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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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The Joller House Haunting: Switzerland’s Poltergeist Mystery in Stans

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For years, the old Joller House that used to be in Stans was plagued by a poltergeist-like haunting that drove an entire family out of the city? What really happened within the walls where the knocking and scratching of the walls seemed to come from the other side?

Tucked away in the Swiss town of Stans, in the canton of Nidwalden, once stood an ordinary-looking residence with an extraordinary, and deeply unsettling, secret. Known today as the Joller House poltergeist, this case remains one of Switzerland’s earliest documented hauntings and one of its most mysterious ones.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

For a brief, terrifying period in the mid-19th century, the Joller House was the scene of violent, unexplained phenomena that left an entire community shaken and drove an entire family out. What happened in this house said to be haunted by a poltergeist?

The Haunted Joller House: Although it was torn down in 2010, the ghost story of the Joller House still linger in Stans. // Source: Nidwalden State Archives, StANW OD 1-9/4

The Joller Family Backstory

The central figure in this grim account was Melchior Joller (1818-1865), a seemingly respected lawyer and Nidwalden official and state archivist, known for his rationality and standing in the local government pushing for a liberal politic. He was a son of Jokob Joller, a farmer and Catholic churchwarden. 

Melchior Joller in his younger years.

Although he is remembered as a stand up person in society, he wasn’t the most successful. He had served a single three-year term as a backbencher in the National Suisse and had run for office in Nidwalden, but was never elected. His liberal newspaper got him in trouble with the Catholic clergy. He also wrote a pamphlet Darstellung selbsterlebter mystischer Erscheinungen (Narrative of personally experienced strange phenomena) where he detailed strange things happening in his house. 

In November 1842, he married Karoline Wenz and they had seven children together. The house in question was Joller’s childhood home, built by his grandmother, and he had lived there all of his life except for his years at university, and co-owned it with a sister or sisters. In 1845, he took over the house and farm that his grandmother had built. And his grandmother was no other than Veronika Gut. 

Veronika Gut and her Lasting Presence in Stans

Melchior Joller has been remembered for the ghost story happening in his home, but his grandmother was remembered for her life. She was born in 1757 in Stans and was a fierce supporter for the Nidwalden resistance and Swiss cause against the French Helvetic Republic. In 1798 she was already a widow with six children, living on a farm in Spichermatt in Stans. When the conflict escalated to an invasion, she donated 600 guilders to the war chest. 

Veronika Gut: Remembered as a powerful woman. Here from Landschaftstheater Ballenberg: Veronika Gut – Uprising in Nidwalden, an open-air theater from 2017.

After the invasion she was arrested and tried as a rebel and fined. She was also sentenced to stand in front of the local church every Sunday with a note saying: “Liar and Disturber of Peace.” She was ordered to wear a black cape for a year, a humiliating thing as respectable women wore white. But she wore it with so much pride that she was told to remove it. 

The previous house had been burned down when the French invaded in September 1798. Her 17 year old son, Leonz Joller died in battle as well. In her new house in Nägeligasse in Stans, she established a patriotic party in 1813 after Napoleon lost and held secret meetings in the evenings. Although she remarried to Melchior Odermatt, she was always known by her maiden name. 

The Style of House: Photo taken by Jakob Hunziker traveled extensively in Switzerland between 1883 and 1895. This house, looking very similar to the Joller house was in Wolfenschiessen.

Her life was filled with opinions, personal tragedies and political resistance. According to some rumors, it was also said that her spirit lingered in the house she built, and that she would come back in her afterlife with as much force that she had when alive. 

The Haunting Starts in the Joller House

In 1860, Joller then 42, his wife, and their children lived in a seemingly pleasant home in Stans he had inherited from his parents, close to Lake Lucerne, unaware of the terror that would soon unfold. They had four sons, Robert (1843), Eduard (1851), Oskar (1853) and Alfred (1858) and their three daughters Emaline (1845), Melanie (1848) and Henrika (1850). 

Family Photo: The Joller Family who lived in the Joller House and claimed they were plagued by a poltergeist for years.

They also lived with their servants who according to Joller, were the first to notice strange things happening in the Joller House. Sleeping on the third floor in the attic, she started to hear a knocking on her bed head during the night in fall in 1860. She told Joller about it, thinking it meant someone in the house was about to die. 

Joller told to shut up about these things and forgot about it until another experience a few weeks later. A knocking noise also woke up Karoline and their second daughter, Melanie, who shared a bedroom when Joller was away from home on a business trip. According to them, it was as if the knocking was trying to communicate with them and they became frightened. Then a year passed and they thought nothing of it anymore. 

In June 1861, nine year old Oscar was nowhere to be found when they called for supper, and they searched for him, finding him unconscious in a room on the third floor they used to store logs. When he woke up, he claimed to have heard three knocks and went to check it out. A door flung open and a formless white shape entered and he passed out.

The following days, the boys sleeping in the bedroom on the second floor above the living room, started complaining about knocking noises. It seemed to come from the floor above them. When they told their father, he even heard something sounding like scratching on the walls, but thought it had to be a cat or a rat making the sound. In his memoir Joller also adds the detail that he had heard this noise many times before in his study, perhaps for the past two years. 

That autumn, a maid said she had seen grey shapes appearing and that someone was coming up the stairs at night, walking right past her and into a living room when she was cleaning shoes on the stairs. She had also several times heard her name being called out by no one. Once she also heard something she described as “profoundly disturbing sobs.”

The maid’s stories angered Joller and Karoline told her to not talk about these things to the children, thinking she was too superstitious. 11 year old Henrika even claimed to have seen a small child shortly after when she was doing schoolwork. This frightened her so much she refused to enter the living room. 

Joller decided to fire the housemaid that had claimed to see and hear the strange things that October. In his writings he claims it was because they would be able to manage the household themselves, but who knows. Was he angry about her talking about seeing ghosts to his children? Did he try to get her to quit the job because of financial problems? He instead hired a 13 year old girl to replace her, and for a time, it seemed that this had solved the problem except from the odd scratching on the walls and mysterious knocking sounds here and there throughout the house.

The Haunted Summer at the Joller House

Again it came a winter of silence, but the summer of 1862, the paranormal activity hit full force. On 15 of August, Joller went to Lucerne with his wife and Robert at seven in the morning. They left the house and the rest of the children with the 14 year old Melanie and the 13 year old servant girl. 

Henrika started to hear a rapping noise and told Melanie and the servant girl. They went to investigate. Oscar and Edward also came trying to coax the spirit to give them a sign. But the children became afraid and fled the house, sitting outside on the front steps. 

When they went back in at lunchtime, hungry and rattled, every single cupboard and door had opened when they were outside. They shut them all, bolting what they could. But as soon as they had closed them, they sprung open, including the bolted ones. 

A sound of heavy footsteps were heard and the children fled out the house again. As the servant girl looked behind her, she claimed she saw the shape that looked something like a hung sheet in the corner coming towards her before disappearing when she called out with their food they ate outside under a hazel tree. . 

The children reached the barn where some laborers were working. They took turns running back to the house to see what was going on, and according to them, a lot was going on. The sound of moving furniture, a voice saying “even if no one is around”, in a sad and groaning voice. A voice singing to a single-tone string was playing Camille’s prayer in Zampa, from the Ferdinand Herold opera from the upstairs living room. 

Frightened, they all gathered under a tree when an old woman passed by and asked if this was where Veronika Gut had lived. The children confirmed, and the woman, claiming she had known her when she was alive started to tell them about the tragic story that happened generations ago. 

The Story of the Drowned Girls

Three years after the house had burned down, Veronika had heard a mysterious voice, telling her to flee with her family because the French had invaded again in 1801. The French had not actually invaded, but she decided to run away to Engelberg with her children. 

Joller’s father was with them initially, but for some reason, they split up and he went to another place with a guide. At Wolfenschiessen there was a narrow footbridge of the Engelberger Aa river the daughters Agatha, Franziska, Josefa and Anna had to cross. Veronika crossed first, then her eldest daughter of 19 followed, then the rest. The bridge collapsed and although Veronika managed to jump to firm ground, all of her daughters fell into the river and drowned. 

According to the old woman, she had been the one ringing the bell in St Joder’s chapel after the tragedy. That night they had seen a man dressed in white, carrying a lamp and coming to the chapel, the sign that the bell was about to toll. But when her brother had gone to check, he hadn’t seen anyone and it wasn’t until the morning that they heard about the terrible news.  

The Drowned Girls: Engelberger Aa, near Wolfenschiessen, Switzerland were Veronika Gut’s daughters perished. // Source

The old woman continued on her way, and the children had to get back into the house for their next meal. When the maid was preparing for supper in the kitchen, a light was seen coming down the chimney in the evening. The maid explained the sight as an object of little blue flames, exploding inside of the chimney and dowsing the fire with water. This was the final straw and ran off to the annex where the mother found them crying and frightened to death. 

When Joller came back home from Lucerne and heard the stories the frightened children told him, he didn’t believe a single word and the children lost faith in him and decided to not tell him anything else, as they thought that he wouldn’t believe them anyway. This would however change when he experienced the so-called haunting himself. Later he had also heard from a relative in Germany that their whole family had experienced something similar the same day. 

Joller Starts to Believe Something is Going on

On August 19, he started to hear the rapping noise of the wall, taunting, almost mimicking the noises he made. This made him promise his family he would investigate the matter. The next day he saw the door between the bedroom and kitchen bend before his eyes as the sound of knocking and banging came back. When he raised the catch on the door, it flung open and he saw a dark and almost shapeless form moving from the door to the chimney and disappeared. 

The next day he saw what he described as a force as “powerful as a wooden mallet might make when swung with all the strength of a powerful arm.” The doors were slammed and opened with this force, in the kitchen, bottles and other glassware were ringing as being hit by metal. The sounds coming from different parts of the house made it look like it had to be four, maybe five people. His wife and son claimed to have seen a figure and he himself saw something dark shooting from the door to the side of the chimney before disappearing. 

He called on his older sister to ask about if she had ever experienced something similar growing up in the house. She claimed she had never heard anything about it. A priest came by and gave the house a blessing and advised him to not let anyone else know about what was happening there. When the priest left, the whole house started up violently all evening. 

The gossip about what happened in the Joller house started to spread to the neighbors, claiming that they too could hear all the ruckus. They stopped outside on the road to listen for the noises. The press started writing about it, and Joller felt they were also attacking his character. 

Then, on 23 August Joller, his wife and a servant were all touched on the head in a first-floor bedroom. It was like a hand, and when Joller and Caroline grabbed the hand it felt warm and small, like a child’s. By now they had police guards helping them, as they were starting to fear they might get hurt. 

On the 16 of September, Joller saw an apple, jumping around and down the stairs, along the corridor and into the kitchen. When picked up and put on the kitchen table, it jumped off and headed for the corridor. It was thrown out of the window by one of the servants, but flew back to the kitchen table before continuing jumping around the house on its own. 

On the 6 of October, five different people claimed to have seen a figure on four different occasions. It was described as a woman, bowing her head with a melancholic air about her. Melanie claimed it was the same figure she had encountered and seen on the 10 September.

A Tragic Aftermath

The strain of the haunting proved too much for Joller. Later that month the final straw was drawn for the Joller family. They packed up and left the Joller House forever and moved to Zurich where they rented. No one really knows what happened that made the family decide that enough was enough. 

It is also worth noting that he had to appear in court three times on fraud charges together with Robert and they left a huge debt back in Stans. Some speculate that moving his family to Zurich and then to Rome was a financial move to get away from the debt. 

In any case, the stress got to him, and contemporary sources claim that his hair turned white almost overnight in Zurich and had a “a peculiar dreamy look about his eyes” according to paranormal societies across Europe who picked up the case. 

According to Joller who sold the Joller House to the Lussi family. The house was closed down until spring in 1863, and as far as he knew, nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the house. 

A man named Emilio Servadio contacted Emaline in 1938 and interviewed her about the story, and she said that the poltergeist didn’t follow them to their new home. Her father died in 1865 in Rome where he had been hoping to see the pope, exiled and in poverty after he had been ridiculed by family and friends and lost his positions in Switzerland. He was only 47. 

Left to Decay: For decades, the Joller house was left empty, gathering dust and legends before being torn down. // Source: Nidwalden State Archives

Explanations and Theories

As with many poltergeist cases, contemporary explanations struggled to make sense of the phenomena. Some suspected that one of the Joller children might be unconsciously causing the disturbances, a theory common to 19th-century poltergeist lore, which often linked such hauntings to pubescent or emotionally distressed young people.

Joller himself maintained that the disturbances were neither tricks nor delusions. His attempts to logically document and combat the events only added to the eerie credibility of the case.

Another theory about who was behind it all was Robert. He came under suspicion, particularly after he was seen talking to an actor in the street in Lucerne, and so did the servant girl. But things happened when neither was present. And for the motive? His family lost close to everything. For what reason would he have done it?

Another theory is Joller himself, driven by financial problems, started the poltergeist rumor himself to drive the price for the house he was about to lose down. A prank that went too far. The problem with this theory though, would he really have tormented his family and household to this extent? Also, to drive down the house price would also backfire when he had to sell it. Fact was, the family ended up suffering tragically from the whole ordeal.

The Spirit of Veronika Gut

But what about the tragedy of Veronika Gut? Could her spirit have something to do with the haunting as many posed as an explanation? Already having lost her eldest son when he was fighting the French, it was a huge family tragedy. Joller himself gave no notion in his sources that he believed this was the story behind the haunting. 

There were however several theories that it was earthbound spirits that wanted attention from the family living in the house, and Veronika was one of the main suspects haunting the Joller House. According to this theory, she was in fact a militant nationalist and Joller’s liberal politics was the cause of her haunting and wanting to bring him on a more righteous path in her opinion. 

There is also the theory about the haunting being because of how close in age Joller’s daughters started to be to Veronika’s daughters, and that this is what released the haunting. 

This seems to be the holding theory of the family itself as well. When a documentary crew went to Rome to meet Riccardo Joller, Melchior’s great-grandson, he showed a spirit drawing og Veronika they had made. 

Then there were the secret manuscripts allegedly existing and explaining the whole thing. An editor from Zurich told about her father and how he had talked with some of the great grandchildren of Joller. Apparently, Nicolao Joller, who was Alfred’s grandson, was in possession of a secret manuscript, detailing the exact reason of why the events of the Joller house had taken place. On the cover of the manuscript it read in the local Roman dialect: “for the family only.” But the actual contents of the manuscript were never published publicly, and there is no actual proof that it even exists. 

The Suspicion of Teenage Daughters

One part of poltergeist’s hauntings, is the presence of teenage girls, in their early prepubescent. We see it from the Veronika case in Spain or the Enfield poltergeist in England from more modern times to the case of the Fox sisters in America starting the spiritual movement. 

Exactly why do so many poltergeist stories have young girls in the midst of it? Some point to sexual exploitation or other dysfunctional dynamics within the household that would solve itself when they left Stans and started their independent lives outside of the family home. This theory is that the supposed poltergeist haunting is some sort of cry for help and is about unsolved trauma that the girls twist into a spiritual haunting to cope with their lives. 

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The fact is that we simply don’t know what really happened those years inside of the Joller house. 

Legacy of the Joller Poltergeist

Today, little remains to mark the site where terror once held sway. The Joller House in Stans was demolished on February 23 in 2010 and a high rise shopping center was built in its place opposite the Länderpark.  

Demolition of the Joller House: The haunted house on Veronika-Gut-Weg in Stans was demolished on February 23, 2010./Source: Corinne Glanzmann

Whether the product of unresolved grief, repressed secrets, or something far older and more malevolent, the story of the Joller House poltergeist endures as one of Switzerland’s most unsettling ghostly mysteries — a chilling reminder that even in idyllic mountain towns, darkness can take hold.

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References:

THE JOLLER FAMILY POLTERGEIST

https://archive.org/details/MelchiorJollerAndTheStansPoltergeist/page/n18/mode/1up

Melchior Joller – Wikipedia

Veronika Gut – Wikipedia

Stans (Switzerland) Poltergeist | Psi Encyclopedia 

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The Poltergeist of The Grossmünster Rectory in Zurich

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The Zurich Poltergeist was a well known haunting happening to the Pastor of Grossmünster Church in his home at Zwingliplatz in the early 1700s. For years, the family experienced torment at the hands of what they believed had to be the devil. 

Some of the most intense ghost stories from Switzerland are definitely the poltergeist hauntings. One of the more famed ones turned out to be a hoax, but it left its marks on the city. Right by the most famous landmark of Zurich there was a haunted rectory that drove the Pastor and his family mad. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

In a time of witch hunts, religious change and the time of enlightenment, there was a supposed poltergeist knocking on the rectory walls. What really happened inside of the haunted house, and how did this poltergeist hoax help to stop any further witch trials in the city?

The Grossmünster Church: Construction began around 1100, with the church opening around 1220. It was originally a monastery church that competed with the Fraumünster throughout the Middle Ages. Legend states that Charlemagne founded it after his horse knelt over the graves of Zurich’s patron saints, Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, helping to establish its seniority over the Fraumünster, founded by his grandson Louis the German. Archaeological findings show a Roman burial ground at this location.

The Haunting Begins at Zwingliplatz 4

One of them is the former rectory of the Grossmünster Church called the Antistitium, at Zwingliplatz 4. An invisible madness once drove a priest to ruin at the beginning of the 18th century. Anton Klinger was living there with his family, a theologian and a few maids, working as the chief pastor of Zurich and living by the church. 

It started small in July in 1701. Small bells hanging in his daughter’s bedroom started to ring without anyone touching them. The little girl was sickly and had them installed for her to communicate with them. That night, her father was out of town. 

They saw that the little girl hadn’t rung any bells, leaving the grown ups confused. Then the activity increased in strength. Footsteps from the upper floors sounded like they were approaching, but when they went to inspect the strange phenomenon, no one was there. 

The wife was beside herself. She became convinced that it had to be a ghost, and that the ghost was her dead son from her first marriage. He had been struck in the head by a horse’s hoof when he was in the cavalry. There was whispers about it behind because of how she inherited more than what she should have, or so they say. The maids and a relative agreed that had to be the truth. 

The maids could tell that they also had heard mysterious noises the night before, when the wife was away. This caused concern among the household, also for the pastor when he came home. From that day, all three women slept in the living room. 

The servants and the other women were being protected by Bernhard Wirz, the 25 year old theologian living with them and hoping for a position as a pastor. He was visiting at the time and decided to extend his visit when everything went down. 

And the haunting seemed to only escalate. Furniture would mysteriously move and books would come flying from the shelves as the light would flicker. On the 28th of September the bedcovers to the wife was pulled from the bed in the middle of the night as shoes and books flew through the room. 

The 9th of October, a guest at their house was smoking his tobacco pipe that was knocked right off his mouth. As he said his blessing as protection, he heard a murmuring before the ghost, looking like a cloud, rose from the floor and flew down the chimney. 

In the middle of the night, doors would slam open or shut in the middle of the night, even though they checked that they had closed them properly before going to bed. 

Haunted by the Murder of the Witches of Wasterkingen

After the reformation, ghosts were not really seen as the souls of the deceased anymore, but the work of the devil, and we have more demonic and poltergeist stories after the reformation in places like Zurich. 

Exorcisms, amulets, or other protective mechanisms to combat ghosts were forbidden. The only permitted act was prayer to God. However, the population wanted to take active steps against the intruders because they feared them.

One of the hypothesis Klinger was working with, was that the haunting had to be the ghosts of some witches he had condemned to death that year that have been remembered as the witches of wasterkingen. Elisabeth Wysser-Rutschmann and her daughter Anna had been executed July 9 in 1701. Earlier that year in April they had been accused by neighbors of harming humans and animals with their magical powers. 

After days of torture, the 24 year old Anna pleaded guilty to witchcraft and told about how her mother and aunt Anna Vogel had thought her everything. They were both sent to death by burning. Anna and Margaretha Rutchmann were beheaded before the burning, but Elizabeth was burned alive. That year, three women and a man from Wasterkingen were convicted as witches and executed. 

This lingered in Anton Klinger’s head, thinking that he was haunted by the devil himself for his action towards the Witches of Wasterkingen. He wrote it all down in his diary know known as Diarium Tragediae Diabolicae.

The Living Poltergeist in the Rectory

The pastor and his wife became certain that they were in fact haunted. To catch the culprit, they sent out a watchman to put an end to it all, working on the tower of the Grossmünster. The watchmen themselves claimed to have seen something looking like a glowing will-o-the-wisp phenomenon around the house. They found nothing at first, and suddenly, the haunting abruptly just stopped after seven months. 

For three years, everything went back to normal, and they started to believe that they were rid of the spirit tormenting their household. Then one December night, a huge stone came crashing down the stairs, and they knew that the haunting had started again. The stone was said to be over 20 kg. The pastor and his wife became frightened, the watchman Hans Müller became suspicious. 

He had just arrived at the house, and were not easily scared or fooled. Just before the stone came tumbling down, a book had come flying from the shelves and hitting him in the back. Coincidentally, it had come from where Wirz had been standing. Also a maid was said to have thrown an apple at him in an obvious manner. 

Hans Müller chose to confront the servant, and eventually, she admitted to have been behind the haunting with Wirz, helping him. After this, other maids came forth and said that they too had assisted him. Among other things they had attached strings to certain objects and made them topple over. 

Why? Some say it was to conceal their nightly activities of hooking up and they were pretending that it was in fact a poltergeist wandering around the house, not them. Some say it was to drive the pastor out of the house so that he could take over. It was all dragged forth in a public court and people laughed at the details of his assistant fooling around with the maids and the priest thinking it was the devil. 

For this, the theologian was tortured before being condemned and lost his head. A hoax that went too far with a punishment that went to the extremes. It was however a shift in who was accused of witchcraft, and the ridiculous backstory of it all helped making so that there were no other witches burnt in Zurich. 

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Gruselgeschichten und Legenden aus Zürich 

Als gewalttätige Poltergeister in Zürich alles durcheinanderwarfen | Tages-Anzeiger 

Spuk im Niederdorf – Zürich

The People of Zurich and their Money 9: Burning a woman – 7 pfund 10 shilling – CoinsWeekly %

Das Pfarrhaus des Schreckens | Tages-Anzeiger 

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The Knocking Ghost of Utengasse 47: Basel’s Poltergeist Case

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In a small apartment at Utengasse 47 in Basel, a poltergeist was said to torment the family living there. It got so bad and they found no solution that the family had to vacate the place instead. 

In the old working-class neighborhoods of Basel’s Kleinbasel district, Utengasse is today an unassuming street, its tidy rows of homes giving little hint of the dark history that once unfolded there. But in 1929, one of the most unsettling and inexplicable hauntings in Swiss urban folklore made its mark at Utengasse 47 where a poltergeist was said to be haunting.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Switzerland

Unfolding like a classical poltergeist case of eerie knocks, invisible hands, and a terrified child caught in the grip of something unseen.

A Home with a Terrible Secret

In 1929, there was a woman living there together with her three children in a small apartment at Utengasse 47. The haunting began as a series of strange and persistent knocking sounds inside the home’s second-floor apartment, particularly from a thin wall separating the living room from the children’s bedroom. 

These sounds weren’t the casual creaks and groans of an old building settling into itself, but deliberate, insistent taps and raps like some unseen presence were methodically announcing itself from within the very bones of the house.

The true focus of this unseen terror appeared to be 10-year-old Marcel, a boy whose innocent curiosity seemed to draw the spirit’s attention. Every time Marcel neared the partition wall, he was seized by an inexplicable, ice-cold dread and panicked. His limbs trembled uncontrollably, and he was overwhelmed by a suffocating sense of fear that no one could explain.

A Town’s Whispered Panic

As word spread of the disturbances at Utengasse 47, curious neighbors gathered outside. The phenomena worsened at night with loud knocking sounds echoing from the walls, disembodied tapping in the dead hours, and a general air of suffocating unease. The events quickly came to the attention of both the authorities and the local press and the police were said to have made several visits to check the apartment, searching it from top to bottom. Nothing was found. 

They watched the boy as well, pinning him down when he got his panic attacks. Even with his arms and legs restrained, the strange poltergeist knocking sound was heard. Doctors and physicists also stopped by, unable to find something scientific they could pin the strange phenomena on. 

In an era when spiritualism was still a subject of hushed parlor conversations and séances were as much entertainment as superstition, the case drew the interest of spiritualist investigators as well when they couldn’t find any logical explanation of it all.. They scoured the apartment, attempting to contact whatever entity might be responsible. Yet no convincing explanation or natural cause could be found.

A Decision from the City

The situation reached such a fever pitch that even the Basel Department of Buildings intervened. Though many officials suspected the episode to be a hoax or hysteria, they could find no perpetrator and no rational origin for the relentless sounds. Ultimately, faced with mounting public concern and the palpable distress of the tenants, the city made a rare and decisive move: the haunted apartment was ordered vacated.

In a time when housing shortages were severe due to Basel’s post-war growth, this was an extraordinary step. The apartment remained empty for three months, an unheard-of vacancy for a modest dwelling in a crowded, working-class district. No one ever complained about these types of noises again. 

We don’t really know what happened to Marcel, or what he thought of the frightening phenomena he was experiencing back then. The building still stands today with its outward appearance giving no hint of the strange disturbances that once gripped its walls.

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Tour Description «Walk of legends» Place 1: Claraplatz and Rebgasse

Huhuuuh! – Sieben Spukhäuser in der Region | TagesWoche

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The Demon Zozo: The Mysterious and Terrifying Entity of the Ouija Board

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A collective memory of people summoning an entity called Zozo has taken over the Ouija Board sessions. The demon who goes by many names is said to be conjured from the human mind, but there are still those claiming that the demon Zozo is something real to fear.

For as long as people have attempted to communicate with the spirit world, there have been warnings about entities that should never be contacted. Among the most feared is Zozo, a sinister and enigmatic presence said to haunt those who dare to use a Ouija board. 

The stories of the demon Zozo have become almost like a Christian symbol of what evil the occult and Ouija can bring from the darkness. Reports of encounters with Zozo stretch back centuries, some saying its older Sumerian or African origins, perhaps ancient Babylonian, but in the modern age, its legend has gained notoriety thanks to chilling firsthand accounts and online discussions. But who—or what—is Zozo? And is it truly a demon, or a product of human fear and suggestion?

Demon Lore: The first mention of a demon named Zozo comes from a French book of demonology. Detail from the frontispiece to the 1863 edition of Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire infernal — Source.

The Legend of the Demon Zozo

The name “Zozo” with this particular spelling, first appeared in historical texts in 1816, when a French occultist named Jacques Collin de Plancy documented a demon by that name in his book Le Dictionnaire Infernal, a sort of encyclopedia of demons. This is decades before the Ouija Board we know today existed, but there did exist other planchette writing said to communicate with spirits.

In the text, Zozo was described as a minor demon capable of possessing people and told about a girl in Teilly in France, possessed by no less than three demons called Mimi, Crapoulet and Zozo. Someone from the church reported it to the authorities and she was hospitalized. However, Zozo’s notoriety skyrocketed in recent decades due to countless accounts of individuals encountering the entity through the Ouija board.

The demon’s rise to infamy largely began in the early 2000s when Darren Evans, a paranormal enthusiast from Oklahoma, claimed to have been tormented by Zozo after using a Ouija board. Evans shared his experiences online, recounting how the entity terrorized him and his loved ones, leading to unexplained injuries, psychological distress, and even suicidal thoughts. Perhaps the worst was his claim that the demonic entity had almost drowned his baby daughter and infected her with an illness.

His accounts were disturbing enough to catch the attention of paranormal researchers, and since then, Zozo has been considered one of the most dangerous entities that can manifest through Ouija sessions.

Today there are countless alleged encounters retold on forums and throughout popular culture. Some are more haunting than others. 

How the Demon Zozo Manifests

Zozo Lore: Some sourcers will put the divorce of Laura Brooks Ellwanger and Walter K. Martin was a part of the Zozo lore from the early 1900. He was a famous palmist and fortune teller who often went by the name Zozo. And according to Laura, one of his many ex-wives, he “stole her soul” as she put it in the article. Although it was from marriage, not demonic possession. Source

Zozo allegedly communicates with people through Ouija boards, often spelling out its name repeatedly—”Z-O-Z-O”—in rapid succession. Some believe the name itself is a trick, meant to lure the unsuspecting into prolonged communication. Once engaged, Zozo’s behavior can range from mischievous to malevolent. Users have reported the following eerie patterns:

The planchette moving in rapid figure-eight motions, often associated with dark entities and them wanting to take control over the board.

Repeatedly spelling “Z-O-Z-O” or variations like “Zaza” or “Zo”

Sudden temperature drops and feelings of dread

Threats and violent messages appearing on the board

Physical attacks, such as scratches, bruises, and unexplained illnesses after contact

Disturbances in the home, such as shadow figures, nightmares, and poltergeist activity

Some who have encountered the demon Zozo claim that even acknowledging its presence can open a door to further hauntings. Others say that breaking contact improperly—such as not saying goodbye on the Ouija board—can result in lasting consequences.

Theories Behind the Demon Zozo

Zozo’s existence is a hotly debated topic among paranormal researchers. There are several theories about what, exactly, this entity might be:

Could the Demon Zozo be a True Demon from Ancient Times?

Many believers claim that Zozo is a malevolent demon that thrives on fear and negative energy. They cite the consistency of its manifestations and the similarities in reported encounters as evidence of a real supernatural force.

Those believing the demon is real says it goes under more than one name, where Mama, Zaza and Zoso are some of them. 

Those claiming that the demon Zozo is real, most often claim that it really is a misspelling and that his true name is Pazuzu. This is a Mesopotamian deity of the wind and said to be the king of demons and believed to be evil by the Babylonians and Assyrians. Also, interestingly, a protector demon for pregnant women in some of the mythology lore. The demon caused famine and attacked people by summoning locusts.

Being so old in mythology, there are plenty of variants and meanings the ancient people put on him. This is also the demon who possessed Reagan in The Exorcist and has perhaps become most known in the modern world as a demon seeking to possess people. 

Pazuzu (𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪): In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu was the king of the demons of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi. He also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought.

The Real Exorcism of Roland Doe

Talking about the demon Zozo and the Exorcist, we must revisit the exorcism of Roland Doe who the Exorcists was said to be inspired by. The name was a pseudonym, but his exorcism by the Catholic Church in the late 1940s in the US really happened. He was a 14 year old boy said to be possessed. His family was Lutheran, but his aunt was a spiritualist who showed him the Ouija Board. The aunt died and the family claimed that strange things started to happen and he went through several exorcisms.

Was he truly possessed? Or was he simply a disturbed boy throwing temper tantrums? Although most of the story behind the exorcism of Roland Doe was based on hearsay, it created the foundation of how the western world would look at demonic possession in the modern world. 

The Exorcist: Much of the demon possession and the story of Zozo comes from the book and movie The Exorcist based on the allegedly true possession of a boy playing with the Ouija Board.

Some occultists suggest that Zozo is not a demon but rather a malevolent spirit or trickster entity that delights in scaring and deceiving Ouija board users.

Mass Hysteria Through Popular Culture

Mass Hysteria and the Ideomotor Effect: Skeptics argue that the demon Zozo is nothing more than an urban legend fueled by the power of suggestion. The ideomotor effect—a psychological phenomenon where unconscious movements guide the planchette—may explain why so many people “contact” Zozo. The letter Z and the number 0 are located right next to each other, and chances that Zozo was created by random muscle motions is high. That is also why so many come back with spirit stories about Mama or Abba from the board as well. 

An Internet-Age Myth: The rise of online storytelling, horror forums, and viral ghost stories may have amplified the legend of Zozo, turning it into a modern folklore figure much like Slender Man or other creepypasta legends.

Read Also: The Philip Experiment: The Spirit Created by Scientists 

Some of the earliest entries of the demon Zozo was in 2009 from True Ghost Tales, an online forum telling allegedly true ghost encounters. Darren Evans who originally made the post told about an entity seemingly friendly, turning evil, threatening to hurt his loved ones. His post went viral, and although people chimed in with similar experiences, his became the foundation of a new urban legend. 

The Led Zeppelin connection: Further, a symbol etching out the name “Zoso” as a code for the god Saturn appeared in a banned occult book in 1521. This would later be copied by Led Zeppelin as the symbol for their guitarist Jimmy Page. Did he invoke a demon, or was he simply channeling the planet ruling his zodiac, Capricorn? The origin of the symbol remains a mystery for now.

Darren Evans appeared on TV-shows and also published a book based on his experiences, adding more and more details to his encounter with the legend. In 2012 a movie based on tales of the demon Zozo also was released and truly cemented the Zozo lore in popular culture.

Back to the story from 1816, many skip the part about the book where the author talks about how untrue the story the girl told, as she had previously been publicly whipped as punishment for telling false demon possession stories. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. Even though the author himself denied its existence, people still use the book as proof, elevating the lore to something older than a 2009 urban legend.

The Book of Demonology: Although the author of this book claims that the demon Zozo was nothing more than an elaborate lie centuries ago, he still believed demonic possession was real. Read the book here.

Evans’ story has also changed over time, now claiming he first met the demon in 1982 when he found a Ouija Board in a basement with the name engraved on the back of the board, sometimes he said on the front. He has since spent his time trying to find further proof that the demon Zozo is indeed older than what the urban legend it created was. 

How to Protect Yourself from the Demon Zozo

I AM ZOZO: A horror film based on the legend was made about five young people who play with a Ouija board and attract the attention of the malevolent Ouija demon ZoZo. Watch here

Although the truth of the matter is built on rather flimsy evidence, the belief in Zozo is today widespread and countless people across the world now believe it and claim to have encounters with this particular demon. Whether the demon Zozo is a genuine demonic force or a psychological phenomenon, its presence in paranormal lore remains undeniable, and you can now buy the proper Zozo Ouija Board specially designed for a demonic encounter. 

For those who believe in the supernatural, avoiding Zozo means exercising caution when using Ouija boards. Paranormal experts offer the following advice:

Never use a Ouija board alone.

Do not ask for a spirit’s name, as this can invite malicious entities.

Always say goodbye before closing a session.

If the demon Zozo appears, immediately end the session and cleanse the space with sage or protective prayers.

Do not challenge or provoke the demon Zozo, as this is said to increase its influence.

Because true or not, better to be safe than sorry, eh?

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References:

Zozo, the Ouija Board’s Most Famous Demon

Zozo Demon Legend & Link to Ouija Board and Led Zeppelin – Thrillist 

Who Is Zozo, The Demonic Spirit Supposedly Summoned Through Ouija Boards? 

Dictionnaire infernal/6e éd., 1863/Zozo – Wikisource

Dictionnaire infernal/6e éd., 1863/Possédés – Wikisource 

Dictionnaire infernal/6e éd., 1863/Possédés – Wikisource

Zozo phenomenon documented in new book | Paranormal Corner – nj.com 

Pazuzu – Wikipedia

Zozo the Demon – Believing the Bizarre 

Zozo Demon (episode) | Ghost Adventures Wiki

The Zozo Phenomena 

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The Amityville Horror: A Ghost Story That Refuses to Die

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Even though the events in the haunting case of the Amityville Horror have been depicted again and again since it happened, there are still so many misconceptions and unanswered questions in this case. Was it an actual haunting by an evil entity, or just a cash grab after a real and deadly tragedy? 

Few paranormal stories have gripped the world quite like the chilling saga of the Amityville Horror. The very name conjures up images of sinister glowing eyes, disembodied voices, and a house steeped in unspeakable terror. The image of the Dutch Colonial house with its distinct gambrel roof  in the Long Island town of Amityville has become an iconic landmark. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

Though skeptics have tried to debunk it, the eerie events surrounding the infamous house at 112 Ocean Avenue continue to haunt the public imagination. Was the Amityville Horror all a hoax, or did something truly supernatural take place in that cursed dwelling?

The Amityville Horror: James Brolin and Margot Kidder posing in front of a house in a scene from film ‘The Amityville Horror’, 1979. The movie catapulted the story into being a worldwide phenomenon.

The Tragedy That Started It All with the DeFeo Family

The house was first built in 1927, but the haunting was said to have started decades later. The true horror of Amityville began not with ghosts, but with cold-blooded murder. On the night of November 13, 1974, 23 year old Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a rifle and systematically slaughtered his entire family—his parents and four siblings—as they slept. 

Ronald DeFeo had a troubled childhood, the father was an abusive one and the mother was said to have been passive to it all. He had already threatened with a gun once before and was reportedly a known LSD and heroin user.. The grisly crime sent shockwaves through the quiet Long Island community, leaving the house abandoned, tainted by the bloodshed.

The Real Murder Behind the Ghost Story: Behind all the media frenzie and backstabbing of who would earn more money after the events in the house became famous, it’s easy to forget that the basis of the story of The Amityville Horror was actual deaths of a whole family.

During his trial, DeFeo claimed he had been driven to kill by malevolent voices whispering in his head. The jury didn’t believe his demonic possession as a defence and sentenced him to six consecutive life sentences. Though he later changed his story multiple times, he insisted on this fact until his death in 2021. His original claim planted the seed for what would become one of the most infamous hauntings in history.

Convicted: Ronald Defeo Jr., seen here leaving court shortly after the killings, died years later at age 69. His defense was that voices in his head told him to do it.

The Lutz Family’s the Amityville Horror Nightmare

In December 1975, just over a year after the murders, the Lutz family—George and Kathy Lutz, their three children and dog—moved into 112 Ocean Avenue. George Lutz was said to have an interest in the occult and paranormal and actively tried to summon spirits prior to the events in Amityville. 

Despite knowing its dark history, they saw the house as their dream home and for $80,000, it was a bargain. Their dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Strange voices echoed through the halls, whispering unintelligible words, sometimes calling out in eerie, distorted tones. Doors slammed shut on their own, furniture moved, and shadowy figures loomed in the night.

One of the things connecting the strange things happening to the DeFeo case was that George Lutz claimed he woke up at 3:15 AM every night—around the time the DeFeo murders occurred. The children allegedly started sleeping on the stomach, the same way the DeFeo children were found. Both he and Kathy allegedly levitated above their bed, unable to move, as unseen hands gripped them tightly.

Kathy was also said to have transformed into a 90 year old crone, and other really strange things only befitting in a horror movie. On the 28th day, on Jan. 14, 1976, the family fled the house in sheer terror, leaving their belongings behind. They refused to ever return.

The Investigation and Controversy

Already before they left, they had investigators into the paranormal claims. The haunting caught the attention of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and two months after the Lutz family fled, the Warrens and a local TV crew did a segment on the house, bringing in so-called “ghost hunters” and paranormal experts to evaluate the couple’s claims. 

Read Also: Check out The Haunted Dark Entry Forest and the Cursed Dudleytown, The Haunting of The Mark Twain House: The Gothic Mansion on the Hill and Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Disaster and Ghosts for more stories that the Warrens were involved in.

The Warrens visited the house on the night of March 6, 1976, and declared it infested with a dark, demonic presence. 

The Ghost Boy: One of the more iconic images from The Amityville Horror case is the photo taken when the Warren family visited the house. They snapped this picture and claimed it showed on of the murdered children.

Among other things, they snapped the now famed photo of the ‘ghost boy’, thought to be one of the DeFeo children. But was it? The picture has gone through a lot of investigations and mostly debunked by those who had a closer look. they claim it was It’s Paul Bartz, an investigator working with the Warrens on his knees and wearing glasses.

Paul Bartz: Wearing the same outfit, it is said he is the actual person showing up in the picture.

The Story Becomes Famous and Further Reading

One of the big books about the horrors was written by the American Author, Jay Anson in 1977. This book based on the experiences of the Lutz family was also the background for the movies that was produced from 1979 about the incident to this day. It was a sensation when published and topped the best sellers lists, but there were also a lot of lawsuits and controversy around it. 

Read more: Check out The Amityville Horror: A True Story

The Amityville Horror faced a lot of scrutiny over how real it was after its publication. Skeptics were quick to challenge the Lutzes’ claims, even after they both passed a lie detector test in hope to prove their story.  Anson said this about how he felt about the story; “I tell them that I have no idea whether the book is true or not. But I’m sure that the Lutzes believe what they told me to be true.”

One year later, director Stuart Rosenberg’s adaptation of the same name came out and became a modern day horror classic and would have around 50 sequels, remakes and other interpretations of the story over the years. 

Movie Franchise: The Amityville Horror spun many movies over the years, fueling the interest of the case.

Weber and the Lutz Falls out over Money

Some believed it was an elaborate hoax designed to profit off the tragedy. But where did Lutz get so many details of the murder correct? Turns out William Weber, Ronald DeFeo Jr. ‘s defense attorney had worked with the Lutzes to make a book. They fell out over how to split up the money though. Later admitted he had collaborated with the Lutzes to fabricate aspects of the story and that they had come up with the story after many bottles of wine.

The Lutz Couple: Although they never denied the haunting, many of their details were inaccurate, exaggerated or pure fabrication according to many of the people looking into The Amityville Horror.

He told a lot about how the details of the hoax came to be. Their daughter, Missy, had spoken of an imaginary friend named “Jodie,” a red-eyed pig-like creature that would appear outside her window. This creature was also said to stare down at George and his son Daniel from a window. Later, Weber would say this idea came from the neighbor’s cat who looked into their window at night on the TV program “A Current Affair” in May 1988.

A thick, green, foul-smelling substance oozed from the walls and keyholes were often mentioned and written into the story. According to Weber in 1988, it was inspired by an incident where De’Feo’s father once had smacked his mother when she held a plate of red-sauce spaghetti. In some variation of the legend, this substance was described as green, in some red or black. 

Priest Blessing the House

One controversy was the role of Father Pecararo, or Father Mancuso who he was named in the book The Amityville Horror (1977). George asked the Catholic priest, to bless the house when they moved in, which he did.

According to some sources, he sensed a dark presence in the upstairs bedrooms and had allegedly warned them to not sleep in there. This was said to be the room where the children had been killed. In the book, he was said to have felt a sharp slap in the face and someone telling him to get out. In the movie, flies inexplicably gathered in large numbers, particularly in one upstairs bedroom.

In the lawsuits following the book he stated that all he knew about the case had been in conversation with Lutz over the telephone. Although when interviewed about the The Amityville Horror in 1979 he did say that he entered the home for a cleansing and that he was in fact slapped by an entity who told him to “get out”. Other accounts say that the father did enter the house, but nothing of consequence happened there. 

The Haunting of a Native American Chief and an Escaped Witch from Salem

Another controversy after the Amityville Horror was the claim that the house was built on top of a Native American location of where they had abandoned the mentally ill and dying people of their tribes. Dr. Hans Holzer, the parapsychologist who examined the house in the wake of the events in the 1970s claimed that the house itself was not haunted, but the land was haunted by an old Native American chief. 

This is a very fundamental and a classic go-to in allegedly haunted places in America. Although it is impossible to document for certain as far back as when Native Americans first settled in the area, the local Shinnecock natives said that there had been no such thing.

In addition to stories about sacred burial grounds and Native American Chiefs, there were also Salem Witches put into the mix. Jay Anson’s book suggests that the property is cursed because it had once belonged to John Ketcham, a suspected witch, who had fled Salem, Massachusetts before taking up residence in Amityville. 

The Amityville House Today

So what really happened behind the scenes of the Amityville Horror? Was the mortgage and tax payments too much for the Lutzes and the poltergeist story made up to try and evade this? The Lutzes never retracted their story and George stood his ground until his death in 2006. Daniel, the son living there claims that he still has nightmares about the time he spent in the house. He believed it was his father’s interest in the occult that opened up to some sort of entity in their home. 

The Amityville house has since changed ownership at least four times. Some residents have reported no unusual activity, like James Cromarty who lived in the house from 1976 with his wife, Barbara. According to them, nothing strange ever happened in the ten years they lived there. They were bothered by the fans of Amityville Horror though, coming to their doors, asking for Ronald DeFeo and stole shingles from the roof and ripped out chunks of their lawn. In the end, they moved out as well. They tried to change the address to 108 Ocean Avenue to deter people from flocking to their door. 

They sold it to Peter and Jeanne O’Neill in 1987 and they sold it in 1997 to a man called Brian Wilson. It was sold as recently as 2017. The house itself has been renovated and even had its iconic quarter-moon windows changed, perhaps in an effort to erase its infamous past.

Regardless of whether the Amityville Horror was a genuine haunting or an elaborate fabrication, it remains one of the most terrifying and enduring ghost stories of all time. The legend of 112 Ocean Avenue and The Amityville Horror refuses to die—just like the restless spirits that are said to dwell within its cursed walls.

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References:

The Amityville Horror – Wikipedia 

The Chilling Crime and Real House Behind ‘The Amityville Horror’

The Real Story Behind the ‘Amityville Horror House’ | HowStuffWorks

Inside The Real Amityville Horror House And Its Story Of Murder And Hauntings

The real story behind the infamous Amityville Horror house 

The Amityville Murders 

‘Amityville Horror’ 50 years later — a look at the ‘most haunted house in the world’ decades after grisly killings 

With ‘The Amityville Horror,’ One House. Many Haunts. – The New York Times 

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The Legend of the Bell Witch: The Terrifying Haunting of Tennessee

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Now a part of southern folklore, the Bell Witch Haunting is still said to haunt the town of Adams in Tennessee. For years she was said to haunt the Bell family, but what was she really? A witch? Demon or ghost? A product of mass hysteria?

Deep in the misty woods of Adams, Tennessee, where the Cumberland River winds through the countryside, lurks one of America’s most chilling ghost stories—the legend of the Bell Witch. A tale whispered for over 200 years, this haunting legend is not merely folklore but a documented case of relentless paranormal activity that tormented the Bell family and left an entire town in fear. 

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With reports of eerie voices, poltergeist-like attacks, and a vengeful spirit with supernatural intelligence, the Bell Witch remains one of the most terrifying hauntings in American history. Although there definitely were more stories after the initial haunting, all the way up today, especially around the Bell Witch Cave, we will here focus more than the original haunting. 

The Bell Family and Their Mysterious Torment

In 1804, John Bell and his family settled in Robertson County, Tennessee, purchasing a 320-acre farm in the quiet town of Adams by the Red River. Back then the Tennessee frontier was a wild place of dense forest and houses built miles away from each other. Originally a barrel maker, he married his wife, Lucy Williams in 1782 when she was twelve years old. Being born in 1750, he was 32. 

The Bell Family: An illustration of the ninteenth century home of the Bell family of Red River (now Adams), TN. From the novel by M. V. Ingram, “The Authenticated History of the Bell Witch” published in 1894.

Who knows what their marriage was really like, but they certainly were prosperous. For years, the Bells lived peacefully, working their land and raising their nine children. But in 1817, their idyllic life took a sinister turn.

It started with strange noises—unexplained scratching at the walls, knocks in the dead of night, and the sound of chains dragging across the floors. The children reported hearing faint whispers, like a woman’s voice speaking just beyond comprehension. 

Then came the sightings—shadowy figures lurking in the fields, flickering lights floating between the trees, and the apparition of a bizarre, half-animal creature with the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit seen by John Bell when he was out one day inspecting the corn field. He tried to shoot it. His son, Drew Bell claimed to see a strange bird on a fence that was much larger than anything else. The daughter, Betsy, saw a girl in a green dress, swinging from a limb of an oak tree by her neck. 

Dean Confronts the Witch: 1894, An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: The Wonder of the 19th Century, and Unexplained Phenomenon of the Christian Era by M. V. Ingram

Dean, who was the Bell family’s slave, claimed to have seen a large black dog outside when he went to see his wife. The Bell Witch was said to have been particularly mean to the slaves the Bell family kept and refused them entry to the house. Dean was said to have been temporarily turned into a mule by the witch as well and always carried an ax with him.  

Betsy Bell: An artist’s drawing of Betsy Bell, done around 1894 and published in M. V. Ingram’s book about the Bell Witch.

Soon, the spirit made its presence undeniable, knocking on doors and walls, gnawing on their beds and the sound of chains on the floor. It spoke in clear words, tormented the Bell children, and took a particular interest in John Bell’s youngest daughter, Betsy. The unseen force would pull Betsy’s hair, slap her so hard it left handprints, and throw objects across the room in fits of rage. The activity increased a lot when Betsy became engaged to Joshua Garnder, another local. The witch started to chant: “Please Betsy please, don’t marry Joshua Gardner.” The harassment from the witch got so bad that she eventually called off the engagement in 1821. She instead ended up marrying her former schoolteacher, Powell in 1824. 

Dean Turned into a Mule: 1894, An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch: The Wonder of the 19th Century, and Unexplained Phenomenon of the Christian Era by M. V. Ingram

A Witch or Something Worse?

As the haunting escalated, the entity revealed itself in a chilling way—it could speak. It identified itself as “Kate,” a spirit who claimed to despise John Bell and vowed to end his life. But when asked if she was a witch, a demon, or something else entirely, she gave conflicting answers.

Sometimes, the spirit claimed to be the ghost of a wronged neighbor, Kate Batts, seeking vengeance for an old land dispute. 

Kate Batts: said to be an unfriendly neighbor who claimed that John Bell had cheated her in a land purchase. Mary Catherine “Kate” Batts, the wife of Frederick Batts. Although not a poor woman, she was often mocked by others throughout the Red River Settlement in Robertson County. Her improper usage of words, along with her sometimes strange ways, led many to think she was practicing Black Magic or other forms of the occult. In fact, contrary to reports of her claiming that she would get even with John Bell on her deathbed, Kate Batts actually outlived John Bell by many years.

Other times, it said it was the soul of someone buried nearby or even a force older than human understanding. The Bell Witch seemed to possess knowledge of distant events, private conversations, and even future occurrences.

The strange things happening to the Bell family started spreading after James Johnston, a family friend, had stayed over. Soon many people started coming and challenging the witch to speak. 

“I am a spirit; I was once very happy but have been disturbed.”

This is what the voice told them when they implored who it was. It said many things, like the disturbance was about the Native American burial mound on the property, although they didn’t really find anything when they looked. It also could recite sermons word for word and local gossip. 

Even when an Englishman visited them, the voice took on a British accent, speaking to the man like his parents would. He wrote back to the Bell family later that the entity had really visited his family in England. 

Their friend William Porter, claimed that the witch climbed into his bed and he tackled her, trying to throw it in the fire even. But the heavy weight and terrible smell coming from the spirit mad him unable to. 

Burn the Witch: Illustration of William Porter attempting to burn the Bell Witch in his fireplace.

It wasn’t all poltergeist activity though, and Lucy, the wife of John Bell was said to be a perfect woman in the witches’ eyes. She would sing her hymns and give her fresh fruit. 

Word of the Bell Witch spread beyond Tennessee, drawing the attention of curious townsfolk, traveling pastors, and even future president Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson vs. The Bell Witch

One of the most famous parts of the legend, looking back, involves General Andrew Jackson, who later became the seventh President of the United States. Intrigued by the tales, Jackson supposedly traveled to Adams with a group of men, determined to confront the supernatural force himself.

As Jackson’s wagon approached the Bell farm, the horses suddenly froze in place, refusing to move forward. A sharp, disembodied voice rang out, taunting the men, and an invisible force pushed them back. That night, as they camped on the Bell property, Jackson’s men reported being slapped, scratched, and tormented by unseen hands. One soldier was thrown from his chair, and another ran screaming into the woods, claiming he was being chased by the witch herself.

The next morning, Jackson reportedly told his men, “By the eternal, boys, I never saw so much fun in all my life. This beats fighting the British.” Or his phrasing was: “I had rather face the entire British Army than to spend another night with the Bell Witch”. By sunrise, he and his men had left the scene, some say fled.

Although passed around as true, did Jackson really pay the Bell family a visit? His movement at the time was well documented, and there is no proof that he ever came to or even knew of the Bell family. 

The Death of John Bell

As the years passed, the Bell Witch grew more aggressive toward John Bell. He suffered mysterious seizures, his health declined, as the witch taunted him, threatening to kill him. After years, he became completely bedridden. In 1820, he was found dead in his bed. Next to him was a vial of strange, dark liquid.

When the family offered the liquid to a cat, the animal died instantly. A triumphant voice echoed through the house: “I gave old Jack Bell the poison that killed him!”. There were also a lot of drinking songs that interrupted the mourners.

John Bell became the only person in history whose death was attributed to a spirit. The Bell family buried him, but the haunting did not end.

The Spirit’s Departure and the Curse on the Land

After John Bell’s death, the spirit gradually became less active, eventually telling the family it would leave—but would return in seven years. True to its word, strange occurrences resumed briefly in 1828, then faded again.

Read all: Check out all ghost stories connected to witches

To this day, the Bell Witch legend lingers over Adams, Tennessee. The land where the Bell farm once stood is believed to be cursed. A nearby cave, now called the Bell Witch Cave, is said to be a portal for the restless spirit. Visitors report hearing eerie laughter, whispers in the darkness, and feeling unseen hands push them as they explore its depths.

The Enduring Mystery of the Bell Witch

Unlike many ghost stories, the Bell Witch haunting was widely documented at the time it occurred. Numerous witnesses, including clergy, military officers, and politicians, attested to the events. The legend was passed down through generations, and in 1894, historian Martin Van Buren Ingram published An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, that was the leading source material for the legends retelling, cementing the tale in American folklore.

What happened in those years? Some point to the symptoms of John Bell to a neurological disorder that they hadn’t discovered back then. By a strange coincidence, Bell’s palsy, discovered by Sir Charles Bell, describes John Bell’s symptoms pretty well, as he had temporary loss of control of his facial muscles among other things. 

Both his symptoms as well as his death could be that of heavy metal poisoning, where arsenic has been put forth as the most likely substance. So was he poisoned over the years? By who? He was a fairly wealthy man and had quarrels with neighbors. He also held slaves that for years lived in fear. Poisoning has also historically been something wives did. And what about his daughter?

Other people pointed out that Betsy was the mastermind behind the haunting, even when she was alive. There were many rumours, one being that her father had molested her, although there really isn’t much proof. Many have put forward the theory that Betsy sounds like an example where a child or teenager is behind the poltergeist-like happenings. 

Some say her husband, Powell was feeding her ideas, as he was believed to have an interest in the occult. She threatened lawsuits to those who proposed the idea and refused to talk about the witch with anyone other than her family. For the rest of her life she was afraid of sleeping alone. 

It is also worth noting that the story came about in the period between the Second Great Awakening and the Spiritualism Movement. These movements were strong in this part of USA and spread through revivals and camp meetings for praying lasting for days. They experienced trance, spoke in tongues and other strange behaviour as a proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Something that in other settings would probably be called demonic possession. This concoction together with believing stories about witches, ghosts and demons put the perfect foundation for a poltergeist haunting like this. 

The Future of the Bell Witch Legend

Skeptics argue that the haunting was exaggerated or even fabricated, but believers point to the sheer number of eyewitnesses and the unexplained phenomena that continue to this day.

Was the Bell Witch truly a vengeful ghost? A demonic entity? Or something beyond human comprehension? The truth may never be known. But one thing is certain—anyone who dares to visit Adams, Tennessee, might just hear the whisper of the Bell Witch calling their name. Amy Fluker, a researcher of the Mississippi version of the legend said: “As a historian of collective memory, it matters very little to my research if hauntings are real or not. It does matter that people believe they are. As a result, they can help us understand the perspectives, in this case, of 19th and 20th century Americans.”

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References:

Bell Witch – Wikipedia

Bell’s palsy – Wikipedia

Bell Witch Cave

Bell Witch Characters – Betsy Bell

The Bell Witch Site: The Story of A Classic American Haunting 

Bell Witch – Tennessee Myths and Legends

The 19th Century Haunting that Made This Small Tennessee Town Famous 

Bell Witch lore spins dark tale, but could science explain it all?

The ‘Bell Witch’ Poltergeist | Skeptical Inquirer

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Casa Varela – The Haunted Terror House in Borraxeiros

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For years the Varala family was haunted by mystic forces in their house in Borraxeiros. This poltergeist-like activity was thought to have been brought from South America on one of his travels and was slowly making them go mad in the Casa Varela. 

Are you ready to hear a creepy tale that will send shivers down your spine? There is a haunted house located in Spain that has terrified those who live there. The house is known to be haunted by the lingering ghost of a former inhabitant. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

The ghosts inside of Casa Varela has been described as being particularly malevolent and has been seen lurking in the shadows, making eerie noises, and even moving objects.

The Haunting Begins in Casa Varela

Borraxeiros in Pontevedra is one of those places that have historically been known as Deep Galicia. It is in the deepest of the forests where the population is sparse and myths and legends lurk in the shadows between the thick forest. 

Casa Varela: For 5 years the Varela family was terrorized by what they believed was a paranormal phenomenon that haunted them. // Source: Blogspot

This story lasted for 5 years filled with terror for the family that lived in this horror house called Casa Varela. It was owned by D. Manuel Varela who was a simple farmer living with his family, just trying to make ends meet on the farm. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories set in Haunted Houses from around the world.

It all began one afternoon in 1916. It was May, and summer and lighter times were all ahead. But not for the Varela family whose house started to have strange things happening. Rain of stones started to drizzle and devastate the house.

Manuel Varela went to the Civil Guard to ask for their help, but they were unable to find the cause of this strange event of Casa Varela. Soon, even more strange things started to haunt the family. 

Objects in the house moved, even the furniture rose through the air and violently crashed the walls. The whole family suffered long sleepless nights and paranoia. What was going on? The spirits tugged at their clothes in the night and slapped and beat them whenever they tried to sleep.

Other harrowing experiences like the bedding being pulled off them, being chased out from the house and flour being thrown in their face, they slowly started to lose their mind, but had nowhere to go. 

In 1921 the events inside of Casa Varela stopped without an explanation and without them really having done anything. It never started again, but for the family, the things that had happened, had forever marked them. 

After 5 years of this nightmare, it was too much for Mr. Varela who ended up crazy and he started talking to himself and visiting the cemetery. The neighbors said he went there to pray because the voices in his head told him to.

Why did this happen to the family? One of the theories was that M. Varela had been living in Cuba for many years before returning to Spain. Some claim that he brought something with him home, some sort of black magic or voodoo from the island far away. 

The Haunted Terror House of Casa Varela Today

Today, there are reports of people seeing lights in the ruins of the Casa Varela as well as moving shadows and what looks like red eyes in the dark. It is said that even cows are scared to get close to the house. The Haunted Terror House of Casa Varela stands as a chilling reminder of the horrors that once plagued the Varela family, and it continues to draw the attention of thrill-seekers and paranormal enthusiasts from all over.

For those who dare to venture inside, they are met with an overwhelming sense of unease as they step through the decaying remnants of the entrance. Many who have entered the Haunted Terror House report strange occurrences and unexplained phenomena. Whispers echo through the halls, and cold drafts send shivers down your spine. Shadows dance in the corners of your vision, disappearing as soon as you turn to look. It’s as if the spirits that once tormented the Varela family still linger within these walls, eager to make their presence known.

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4 sitios de España en los que pasar una noche de miedo | Placeres

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The Christmas Haunting the Lefferts-Laidlaw House on 136 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn

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Leading up to Christmas, the Lefferts-Laidlaw House at 136 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn got uninvited visitors, knocking on the doors. The haunting lead to a spectacle of onlookers trying to solve the strange case that even the New York Police couldn’t solve.

In the bustling borough of Brooklyn, New York, among the charming brownstones of Clinton Avenue, one address stands out for its eerie reputation: 136 Clinton Avenue, a grand Greek Revival House built around the end of the 1830s, still standing close to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Clinton Hill. Today it is known as the Lefferts-Laidlaw House and when it was put on the market in 2020, it was listed for 3.4 million dollars after being on and off the market for years. 

The residents that have lived there in modern times as well as the agent trying to sell the house all say that it isn’t haunted. But could the haunted ghost story be the reason buyers are deterred from it? The chilling events that took place here in the winter of 1878 have left an indelible mark on local lore, giving rise to one of Brooklyn’s most infamous Christmas hauntings.

The whole story was told in a series of news articles in the New York Times on the 20th and 21st of December. 

The Uninvited Guest at 136 Clinton Avenue

It all began a few weeks before Christmas in 1878. Edward F. Smith, a resident of 136 Clinton Avenue, was enjoying a quiet evening at home when the doorbell rang. He answered the door, expecting a visitor, but found no one there. It happened several times more that night, the doors of the house kicked, banged and rattled. It was so loud, but not a single thing was seen and carried on until 10 in the evening. Mr. Smith had to tell himself that: It was only the wind, and went to sleep. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

That was only the beginning of a pre-Christmas nightmare. This seemingly innocent event soon turned into a nightly occurrence, each time with the same perplexing result: the doorbell would ring, but there would be no one outside, and no signs that anyone had been there at all.

Smith and his family were initially baffled and soon grew frustrated. Determined to catch the prankster, Smith sprinkled ash and flour along the path to the door, expecting to find footprints. But the substances remained undisturbed, and the mysterious noises continued unabated.

Escalation of Fear

As the days passed, the unsettling events escalated. The doorbell ringing turned into aggressive banging on the doors. The Smith family, now deeply concerned, decided to seek help. They contacted the police, who began to investigate the strange occurrences as they spent the night, but nothing came of it.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the Christmas season

Despite the police presence, the disturbances did not cease. The ringing and banging persisted, defying all attempts to identify their source. The Police Captain McLaughlin was even there, opening the door as it banged only to find empty air. This was on Monday the 16th of December when things took a darker turn.

The situation took an even more sinister turn one night when a brick suddenly flew through a window from outside. Officers standing nearby saw no one who could have thrown the brick, adding to the growing sense of fear and confusion.

The Paranormal Conclusion

Weeks of investigation yielded no answers. The police were unable to determine the cause of the disturbances, and the relentless noises and inexplicable events continued to plague the Smith family. With no rational explanation in sight, Smith and the witnesses to these bizarre happenings began to suspect a supernatural cause.

The haunting of 136 Clinton Avenue became a topic of local gossip, with many speculating that the house was cursed or that it harbored restless spirits. Some suggested that the disturbances were the work of a mischievous poltergeist, while others believed it was the ghost of a former resident seeking vengeance or closure.

Paranormal seekers and spiritualists begged to come inside to have a look, but Mr. Smith refused them all as he would have none of that nonsense. This didn’t stop them though and it was reported of semi-seances on the sidewalk with a crowd the police had to send away at times. One police officer was even bitten on the fingers by what the paper described as: ‘one powerful German who refused to move.’

Who was the Ghost Haunting the Lefferts-Laidlaw House?

After three weeks of mayhem, the haunting suddenly stopped according to the residence, and no answer was given to what really happened there. The local gossip claimed that it had to be the work of the ghost of a lawyer said to have committed suicide inside of the house years before. 

According to Mr. Smith, he was so rattled and annoyed he was said to have said it had to be Satan himself in his home. He claimed it was he who had driven the ghost away with long prayers and had previously said to the newspaper that: ‘we consider ourselves perfectly able to take care of any ghost that comes along.’

There are also stories about the original owner and his chef, where according to this story, the owner murdered the chef when he found out about the affair with his wife. 

According to the police, they remained inconclusive. It wasn’t like they could accept the theory about the devil or the ghost of a lawyer, but even they had to stand behind what they saw the things that happened, and that there was no way a living human could have done it without having been seen. 

The Legacy of the Haunting

The haunting of 136 Clinton Avenue remains one of Brooklyn’s most enduring ghost stories. Over the years, the house has changed hands multiple times, and each new owner has been regaled with tales of the Christmas haunting. Some residents have reported experiencing strange noises and unsettling events, while others have lived there without incident.

Today, the story of the Christmas haunting serves as a chilling reminder of the unexplained phenomena that sometimes invade our lives. Whether a skeptic or a believer, the tale of 136 Clinton Avenue continues to captivate those who hear it, adding a touch of mystery to the holiday season in Brooklyn.

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References:

New York City Ghosts: Lefferts-Laidlaw House 

THE CITY OF PHENOMENA; GHOSTS IN BROOKLYN. DOOR-BELLS RUNG, DOORS RATTLED, AND A BRICK THROWN THROUGH A WINDOW–A VAIN SEARCH FOR SMALL BOYS. – The New York Times 

The Ghosts of New York’s Past 

The Haunting of 136 Clinton Avenue (From the NY Times!)

Famous ‘haunted house’ in Clinton Hill reduces its price to $3.4M | 6sqft

Lefferts-Laidlaw House – Wikipedia 

How Real Estate Agents Sell Haunted Houses in NYC 

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The Mystery of the Haunted Vallecas Case and the Death of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro

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The Vallecas Case and the Death of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro was a case that left the Madrid police puzzled and the case was left unsolved. Just before and after the death of their daughter the family experienced strange things happening that they believed happened because her interest in the occult and that Estefania might have been possessed.

It’s a story that has captivated the world for decades- the terrifying tale of the Haunted Vallecas case in Spain and the death of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro. In 1991, a family in the Vallecas district of Madrid claimed that their apartment was haunted by a malevolent spirit. Over the course of several weeks, they experienced a series of chilling incidents, including unexplained noises, objects moving on their own, and even physical attacks that ended in the death of one of their daughters. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Spain

The Vallecas case attracted widespread attention from paranormal experts, skeptics, and the media alike, with many attempting to uncover the truth behind the haunting. But even now, more than 30 years later, the Haunted Vallecas case remains shrouded in mystery, with many questions left unanswered. 

Background of the Haunted Vallecas House

The Haunted Vallecas case took place in a modest apartment building located in the Vallecas district of Madrid, Spain. The specific place the hauntings happened was in an apartment on Calle Luis Marin No. 8.

The people living there had a teenage daughter called Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro that lived in the apartment together with her siblings and parents. She was 18 years old and had started to get into spiritualism in the time leading up to the hauntings, and she was especially into ouija boards. 

Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories set in Haunted Houses from around the world.

Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro used to organize some of her own sessions as well. Once she was playing the game with her friends at school when a teacher found them. They had been trying to contact the boyfriend of one of her friends that had died in a motorcycle accident. The teacher tore the Ouija board apart and the girls claimed to see smoke coming from the glass they had played with, and the friends claimed that Estefania inhaled it. 

The Start of Strange Happenings After the Ouija Board Session

The haunting of the Vallecas apartment began after this incident. Estefania started to suffer from insomnia and she had hallucinations and epileptic seizures no one could explain. Her parents tried to bring her to different hospitals, but nothing seems to work. 

The Haunted Vallecas Case: The tragic death of the teenager Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro from Madrid turned into a paranormal mystery.

Believers of the supernatural came to believe that the young girl was possessed after messing with the occult, something of a satanic panic that were common in the 80s and 90s. One of the theories was that the grandfather of the family wanted to take revenge on his daughter as they didn’t end things on good terms. 

She claimed she saw shadows of strange human forms in the night. They had no face and asked her to come with them. To where they were taking her she was unsure of.

The strange things continued to escalate to July 13th in 1991 when she attacked her sister Magdalena. The next day, Estefania had a seizure and was taken to the Gregorio Maraño Hospital in Madrid when she was already in a coma. She died the very same night, although the autopsy remained inconclusive and claimed it was a sudden and suspicious death. 

The Haunting of the Family of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro

But the strange things in the apartment didn’t stop after Estefanias death. On the contrary, it escalated until it drove the family from their home. 

Soon after, the family claimed to hear strange noises coming from inside the walls of their apartment. They heard knocking, scratching, and even whispers. According to Juan Pedro, the sounds were so loud that they could be heard throughout the building. The family also claimed to see strange shadows moving around their home, and objects began to move on their own.

The mother climbed to hear the screaming voice of Estefania that called for her, as well as what sounded like an old man laughing. 

Glass would break, doors would open and close and objects would move, all without anyone touching it. The daughters would wake up with their wrists slammed against the wall. In 1992 Gutierrez called the police and a team led by inspector Jose Negri arrived on November 27th. The parents and children had run out of the building, even though it was pouring rain, they were terrified. They claimed that a huge shadow was watching them from the hallway and their crucifixes in the house moved. 

The Investigation of the Vallecas Case Begins

The police went into the apartment and started the investigation. It is this report that has caught the attention of occultists ever since. The police claimed that the wardrobe door opened by itself, even though it was locked, and almost hit the face of one of the agents. 

Loud noises came from the balcony, even though there was no one there. Strangest was the brown slime that hung on a bedside table no one knew where it came from. 

A crucifix that hung on the wall kept falling down to the ground. The police officers left the scene soon after, knowing that they couldn’t do anything about it. 

Two years after Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro death, on the 1st of November in 1993, a picture of her that hung on the wall in the living room caught fire. Only her face. The frame or other objects weren’t burned. The family soon sold the apartment and moved away. The people that took over are said to never have experienced something similar. 

Haunting After her Death: After Estefanía’s death, paranormal phenomena intensified in the Vallecas apartment. Concepción claimed to have seen upside-down crucifixes , glass shattering for no apparent reason, and heard her deceased daughter’s voice. Doors opening and closing on their own were common occurrences.

What Really Happened in the Vallecas Apartment?

Although the Vallecas case is one of the more famous cases to explore paranormal phenomena in Spain, there have also been put forward other theories to explain it all. As one of the taxi drivers in the neighborhood said once: They often talked about the case and agreed that there was something wrong with the family.

The first thing is the psychological factors that were at play within the family. Her mother was examined and she was found emotionally unstable and anxious with a need for attention. Could she have something to do with the hauntings that happened? Could she have exaggerated their experiences, or at worst, even constructed some of them?

An interesting thing is that when they interviewed Ricardo and Maximiliano Gutierres, two of Estefanas brothers, they rejected the idea that she was possessed by the devil. They spoke out about what happened and their sister together with the police inspector in 2018. They said that she had epilepsy, as well as their mother and that there was nothing supernatural about her. 

Crime Scene: Photo from the crime scene at EEstefania Gutierrez Lazaro’s home after her death and the events that occurred there. The medical report only indicated “sudden and suspicious death,” as coroner Pedro Cabezas put it.

Although she wasn’t diagnosed, she was taking medication for it. There were things the brothers were unable to explain, but even the thing about the burned picture they didn’t rule out the possibility that some of their family could be behind. 

Her sister Manuela claims that what they told back then was the real deal and that something more than just an illness had taken hold of their sister and apartment. 

The strange thing is the police investigation who knew nothing of the house before they entered and relayed a lot of what the family had experienced over the years in their official police report. 

The Legacy of the Haunted Vallecas Case

The Haunted Vallecas case has had a lasting impact on paranormal research and investigation. It has become one of the most well-known and studied cases in the field of parapsychology, with many experts using it as a reference point in their work.

The Vallecas case has also inspired countless books, movies, and television shows, with the story of the haunted apartment captivating audiences around the world.

Read More: Check out The Drummer of Tedworth, The Amityville Horror and The Legend of the Bell Witch for more articles about poltergeist.

Despite the passage of time, the mystery of the Haunted Vallecas case remains unsolved. It serves as a reminder of the power of the unknown and the enduring fascination that the paranormal holds for so many people.

The Netflix Movie Veronica

The events of the Vallecas Case and the death of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro inspired the movie Veronica from 2017 from Netflix. It was made by Paco Plaza and gained huge popularity and renewed interest in the strange case. 

Veronica the Movie: Vallecas case was also the inspiration for the Netflix movie from 2017 with Sandra Escacena playing Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro.

The events detailed in the movie are based on the case, but of course have taken different liberties to tell a different kind of story. 

Conclusion of the Vallecas Case

The Haunted Vallecas case is a chilling and mysterious story that has captivated the world for decades. The strange occurrences that took place in that small apartment in Madrid continue to baffle investigators and skeptics alike, with no clear explanation for the haunting. The case serves as a reminder of the enduring fascination that the paranormal holds for so many people. It also highlights the importance of rigorous scientific investigation when it comes to studying the unknown.

Despite the passage of time, the mystery of the Haunted Vallecas case remains unsolved. It is a chilling reminder of the power of the unknown and the enduring fascination that the paranormal holds for so many people around the world.

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References:

The Vallecas case: the true story behind Veronica movie – Auralcrave

https://www.abc.es/madrid/20151013/abci-posesion-vallecas-confirma-policia-201510121742.html

Caso Vallecas: entre un suceso paranormal y drama humano en este inmueble madrileño — idealista/news

Así era ‘El expediente Vallecas’, el caso real en el que se inspira la película Verónica

Cuarto Milenio | Expediente Vallecas: Iker Jiménez visita la casa donde murió Estefanía en extrañas circunstancias

Lala Chus nos trae el terrorífico caso del ‘Expediente Vallecas’, la historia real que inspiró la película ‘Verónica’ | Europa FM