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The Cabin Caretaker Still at the Mountain

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The old cabin high on Hardangervidda, Norway is said to be haunted by its very first caretaker. But although Krækkja DNT cabin is said to be his eternal home, it seems like the more people visiting, the more he retreats to the plateau.

Out on the vast, wind swept plateau of Hardangervidda stands DNT cabin Krækkja, isolated by snow, stone, and sky. It is one of six cabins nominated for the title of Norway’s scariest hut. It is also the oldest one and won the second scariest out of over 1100 cabins. Visitors speak of slamming doors, footsteps on empty staircases, and the uneasy feeling of being watched when no one else is there.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Krækkja is known for having caretakers who stay a long time. The question is whether some of them ever truly left.

Krækkja Cabin: The haunted DNT cabin Krækkja standing alone on the Hardangervidda plateau, surrounded by snow and rugged terrain. Over the years it has evolved from a small single cabin, one of the oldest DNT cabins there is. // Source: Kari Merete Horne, DNT Oslo og Omegn/DNT / Nasjonal turbase.

A Presence on the Second Floor

According to the current caretaker, Kjell Slåtten, the answer is yes. He claims the very first caretaker of Krækkja is still on duty, more than a hundred years later.

Slåtten has lived and worked at the cabin for nearly fifty years. To him, the haunting is no mystery. He is convinced the ghost belongs to the original caretaker and that the spirit resides on the second floor of the old building.

The sounds are familiar. Doors opening and closing. Heavy steps moving through empty rooms. The noises appear most clearly when Slåtten is alone. When the cabin is full of hikers, the ghost seems to retreat into silence.

Krækkja in the beginning: This is from around the year 1900 Krækkja was not a large cabin. There were only two rooms; a kitchen and a combined dining room with living room – and a double bed.

Ole Aker of Krækkja

The ghost is believed to be Ole Aker, caretaker of Krækkja from its opening in 1878 until 1924. He lived in the cabin for most of his life and shaped it into a refuge for travelers crossing the mountain plateau. Ola L. Aaker hosted Krækkja with his wife Kirsti from 1879. He was known to be a tough hunter and skilled shooter. Once he is said to have shot five reindeer right next to the cabin with just three shots. Ole Aker died in 1939, but many believe his connection to Krækkja was too strong to break.

He was known as a formidable hunter, a man who could sleep outdoors in midwinter without a sleeping bag or modern equipment. As manager, he was responsible for leading people over the mountain, because there were no T-marked trails over the plateau yet. Ola enjoyed it, but he was actually more interested in hunting and fishing than guiding.

DNT in Norway: When the Norwegian Tourist Association was founded in 1868, one of the first things the association did was to provide cheap and good lodging for mountain hikers. Many of the tourist cabins are owned or operated by the Norwegian Tourist Association (DNT). In addition, there are cabins operated by private individuals, as well as private and state organizations. // Source: Jørgen Schyberg.

A Cabin that Remembers

The ghost is said to remain mostly in the oldest part of the building, especially on the second floor where Aker once lived. That is where the footsteps are heard. That is where doors move without human touch. During recent renovations, an extra floor was added to the cabin. Slåtten has joked about how the ghost might react.

Ole Aker devoted himself to this cabin and this mountain. It seems only fitting that he still walks the halls, listening to the wind, keeping watch over those who pass through.

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References:

Den skumlaste turisthytta?

DEN USOSIALE VERTEN på Krækkja turisthytte på Hardangervidda – Issuu

Krækkja 

Krækkjas historie – DNT 

Ukategorisert

The Lady of Losby Manor and other Ghosts Lingering

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A gathering place for the elite class in Norway, Losby Manor house in the countryside outside of Oslo housed kings and queens. It is also said that some of its residents are haunting the place, especially the ghost of The Lady of Losby, who dedicated her life to her home. 

At the edge of deep forest and rolling fields stands Losby Gods, a manor wrapped in quiet elegance right outside of Oslo. Long ago, the estate was used as a hunting lodge by the powerful timber barons from the capital. Losby Gods was built around 1850, but a sawmill was already operating on the three farms that make up the estate in the 16th century. King Haakon enjoyed himself very much here and his bed still stands on the estate, a bed that is much longer than other beds, simply because King Haakon was nearly two meters tall.

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By day it is a refined hotel surrounded by nature and Losby woods, where the legend claims the ancestral father of the jotne, Hyme lived. By night, when the halls grow still and the chandeliers dim, someone is said to continue her rounds. 

Source: Chell Hill

The Manager of the Estate on the Eastern Wing

One of the ghosts said to haunt the estate comes from the end of the 1800s before the Lady of the Manor moved in. This was during the time Andreas Lumholtz owned it as he inherited it in 1797 and it went bankrupt. In 1829, Lumholtz had financial problems and sold the estate by auction to Jacob Peter Meyer and Isak Muus. The manager of the estate is said to have hanged himself in his room by the bed pole in the east wing. 

The room right by Andreas Lumholtz meeting room is today called The Blue Room and it is said to always have a chill running through it and is haunted by the manager. Right below the east wing was the carriage road and the horses coming back and forth to the sawmill nearby was said to always be spooked riding past the estate, sometimes refusing to pass it. 

A life bound to the estate

Kathrine Boeck was inseparable from Losby Gods and managed it through its golden area, as she was widowed and through the war. Lorentz Meyer Boech who took over the farm in 1893 with his wife Kathrine. She died in 1958 and was called “The Lady on the Manor”. 

For almost seven decades she oversaw life at the estate with precision, dignity, and a firm sense of order. Most of the interior and style of the manor house have come from her. Nothing escaped her notice. Rooms were to be kept proper. Guests were to be treated well. The manor was to reflect respect and continuity.

When the estate was at its peak of entertainment from the upper class of the capital, she used to host parties and would ask her maids, “who was the prettiest woman there?”, expecting them all to answer that she was. She kept a strict diet and was said to be close to sickly thin. Kathrine lived a long life and died in 1958 at the age of eighty nine. For many, such devotion would end with death. At Losby, it did not.

Employees and guests alike have shared stories that sound remarkably similar that are attributed to her lingering ghost. Objects moved slightly from where they were left. Curtains adjusted. Lights turned off in rooms believed to be empty. The changes are subtle, never destructive, but unmistakably deliberate.

Some staff members report the feeling of being observed while working late and sometimes the scent of vanilla lingers in the room, her signature perfume from France. 

The Miserable Maid

One of the last ghosts said to haunt the estate is the sorrowful maid. The help stayed at the west wing. Today it’s where the meeting rooms Pikeværelse and Tosten Arnesøn are. The stairs up to the Haakonsuit were the servant stairs as they were forbidden to use the main one. 

When alive at the start of the 1900s, she fell in love with one of the guests at Boecks. When landowner Lorentz Meyer Boeck ran Losby Gods with his wife from 1893-1936, the estate was known as a hospitable party house and cheerful meeting point for the capital’s most wealthy citizens.

They had an affair, but when they were discovered, she was fired and he was banned from the house, as the upper class didn’t want to see a relationship between the two classes. 

In despair she took her own life in the room he used to stay in in the east wing. She is said to haunt the reflection of the windows there, showing her own reflection rather than your own. 

An estate that remains cared for

Losby Gods continues to thrive as a hotel and cultural site, surrounded by the same landscape Kathrine once walked. The rooms are elegant. The food is a mix between French and Norwegian cuisine it became known for. 

But a faint scent of vanilla perfume, or an unknown face looking back at you in the windows marks that some people never leave completely. 

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Ukategorisert

The Unseen Guests Haunting Lothes Mat & Vinhus

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In the Norwegian coastal city, Haugesund, Lothes Mat & Vinhus is one of those restaurants that keeps things traditional. But could it be that some of the former residents of the house are behind the strange things that have been going on for decades?

Overlooking the dark waters of the Smedasundet Sound, Lothes Mat & Vinhus, appears inviting. Warm lights glow through tall windows. Glasses clink. Conversation hums softly over carefully prepared food and wine. It is the kind of place where history feels tasteful rather than threatening.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

But once the evening quiets and the last guests leave, something else takes a seat upstairs.

A house with a scarred past

The building that now houses Lothes Mat & Vinhus was originally constructed in 1850 as a private residence by Ole Evensen. As the custom was then, they moved the entire house, so it could be even older, maybe by centuries. It stood through decades of change in Haugesund, watching ships pass and industry rise along the waterfront. 

Then, in 1905, fire tore through the structure. The blaze destroyed much of the building and claimed the life of one man. Who he was, how he lived, and why he was there that night remains largely unknown. His name has faded from record. His presence, according to those who work here, has not. But is he the only ghost lingering?

Sounds without a source

In this house, Lothes Mat & Vinhus has maintained a high gastronomic profile since 1989 after Lothe took over it and made it into a restaurant, wine bar and cafe. Ever since then, people have told him about the haunting going on behind the walls and over the years, he and his staff experienced it himself. 

The second floor of Lothes Mat & Vinhus is where the stories concentrate. Footsteps crossing empty rooms. Drawers opening and slamming shut on their own. Glasses shifting, sometimes falling, sometimes shattering without explanation.

These events do not announce themselves dramatically. They happen suddenly, without warning, and often when only one person is present. Lothe himself mentioned that the strange things happened mostly in the early afternoon or late at night before and after the guests have left. 

Chairs are dragged out from the table and placed in the middle of the rooms. He also says that he has seen a curly haired older woman looking out from the window as he comes and goes. 

The Dead Man in the Corner

Is the man haunting the house this unknown man who perished in the fire, or is it actually something that happened decades later that are the root of the haunting? 

In 1930 a man called Karl Heggedal went through the ice and drowned together with three boy scouts at Villduen. He was put in one of the corners on the second floor for a week as they watched over his corpse. Right behind it is his picture as well as a picture of his funeral. 

When a psychic took a walk through the house, she mentioned that he was probably one haunting it as well. As a religious man and officer of the salvation army, the psychic speculated that he might not be too happy with the wine they are serving at the restaurant. Even when Lothe opened his restaurant in the 80s, the politicians giving permission to serve alcohol were skeptical, being a fairly religious and strong ties to the prohibitionist movement in the early 1900s. 

A presence that does not like to be alone

Employees report a shared reluctance to be alone in the building after hours, and some have even closed up early because they didn’t dare to stay there any longer. The cleaner used to work at night, but  there was a sense that someone was nearby, listening, moving just out of sight. Lights remain on longer than necessary. Doors are double checked. Conversations continue even when no one is answering.

The activity is strongest upstairs, where dining rooms fall silent after closing. More than one staff member has left early rather than remain alone with the sounds.

The spirit does not seem violent. But it is unmistakably disruptive.

A haunting beneath elegance

Lothes Mat & Vinhus remains one of Haugesund’s most beloved restaurants. Its food is celebrated. Its atmosphere is admired. Most guests leave with nothing more than a good meal and a pleasant memory.

But when night deepens and the building empties, the second floor tells a different story. At Lothes Mat & Vinhus, not every guest needs a reservation.

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Spøker det på Lothes? 

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The Ghost of the Psychic Anne Brandfjell Haunting the old Sjømannsskolen in Oslo

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Is the ghost of Anne Brandfjell, a famous fortune teller and wise wife from Norway haunting the old Maritime school in Oslo? 

Some buildings seem to breathe with memory. Their corridors carry footsteps that no longer belong to the living, and their walls remember pain as clearly as kindness. Sjømannskolen is one such place. By daylight it appears ordinary, shaped by education and routine. By night, it reveals something older.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

The Maritim School is a four-story building that was built for the Oslo Maritim School in 1917. Although the school left the building in 1989, the name is still used for the castle-like building located at Kongsveien 30 in the Ekebergskraninga slope just above Grønlia in Oslo. Here, not all spirits are the same.

The Haunted Sjømannsskolen: The historic Sjømannsskolen in Oslo, former Maritim School, surrounded by lush greenery, reminiscent of its ghostly past. // Source: © Chell Hill

The Wise Woman from Brandfjell

Long before Sjømannskolen stood where it does today, the land belonged to Brannfjell. In the nineteenth century, a woman named Anne Brandfjell lived there. She was known for tending to those in need, caring for physical suffering and quiet despair alike. People came to her with wounds, illness, and grief, and she offered what help she could. She was also known as a wise woman, a fortune teller and healer.

Anne-Marie Andersdatter:Popularly known as Anne Brandfjeld , (born 1815 in Vardal, now Gjøvik, died 1905 in Christiania. She was thaught by Elseby Hansdatter Unsethagen and Vis-Knut from Gausdal.

In 1841, Anne-Marie came to Christiania as a maid to the goldsmith and jeweler Hermann Øiset. She had two illegitimate sons with him, who otherwise had no children from his two marriages. In 1849, Anne-Marie married the greystone mason Christen Evensen. The newlyweds settled on the Ekeberglien homestead under Ekeberg farm in Aker municipality . Ekeberglien was located at the northern end of the “Brannfjell” ridge – hence the name “Anne Brandfjeld” in the vernacular.

She once treated a man who everyone thought was dead. His heart had stopped beating, but Anne still managed to bring him back to life. Before she died, she passed down her knowledge to another young woman to continue the tradition. 

According to legend, Anne never truly left the place where she devoted her life to others.

Students and staff spoke of a calm presence moving through the hallways. Doors open softly. Footsteps are heard without urgency. Those who encounter her feel no fear. On the contrary, there is a sense of reassurance, as if someone is watching over the building with gentle intent.

Anne Brandfjell is not described as an angry spirit. She is remembered as she was in life. Caring. Protective. Unwilling to abandon those who walk the same ground she once did.

Anne Brandfjell Haunting the Halls

Those who claim to have seen her describe a woman who seems slightly out of time, her appearance quietly old fashioned. She does not speak. She does not linger. And yet her presence feels purposeful.

Many believe she continues her work, wandering the corridors to ensure that no one is truly alone.

If this were the only story Sjømannskolen held, the building might feel almost comforting after dark. But there is another place within its walls where the atmosphere changes entirely.

The Bub Below with the Darker Energy

Beneath the building lies a pub, and it is here that the stories turn darker.

Employees have reported sudden waves of discomfort while working there. Feelings of unease that arrive without warning, heavy and oppressive. Some have noticed the smell of smoke filling the air, despite no fire and no source to explain it.

Others claim to have heard music drifting through the space. Faint, distant melodies that vanish the moment someone tries to locate them. No one else hears it. No radio is playing. The sound simply fades, leaving silence behind.

Unlike the calm presence in the hallways, whatever lingers in the pub does not feel benevolent.

Actor and Medium Meeting her Ghost

One perhaps unlikely ghost hunter who visited the school once, was Mikkel Gaup, Norwegian and Sami actor most known for Pathfinder from 1987. He has also been a public person, chasing ghosts and exploring the occult, especially through Sami traditions and rituals. Mikkel Gaup came up with his concept of “Mikkelmessen” in 2009 and chose the school to have it. A large part of the focus will be on Sami culture; Sami outdoor activities, Sami crafts, food, music, film, theater and concerts.

But another thing he was going to do was to meet the ghost there. How the meeting went though, is uncertain. 

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References:

Tør du besøke Oslos skumleste steder?

Mikkel Gaup på spøkelsesjakt

Sjømannsskolen – Wikipedia 

Anne Brandfjeld

Ukategorisert

The Ghost of General Birthe of Elingaard

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Ruling her Elingaard Manor house with an iron fist, the noble Birgitte Kaas is said to haunt it in her afterlife as well. But what is the truth of her strange disappearance and whispers about a deal with the devil?

Many people speak of strange sounds and fleeting shadows in old houses. Few expect to be announced by scent alone. At Elingaard Manor in Fredrikstad, visitors have reported a heavy, sweet perfume drifting through empty rooms. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

It is said to belong to a woman who has been dead for more than three hundred years. And as the house now is often used for parties, weddings and gatherings, it is said you should put an extra plate, as the ghost of the house wants a seat. 

Svein Harkestad/Wikimedia

The Elindgaard Manor House

Elingaard manor is located in Onsøy outside Fredrikstad city. The site has an unknown age, but has visible cultural monuments from the Bronze Age onwards.

The buildings at Elingaard have burned several times. The first known fire was in 1645. In this great fire, all the buildings on the farm were lost, along with the household goods, movable property and archives.

Helge Høifødt/Wikimedia

The current building was built in 1749 after a major fire in 1746. In the middle of the main building is still the original basement from before the great fire in 1645. The main building had a floor area of ​​approx. 1000 square meters and two full floors. The residence was thus among the largest in all of Norway.

Elingaard is currently operated as a museum and is used as a venue for weddings and local associations. During the summer season, Elingaard is open to the public, and many locals remember coming to the manor house and be scared of the tales of the ghost said to be lingering. 

The Lady of Elingaard

Birgitte Christine Kaas Huitfeldt was born at Elingaard on 2 October 1682 to parents Stiftamtmann Hans Kaas and Sophie Amalie Bielke. Through her maternal line in the Bjelkeætten, she is a direct descendant of Mrs. Inger of Austrått. We know little about her upbringing, but she was orphaned when she was 18 years old.

She was married to a lieutenant general when she was 31 years, Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt (1674-1751), and quickly gained a reputation for strict discipline and iron control. Among servants and locals she became known as General Birthe. 

Birgitte Christine Huitfeldt Kaas (1672-1761):Birgitte was the daughter of the nobleman and civil servant Hans Kaas. He was first county governor in Smaalenene. She was a capable poet, and her hymn translations were in use long after her death.

Kaas was a representative of the last nobility in Norway, and grew up and lived in an environment characterized by this. Nevertheless, the family struggled with poor finances. Though deeply religious and a writer of hymns, rumors followed her throughout her life. Some whispered that her piety hid darker alliances, even claims that she cooperated with the devil himself.

Whether feared or respected, she ruled Elingaard with authority, and few dared to challenge her will.

The Night She Vanished

On August 14, 1761, Birgitte Christine spent the evening at an inn, where she played a game of cards and drank a lot before taking a horse drawn carriage home in the rain. When the carriage arrived at Elingaard, it was empty. The general’s wife had vanished somewhere along the road.

Speculation spread quickly. Had the driver murdered her and hidden the body? Has something far stranger occurred? Some claimed she had been taken by darker forces, punished or claimed by something beyond human understanding.

The truth appeared more ordinary, though no less unsettling. Her body was later found and kept at the manor for three weeks before burial. When the coffin was finally removed, it was carried out through a small opening in the wall rather than a door. This old custom was meant to prevent the dead from returning to haunt their home.

A Presence That Remains

If the ritual failed, Elingaard still bears the consequence. Guests and staff have felt sudden cold drafts passing through closed rooms. Others have seen the figure of a noblewoman moving silently between the garden pavilion and the great hall. Lights switch themselves on and off during the night, and at times the organ bench is found moved into the old mortuary building without explanation.

Most unsettling of all is the perfume. Sweet, heavy, and unmistakably old fashioned, it appears without warning and lingers long after the rooms stand empty.

Elingaard Manor: Garden seen from from stairs. The queens Margrethe of Denmark and Sonja of Norway planted one each of the linden trees seen in the middle in June, 1999. // Source: Helge Høifødt/Wikimedia

Since then, many have felt her presence, including Hans Pettersen, the former manager.

“I was cleaning the main living room when I saw her out of the corner of my eye,” he says. He still doubts it, but tells of rooms on the second floor where door handles have fallen off, guests have felt a cold draft and where the lights have been turned off. A cleaner saw the organ stool being moved in the morgue in 1996. A tenant had the room filled with the smell of perfume in the middle of the night in 1997..”

Birgitte Christine’s earthly remains rest in the burial chapel at Old Onsøy Church, laid to rest with a book in one hand and a switch of twigs in the other, symbols of wisdom and strength. Yet many believe her spirit never left Elingaard.

Generalfrua still walks her estate, enforcing her presence long after death, carried on cold air and the lingering scent of authority.

Paranormal Researchers

Over the years, many ghost stories have attached themselves to the manor house. Legends about a poor girl who were run over by a car when walking home are told about, a woman in white, a scorned bride running through the manor, crying as well as a black cat coming at guests. Many stories are now, often conflated with the story of General Birthe. 

There is also a story about a headless man in a black cloak down in the garden. If he comes up to the window, he announces death.

The place has become a popular place for people to visit and try to catch a glimpse of the haunting that is supposedly going on there. One segment of her show, Lilli Bendriss, perhaps one of the country’s most well known psychics, went down to the basement. White there, the images that came to her overwhelmed her so she had to storm out of the room, not wanting to get to the bottom of it all. 

But what happened in that basement all those years ago, and what the possible connection to Birgitte was, we will probably never know. 

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References:

Her får Lilli Bendriss nok: – Visste bare at jeg måtte komme meg ut 

FLERE GJENFERD SOM OGSÅ VILLE VÆRE MED – Issuu 

Hovedbygning – KulturPunkt

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCQ8WM

Birgitte Christine Kaas (1682–1761) – lokalhistoriewiki.no

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The Sea Draug: The Ghostly Fisherman of the Norwegian Coast

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Thought to be haunting the dark seas of the north, the Sea Draug is a ghost of the drowned fishermen’s and other unfortunate souls who perished on the waters. 

Along Norway’s rugged coastline, where the sea has always given both life and death, sailors have long spoken in hushed tones about a terrifying apparition known as the sea draug. As a place where the sea claimed hundreds of lives every year, no wonder that a particular sea ghost started haunting the shores. 

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Originally, the word draugh 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.

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

A Spirit Born of the Sea

In later folklore it became common to limit the figure to a ghost of a dead fisherman who had drifted at sea and who was not buried in Christian soil. Later the word has mainly come to mean a spirit at sea in Norway. This development is partly due to the many and popular folkloric tales of Jonas Lie in the 1870s , 80s and 90s, based on superstitions from Northern Norway. In other Nordic countries though, the word draug, often means the ancient and corporal ghost from the graves. 

The Sea Draug: Fairy tale artist Theodor Kittelsen’s The Sea Troll from 1887 shows a creature that has several features in common with the drowned ghost, the draug. Kittelsen also has his own drawing of the draug as a drowning man in a fisherman’s boat.

It is often said to look like a fisherman still dressed for work, wearing oilskins or old sea clothes soaked through and clinging to a bloated body. Its skin is pale and water-swollen, and its eyes may glow faintly, lit by an eerie shimmer like moonlight on kelp.

Seaweed is frequently described as tangled in its hair or beard, drifting and moving as if still underwater. In some stories, the draug’s presence is announced not by sight but by sound. The creak of oars, the slap of waves against wood, or a strange voice calling out across the water can signal that it is near. When it cried out at night, it sounded like a cry for help from people in danger.

The Fear of the Draug: An incident from Nesna where two men had sailed for coal a few years earlier between Vikholmen on Hugla and Saura on Handnesøya. The shipwreck occurred in winter right near his home. One of them made it ashore on a deserted islet. From there he shouted in vain for help. People on Vikholmen near his home heard him, but did not dare to go out, because they thought the cries came from the sea draug. The man was found frozen to death in the spring. This story corresponds somewhat with the documented accident on January 20, 1823, when fisherman and farmer Lars Pedersen Tønder from Vik on Hugla died on the uninhabited Sauraholmen.

Sometimes he would wander around in the boathouses, and sometimes he would be a stone with seaweed on it, so fishermen were reluctant to take a “seaweed stone” as ballast as he could come onboard with them then..

He settled near fresh water, in mill houses, landed and moored boats or boathouses. Signs of his presence were rust and turned oars. If he went out into the boat, it became noticeably heavier. The ghost could not tolerate light or fire and could be scared away with fire or embers. Grassy land was safe because the ghost could not walk there.

Sometimes he would get into the fishermen’s huts and lie down under the beds. He would only disappear when the room was lit or heated. He would also evaporate if someone shouted “Kirkheim” or threw cemetery soil or excrement after him. Such soil could symbolize that the drowned person was finally able to rest in consecrated ground. Another old piece of advice was to smear feces on the landing rope to prevent the ghost from taking the boat. The belief in the use of excrement against supernatural forces is found in connection with other legendary figures, including ghouls or elves. Rituals, such as spitting on land before getting out of the boat or tying three knots on the rope, were also used as protection.

Boats that Should not Float

One of the most chilling images in sea draug folklore is that of the half-sunken boat. The draug is said to row vessels that sit unnaturally low in the water, as if already claimed by the sea. These boats glide silently through fog or darkness, appearing suddenly alongside fishing boats or ships.

In storms he headed for land like the other fishermen. He could race or steer directly towards boats, and anyone who encountered him at sea was in for a bad time. If a boat was overlooked by the draug, it foreshadowed inevitable shipwreck and death for the crew.

Seeing such a boat was considered a deadly omen. To meet the gaze of the sea draug or hear its call could mean disaster. Some tales say it cries warnings of coming storms, as if trying to save others from sharing its fate. Other stories are darker, claiming the draug lures sailors closer, only to drag them down into the depths.

If the draug shouts “Welcome” or calls out the name of a specific person, you should not respond. You should stand up, turn your back to the sound, and shout the same word. If you find bones, clothes, planks or similar from a sunken boat near where you hear the draug, you must make sure to get it upstream and bury it. If it is buried where the seawater does not reach it, it will lose its effect. If you are in possession of fire when you encounter the draug, you should throw a firebrand at it and shout: “Now you are burning!” Then it will go out to sea, and only the Morilden or mareel will appear after it.

Stories of the sea draug are deeply tied to Northern Norway, where long winters, dark waters, and violent weather have shaped life along the coast. These legends helped explain sudden disappearances and shipwrecks, and they gave form to grief in communities where loss was a constant companion.

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References:

Draug

draug – Store norske leksikon

Draugen – havets hevner og dødens varsler – Helgeland Museum

Draugen – Nordlige folk

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The Silent Music Haunting Hald Pensjonat

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Who can be haunting the old Hald Pensjonat in Mandal? Playing soft piano music in the afterlife, and rumours about the footsteps of a Norwegian pirate seems to linger. 

In the coastal town of Mandal, where summer light lingers long into the evening, Hald Pensjonat appears by the shore, unassuming. But legend has it that it is haunted, although the details of it are scarce.  

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In the left wing there is a carved and decorated ceiling in the Renaissance style with 42 carved heads. The heads are all different and symbolize, among other things, sorrow, joy, despondency and despair. Perhaps they are the only ones who can sway what’s really going on inside of these walls.  

Hald Pensjonat: The historic Hald Pensjonat in Mandal, is thought to be haunted by the soft piano music, although no one is playing. // Foto: Daniel DeNiazi

The Assembling of Hald Pensjonat

The property is a building complex consisting of one central building and two wings. The building in the middle was originally built around 1795 in Eikvåg outside Farsund , and was called “Krohn’s House”. Around 1897, Jens Bugge moved this building to Mandal.

The two wings have also been moved to their current location from other locations. The west wing was originally an older house in the Malmö district of Mandal . The east wing was an older house in Kleven in Mandal, built around 1750. In all, the history of this house comes from multiple parts of the country.

Today, the Hald International Center has premises here. In the summer, the site is used as a guesthouse. The building absorbed the presence of countless visitors, their routines, their conversations, their quiet moments. But not everyone who stayed here is believed to have left.

The Moved Building: Is the haunting from one of the buildings that were moved to Mandal years ago? Here from Farsund, where the pirate, John Jahnse lived in his time.

The Piano Playing Alone

But who is the one behind the haunted rumors? Some say it had to be John Jahnse, a pirate and hijacker of ships who used to live in one of the rooms in the 1700s. This particular room was one of those that were moved from Farsund to Hald. Footsteps were apparently heard around the house and during the second world war, it was said to scare the German soldiers who took over the house. The footsteps frightened them so much that they shot at the ceiling in the fireplace room. Stories say you can still see the bullet hole. 

The most well known phenomenon at Hald Pensjonat centers around the piano music seemingly coming from the fireplace room. More than once, music has reportedly been heard drifting through the rooms without a visible player. 

Sources tell that in the fall of 2000, when a group heard the piano music, they went to check it out. When investigated, the piano is found untouched. The lid closed and the room was empty.

The Mysterious Piano Music: The cozy interior of Hald Pensjonat, featuring a comfortable seating area and an antique piano, where ghostly piano music has been reported. // Source: Ssu/Wikimedia

The Figure in the Corridors

Equally unsettling is the figure some claim to have seen in the hallways. The figure appears briefly, then disappears around a corner or into a shadow where no doorway exists.

But who could this figure be? The building is from a time after the reformation, so no monks lived there. Some speculate a former caretaker. Others suggest a deeply religious guest who once sought solitude within these walls. There are no records to confirm any theory.

A Place that Remembers

Unlike many haunted hotels that have been leaning into its house spirits, the manager for the bed and breakfast used to say that the Bible didn’t want the living to contact the dead and didn’t want people to come seeking ghosts. 

When the summer season ends and the house grows still, some believe the music returns. Soft notes echoing through empty rooms. At Hald Pensjonat, something remains awake long after the guests have gone.

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References:

La spøkelsene leve i fred – NRK Sørlandet

Hald (bygning) – Wikipedia

Tør du sove her?

Hald Pensjonat Mandal Her, i et av rommene bodde Skips kapreren John Jahnsen. Dette rommet var fra før et hus som sto i Farsund og senere flyttet til Hald. Han har vandret rundt i rommet og har ikke forlatt huset. Det er hele tiden hørt fot trinn rundt i huset. Under andre verdenskrig, når tyskerne tok over huset ble de så redde av fottrinnene at de fyrte av et skudd mot taket i peisestuen. Kulehullet finnes der fremdeles. Det er og observert en munk som går rundt i gangene. Høsten 2000 hørte de plutselig piano spilling fra peisestua, de gikk inn, men ingen folk å se. bilde tatt fra hjemmesiden til Hald pensjonat 37 Halseveien, Mandal, Norge, 4517

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The Ghostly Guardian of MS Nordstjernen

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The MS Nordstjernen spent decades bringing passengers north across the arctic sea, and although the waters can be brought this far north, it always seemed to reach port unharmed. Some think that it could be Ernst, the ship’s ghosts.

MS Nordstjernen was built in 1956 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The order came from Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, which wanted a modern coastal steamer capable of carrying four hundred passengers. The ship was named after Stella Polaris, the North Star, long trusted by seafarers as a guide through darkness and storm.

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During a test of the fire doors on B deck, designed to slam shut automatically in case of emergency, a young German shipyard worker named Ernst was caught between the steel doors. He was crushed to death instantly.

Despite the accident, the ship was completed on schedule and departed on her maiden voyage from Hamburg to Bergen on February 24, 1956.

Ernst never came along in body. But many believe he never truly stayed behind either.

Photo: Aldebaran/Wikimedia

A Lifetime at Sea

MS Nordstjernen remained in service for more than sixty years, making her the longest sailing ship in Hurtigruten history going all the way along the Norwegian coast until 1994. She crossed the Arctic Circle more than three thousand times without a single major accident. The boat has sailed a distance equivalent to 185 laps around the Earth, or 19 times to the moon.

Stories began circulating early in the ship’s career that Ernst had become a permanent passenger. He was said to travel from port to port, in sunshine and winter storms alike, never setting foot on land. Even in the harshest conditions, when ice covered the bridge and waves battered the hull, Nordstjernen always made it safely home.

– He is here and looks after us. We have full confidence that he wants us well. If he had wanted us to do something bad, we would have made it up, said captain Kåre Søllevold in the TV report that aired on the 2006 Norway Rundt.

The Man in the Corridors

Many passengers claim to have encountered the ship’s ghost. Ernst is most often reported on the cabin deck. Some describe him as a shadow slipping along the corridor walls. Others say they have seen the outline of a grown man, vague but unmistakably human.

Captain Ole Johan Andreassen has worked on the ship for 1.5 years and is among those who believe he has experienced the presence of the ghost. He himself is convinced that he met the restless German when he ate in the church one night. Then suddenly the door closed by itself. He probably didn’t want me to sit in the draft, the captain says, laughing.

Cabin attendants have felt his presence while cleaning empty rooms. Crew members insist he causes no trouble. On the contrary, they say he keeps them company in the smoking lounge. More than once, a visible indentation has appeared on the sofa cushion beside them, as if an invisible body had settled down to listen. Like Sailor Einar Antonsen who also believes he has encountered the ghost.

– When I have a smoke in the smoking booth, he often comes and keeps me company. Then I can see that the sofa cushion pulls down, just as if someone is sitting there, he says, pointing to the place Captain Andreassen has taken.

Photo: Tore Sætre / Wikimedia

There are stranger encounters as well.

Female passengers have occasionally complained that someone gently stroked their hair, even though no one stood nearby. One waiter woke in the middle of the night to find Ernst sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in a green boiler suit. Where his face should have been, there was only white mist.

Today, MS Nordstjernen has been retired from its long service of carrying cruise passengers into Arctic waters. The engines still hum. The decks still creak beneath careful footsteps. And some believe that somewhere aboard, the young shipyard worker remains at his post, faithful to the vessel that claimed his life. After all, a ship named after the North Star should never sail without a guide.

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  • A Haunting Helhest in Odense St Canute Cathedral
    The Danish ghostly horse spirit Helhest is said to roam around St. Canute’s Cathedral in Odense, Denmark. It is believed seeing the three legged horse is an omen of imminent death.
  • The Helhest Haunting Saint Olaf’s Church in Helsingør
    According to old legends and Danish folklore, there are stories of three legged horses haunting the churches and graveyards in the country. in Saint Olaf’s Church, the spirit of the helhest is said to be the omen of death.
  • The Hauntings of Gamle Aker Church Over a Dragon’s Den
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  • The Janissaries Vampires in Veliko Tarnovo
    During a time when Bulgaria was under the Ottoman Empire, there was talk about a vampire haunting the streets of Veliko Tarnovo. The rumours got so bad, that the Islamic rulers had to turn to pagan belief to rid themselves of the bloodthirsty creatures.
  • The Legend of the White Lady of Utstein Monastery
    In the windswept landscape of Norway’s west coast lies the Utstein Monastery, a site steeped in history and haunting tales. Known as Norway’s best-preserved medieval monastery, its ancient stone walls and iconic Gothic windows whisper stories of faith, love, and loss as well as the ghost of a Lady in White.
  • The Lord Edward Pub: The Rebel’s Restless Spirit
    After dying for the cause of Irish Independence, it is said the ghost of Lord Edward is haunting the pub he is buried close to and bears his name.

References:

DEN EVIGE PASSASJEREN på hurtigruteskipet MS Nordstjernen – Issuu 

Vil jakte på spøkelse på hurtigruta – NRK Nordland

Selger verdens eldste hurtigrute – NRK Nordland

MS «Nordstjernen» – Wikipedia

Ukategorisert

The Cabin in the Woods where the Forest Watches Back

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The DNT Cabin Flisberget deep in the mystical forest of Finnskogen, bordering Norway and Sweden has a lot of strange tales coming from it. So much so, that it was voted the scariest cabin in the country. 

Deep within the endless forests of Finnskogen stands Flisberget cabin, alone among towering pines and moss covered stones. Outside of the cabin, the poisonous Badger’s-bane grows. It has been voted the scariest cabin as well as the people’s cabin, operated by the Norwegian Trekking Association.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

By day, Flisberget is described as a jewel in the northern trail network. It is easy to reach, even for families with children. The path is clear. The cabin is welcoming. Smoke curls gently from the chimney. But when night settles over Finnskogen, the forest changes character.

Photo: Ingunn Holm/Wikimedia

A Place Apart from the World

Flisberget is part of the DNT cabin network north of Finnskogen, a place settled by lumber farmers from Finland centuries ago, creating a new culture, with their own customs and language. Because of the foreignness and shamanistic traditions of the Forest Finns, the Norwegians looked at these parts of the woods as a mysterious and supernatural place. 

The cabin is the main house on an old Forest Finn farm. The first known residents of Flisberget, or Ulvimäki as it is in their language, lived there in 1703. There was never much housing on Elverum Finnskog, but Flisberget is one of the places that the Forest Finns used. Some think that this place used to be a farm before the Black Plague even. People lived permanently on Flisberget until 1973. Today’s farmhouse was built c . 1850.

DNT proudly promotes the cabin as peaceful and accessible. Visitors, however, tell another story once darkness falls. They speak of uneasy sleep, of sounds that do not belong to wind or wildlife, and of a persistent feeling that someone is standing just beyond the tree line.

The members have spoken. From time to time you will find phrases in the guest books at Flisberget that “there is a lot of good in the walls here”, “there is a special peace here”.

When the Forest Breathes

Those who stay the night often report the same sensations. Footsteps circling the cabin without leaving tracks. The sound of movement between trees where no animal can be seen. Knocks that come once, then never again.

Inside, the wooden walls creak as if responding to unseen pressure. Some wake abruptly with the certainty that they are not alone. Others refuse to sleep at all. The last people that lived in the cabin, Oline and Hans Olastuen, told about strange things going on inside of the walls as well. 

But what is lurking around the cabin? The farm was written about in a book about Finnskogen and magic, or trollskap, as it’s called in Norwegian. There he talks about trollkjella, a monstrous troll woman that was nearby the farm by a water, and where a “trollkar”, a sorcerer who lived on the farm, sacrificed goats. Legend has it that they found a huge amount of bones at the bottom of the water.  

Trollkjella: Hans Olastuen has ventured to Trollkjella – he admits that it is eerie to see his reflection in the deep water. At this cellar, the trolls from Flisberget and Storsvea met every Midsummer night. No one knows what happened here, but just up until our time, large bone remains have been found on the cellar floor, probably from the sorcerers’ sacrifices. And there are still those who see a bit of everything at Trollkjella. // Source

Every Jonsok night, midsummer, he went there with other sorcerers. The sorcerer at Flisberget was also believed to be behind at least the murder of several men he cursed. 

Outside of the cabin it is said that he buried his black book of magic together with his silverware, hidden away. 

https://tv.nrk.no/se?v=FOLA63006963

The Old Saying of Finnskogen

According to Åsmund Skasdammen, chairman of Finnskogen Tourist Association, the region has its own understanding of such things. In Finnskogen, the supernatural is considered natural.

For centuries, these forests have been home to wanderers, hunters, and people living on the edge of society. Finnskogen has always been a borderland, both geographically and spiritually. Folklore speaks of spirits tied not to buildings, but to the land itself.

The cabin remains popular. Visitors continue to arrive, keys in hand, unaware of the stories waiting for them. Many leave with nothing but memories of nature and quiet nights. And when the forest grows dark and still, it becomes clear why so many believe that something else has always been there, watching patiently among the trees.

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References:

Dem vart skræmt, ja 

Flisberget ble kåret til folkets hytte

Flisberget

Flisberget – Wikipedia

Finnskog og trollskap

Ukategorisert

The Lady of Soria Moria Haunting Villa Fridheim

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In the Norwegian fairytale house in Krøderen, Villa Fridheim is said to be haunted by its former mistress, still running things her way as she did in life. 

Rising like a fairy tale vision along the shores of Krøderen, Villa Fridheim is often called Soria Moria in wood and paint. Its towers, carved details, and storybook halls draw visitors into a world shaped by Norwegian folklore. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Those staying at the house long enough often sense that the museum is more than a collection of fairytale artifacts. There is a persistent feeling of not being entirely alone.

The Haunted Fairytale Castle: The enchanting Villa Fridheim, a Swiss-style house in Krøderen, Norway, inspired by Norwegian folklore and rich with history. // Source: John Erling Blad

The House of Fairytales

Villa Fridheim is a Swiss-style building with elements of national romanticism and dragon style on Bjørøya in Krødsherad, built in 1890–1892 by Lumber merchant Svend Haug. Villa Fridheim was intended to serve as a country home for the lumber merchant and his wife Thea (née Sveaas). When the builder himself died in the middle of the construction work in 1891, it was the widow Thea Haug who completed the work. She then moved here permanently and used it as a home for herself and her children. 

After several years, the family converted the place into a hotel, but it was soon sold out of the family. The hotel was in operation from 1914 to 1960. After that, the house was left empty and dilapidated. After many years of decay, there were plans for the building to be burned down as part of a fire drill.

Soria Moria: The Villa Fridheim is often called the Soria Moria castle, a name from Norwegian folktales about the hidden castle where the hero will find the princess. It has also now turned into an expression for expectations about a great place.

It currently houses the Villa Fridheim Fairy Tale Museum , which is mainly associated with Asbjørnsen and Moe’s work as collectors, storytellers and publishers of fairy tales.

A House That Never Sleeps

Guests and staff have spoken quietly of sounds echoing through the servant wing after hours. Furniture seems to scrape across floors where no one walks. Doors creak open and close on their own, as if someone unseen is still making her nightly rounds.

There are many different claims to who is haunting the place. In a book that used to be in the house, people wrote down strange occurrences they experienced. One of them was about a little boy in the cafe who vanished into thin air right before them. 

The Ghost Haunting the Villa: The intricately designed interior of Villa Fridheim, showcasing its wooden architecture and fairy tale motifs. There’s a lot of ghostly tales lingering in the walls. // Source: John Erling Blad

On the fourth floor, some claim to have seen children at play, a little girl. She was dressed in old fashioned clothing, running and laughing among the shadows before vanishing as suddenly as they appeared. No footsteps follow them, and no voices remain once they are gone.

From the attic, a sound, almost like an audiotape playing at high speed is heard. 

The Woman in Black

Most striking of all is the figure seen in the main hall. Visitors have described a woman wearing a long black dress, her appearance belonging to another century. She moves calmly through the space, observing rather than frightening, her presence quiet but unmistakable.

According to local tradition, this is the spirit of Thea Haug, the first lady of the house. In life, she was known for her discipline and order, ensuring that Villa Fridheim ran smoothly and with dignity. She died in 1924, when she was 85 years old. In death, it seems she has not entirely relinquished her role.

When she is not satisfied, the ghost slams the doors, it is said. According to legends, she didn’t treat her staff particularly well. Although, some say that when she retired and went back to Drammen, a feast was held in her honor, and she was given gifts by the locals for all her effort and hospitality. Mostly in written form, she was remembered as a person with a big heart.

It is also said that her daughter, (maybe named Rilda), was hidden away in the tower room when she got syphilis and turned mad. This is also one of those tales that doesn’t have much proof, as their daughters don’t have as much information about them as their sons.  

A German tourist once staying there came down from the second floor and talked with the staff. “So festive that the staff wear old costumes,” she said after having seen a woman wearing a black dress from another century. The staff all wore jeans and t-shirts. 

A TV-series called Soria Moria was recorded at the hotel in the early 2000s about the fictional ghost of a nazi soldier. One day all the images from a Polaroid camera to keep track of continuity were strange. All of them were marked by a shadow that looked like a female figure in a long skirt.

A Watchful Housekeeper

Those who work at the museum believe that Thea Haug still watches over the building’s forty rooms. If she senses carelessness or neglect, doors may slam sharply as a warning. It is not seen as malice, but as correction, the firm reminder of a housekeeper who expects standards to be upheld.

Villa Fridheim: Is there really the ghost of a woman in black haunting Villa Fridheim?

Despite the strange occurrences, no one speaks of cleansing the house of its ghost. The presence causes no harm, and many feel it adds depth to the living history of Villa Fridheim. The husfrue is considered part of the story, woven into the walls as surely as the carved dragons and fairy tale motifs.

At Villa Fridheim, it is said that being a house ghost is a good existence. The Lady of Soria Moria still keeps watch, ensuring that her enchanted home remains just as it should be.

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  • The Lord Edward Pub: The Rebel’s Restless Spirit
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References:

FLERE GJENFERD SOM OGSÅ VILLE VÆRE MED – Issuu 

Villa Fridheim – Wikipedia 

Turist så norsk spøkelse 

Det spøker på Villa Fridheim – DigitaltMuseum

Husfruen spøker i villaen

Villa Fridheim – Eventyrmuseet, WW2 , Åndelig akivitet

Fredheim På Bjørøya I Krødsherad – Historier.no

Fru Thea Haug – nekrolog | Eiker Arkiv