, with its half-timbered houses. This would eventually lead him home to Norway and build the Hotel Union Øye.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

This way and in this tradition, the hotel opened its door in 1891 with its 38 rooms, all named after their famous guests that would end up staying there, from Emperor William, King Oscar, Queen Maud and Princess Victoria. There were also authors like Karen Blixen, Knut Hamsun, Henrik Ibsen and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; composer Edvard Grieg, mountain pioneers William Cecil Slingsby and Kristoffer Randers and polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

Source

But one room is not named after its famous guest, but rather for its haunting story. Sometimes you can apparently hear the footsteps wandering at night, a chill that slips along the halls and the unmistakable sound of quiet sobbing drifting from a single, timeworn chamber known as the Blue Room. 

A Forbidden Love at the Edge of the Fjord

Near the end of the 1800s, Hotel Union Øye was a retreat for Europe’s elite. Its guestbook carried the names of kings, artists and adventurers. Among its most frequent visitors was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who often traveled with a retinue of officers. Every other year from 1890 to 1908, he holidayed as a guest at the hotel with his entourage. One of these men, a young German count, became the center of a secret affection that would leave a permanent shadow on the hotel.

Linda, a Norwegian maid working at Øye, was known for her warm nature and quiet charm. The officer, Philip von Moltke from Dortmund, Germany, was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage, found in her a kindness and sincerity he had never known at home. Their meetings were discreet, hidden from the eyes of the aristocratic circle surrounding him. When he visited Øye, they stayed together in the Blue Room, a chamber with deep sapphire walls and heavy antique furnishings that seemed to seal them away from the world beyond the fjord.

The love between them grew, but so did the tension around their affair. The count sought a divorce, desperate to free himself and build a life with Linda. He gave her a brooch and a wedding ring before he left. His request was denied, coming from a catholic family. Bound by duty, honor and the rigid expectations of his rank as well as the risk of being banished, he saw no escape. In a moment of despair, he took his own life, leaving Linda shattered. Some say that he jumped off the boat coming back to Norway. 

Her grief was unbearable. Wearing a bridal gown and a crown of flowers meant for a wedding that would never come, she walked into the waters of the fjord and drowned, in 1901, according to some sources.. Some say she waded out into the cold waters to join him in his death, some say that she had lost his brooch gifted to her in the river and that she was looking along the riverbank to find it. 

The Lady in the Blue Room

Since that night, guests who stay in the Blue Room in room nr. 7, often speak of strange happenings and that they are both haunting the area around the Blue Room. The most common report is the sound of a woman crying softly in the darkness. Some say the weeping drifts through the walls as if someone is sitting beside the bed, shoulders shaking with sorrow. Others hear footsteps pacing the floorboards, slow and restless, pausing near the window that overlooks the fjord.

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A few visitors claim to have seen the faint outline of a woman in a white gown standing at the foot of the bed. She is described as delicate, her face partially hidden by hair damp and tangled, as if she has just stepped out of the cold fjord. She never approaches. She only fades when the witness blinks or looks away.

Hotel staff speak of sudden pockets of cold air in the Blue Room, even during the warmest summer nights. Objects are sometimes found moved from where they were placed, and the heavy door has been known to creak open by itself. Those who experience these disturbances describe an overwhelming sense of sorrow rather than fear, as if Linda’s grief saturates the very walls.

A Haunting That Became Legend

The story of Linda and the count has become part of the identity of Hotel Union Øye. Some visitors come hoping to glimpse the Blue Room’s restless spirit. Others avoid it entirely. The owners do not shy away from the tale and claim that Linda was in fact a real person, although the details of the story are less certain. Phillip von Moltke on the other hand, is a plausible, but uncertain element. 

It is true that the Moltke family was European nobility in Germany, Prussia and Scandinavia, and made into counts in 1868 by King William 1. Curiously though, the closest friends of Kaiser Wilhelm II were Prince Philip von Eulenburg and General Moltke, involved in the Eulenburg scandal about homosexual affairs within the Kaiser’s closest circle. So if there ever was an officer von Moltke who had an affair with a maid in Norway, there is little to no evidence of it found. 

Source

They preserve the room exactly as it has been described for more than a century, honoring the tragic love that took place within it.

In the reception, a bowl of garlic is placed for the guests staying in the Blue Room they can bring to the room. Placing it inside will keep the ghost away, so you will have a good night’s sleep. If you want something more happening throughout the night, you place the bowl outside the door. 

Despite its haunting reputation, the hotel is not known for malevolent spirits. According to an article, there has only been one cancellation when people have heard about the haunted rumours. The haunting of the Blue Room is quiet, mournful and deeply human. It is the echo of a promise that could never be fulfilled, preserved in the heavy silence of the fjord and the deep blue walls of the room where two lovers once found a fleeting happiness.

Guests leave Hotel Union Øye with memories of grandeur, mountain shadows and still waters. Some leave with more. They speak of tears that were not their own, the faint scent of wet flowers, or the unsettling certainty that someone unseen sat beside them in the dark.

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References:

https://www.unionoye.no/no/hotellet/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23046816155&gbraid=0AAAAADeWuny510Elimp6MbDkZox2IlNrq&gclid=CjwKCAiAxc_JBhA2EiwAFVs7XNZhAeuBCWFT9yJCokGesPRGskVkFP5VUw2YthAPBhZsXCbZRUv9CxoClVUQAvD_BwE

Det uforklarlige

Spøkelset på Union Øye

Moltke family – Wikipedia

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The Haunting of Dalen Hotel and the English Lady of Room 17

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In the deep fjords of Norway, the Dalen Hotel is one of the places said to be haunted by a guest who never really checked out. Who was the English Lady of Room 17?

Among Norway’s many haunted lodgings, few inspire as much unease as the grand and secluded Dalen Hotel in Telemark. Its turrets and dark timbered halls have earned it the nickname “The Fairytale Hotel,” but behind the elegance lingers a story soaked in sorrow. 

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Guests whisper of a presence that still moves through the corridors, most often felt near one room in particular: Room 17, where the English Lady is said to linger.

The Dalen Hotel: Known for its unique Norwegian dragon style architecture, is famous for its haunting stories, particularly of the English Lady in Room 17. // Source: Eirik Solheim

The Haunted Dalen Hotel

The hotel was completed in 1894 and is a striking building among the green in the Norwegian dragon style with its towers and spires that took inspirations from stave churches and the viking age. 

The Haunted Hotel: The elegant interior of the haunted Dalen Hotel, showcasing its intricate wooden design and vintage decor were the ghost of a lady in grey is said to haunt. // Source Eirik Solheim

The hotel was, by the standards of the time, extremely luxurious. It even had running water and electric light not at all common around these parts. And from the very beginning it was a success and a tourist magnet, attracting princes and aristocrats from Norway and Europe.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from haunted hotels

During the second world war, the Germans took over the hotel and removed the interior and let it fall to decay. It is said that a canal boat sailed out fully loaded with furniture and other equipment. Most of this has not been recovered. After many years of disrepair, it was restored and reopened in 1992 with 49 rooms. 

When the last guests check out in October for the winter close down, one guest is said to remain within the rooms. 

The Woman Who Never Checked Out

The ghost said to haunt the Dalen Hotel is known as The English Lady and although her story is known by most people working there and the locals around it, the details of the story are rather hard to find tangible evidence from.

The story goes, late in the 1800s, an Englishwoman named Miss Eliza Greenfield arrived alone at Dalen, her demeanor polite but withdrawn. Staff noticed her unusual habits and her long, solitary walks, but no one suspected the secret she carried. For months she lived quietly behind the door of Room 17. When she finally left, she offered polite farewells and vanished down the road without a backward glance.

Her departure should have been the end of her story. Instead, it was the beginning of a horror story. Soon after her room was cleaned, staff found a dead infant hidden inside. The story doesn’t often specify if the child was stillborn or if something more ominous had killed the child. 

The discovery shocked the entire region. Miss Greenfield was tracked down on her ship back to England, arrested for the crime of murdering her child. However, she took her own life before the trial started. In some versions of the tale she was actually executed for her crimes. 

The Woman in Grey in Room 17

How true is the story though? Although Christin Normann, manager at the hotel claimed the story was true in a hotel magazine, there are little to none traces of Miss Greenfield and her crimes. 

Guests staying in Room 17 still report strange occurrences though. Soft footsteps cross the floor at night when no one is there. The sound of quiet weeping rises and fades with no apparent source. In this room today, a cradle still stands, and it is said that she has returned to her child.

The haunting hallways: leading to Room 17 at the Dalen Hotel, where the ghost of the English Lady is said to linger. // Source: Wikimedia

Some visitors claim they have awakened to see a pale woman at the foot of the bed, her figure faint, her expression hollow with regret before she dissolves into the shadows.

One of the most repeated tales is about a man who once spent a night in the room and was unaware of its tragic history. Disturbed by unexplained noises, he left not only the room but also the hotel in the middle of the night.

Eirik Solheim/Wikimedia

Staff members tell of cold pockets in the hall outside the room, or a sudden fragrance of old-fashioned perfume drifting past. A few have claimed to hear a gentle knock on the door as if someone is still trying to soothe a restless child. Those who sense her presence say there is no malice in it, only unbearable grief.

A Table Set for a Ghost at Dalen Hotel

In the hotel’s restaurant, a single table remains permanently set in her memory. Candles are lit, plates arranged, cutlery polished. It stands as a quiet acknowledgment that Miss Greenfield never truly left Dalen Hotel and that the staff take notice of this. Her story lingers in every creak of the floorboards and in every shadow that slips through the lamplit corridors.

The Table set for a Ghost: Still to this day, the staff remembers and honors their hotel ghosts by giving her a plate at her table. // Photo: Per-Åge Eriksen

Some swear they have felt her pass by them in the night. Others say they caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in Victorian clothing reflected in the old mirrors.

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References:

Dalen Hotel

Spøkelseshistorien om Dalen Hotel | Strawberry