Is the ghost of Anne Brandfjell, a famous fortune teller and wise wife from Norway haunting the old Maritime school in Oslo?
Some buildings seem to breathe with memory. Their corridors carry footsteps that no longer belong to the living, and their walls remember pain as clearly as kindness. Sjømannskolen is one such place. By daylight it appears ordinary, shaped by education and routine. By night, it reveals something older.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway
The Maritim School is a four-story building that was built for the Oslo Maritim School in 1917. Although the school left the building in 1989, the name is still used for the castle-like building located at Kongsveien 30 in the Ekebergskraninga slope just above Grønlia in Oslo. Here, not all spirits are the same.
The Wise Woman from Brandfjell
Long before Sjømannskolen stood where it does today, the land belonged to Brannfjell. In the nineteenth century, a woman named Anne Brandfjell lived there. She was known for tending to those in need, caring for physical suffering and quiet despair alike. People came to her with wounds, illness, and grief, and she offered what help she could. She was also known as a wise woman, a fortune teller and healer.
In 1841, Anne-Marie came to Christiania as a maid to the goldsmith and jeweler Hermann Øiset. She had two illegitimate sons with him, who otherwise had no children from his two marriages. In 1849, Anne-Marie married the greystone mason Christen Evensen. The newlyweds settled on the Ekeberglien homestead under Ekeberg farm in Aker municipality . Ekeberglien was located at the northern end of the “Brannfjell” ridge – hence the name “Anne Brandfjeld” in the vernacular.
She once treated a man who everyone thought was dead. His heart had stopped beating, but Anne still managed to bring him back to life. Before she died, she passed down her knowledge to another young woman to continue the tradition.
According to legend, Anne never truly left the place where she devoted her life to others.
Students and staff spoke of a calm presence moving through the hallways. Doors open softly. Footsteps are heard without urgency. Those who encounter her feel no fear. On the contrary, there is a sense of reassurance, as if someone is watching over the building with gentle intent.
Anne Brandfjell is not described as an angry spirit. She is remembered as she was in life. Caring. Protective. Unwilling to abandon those who walk the same ground she once did.
Anne Brandfjell Haunting the Halls
Those who claim to have seen her describe a woman who seems slightly out of time, her appearance quietly old fashioned. She does not speak. She does not linger. And yet her presence feels purposeful.
Many believe she continues her work, wandering the corridors to ensure that no one is truly alone.
If this were the only story Sjømannskolen held, the building might feel almost comforting after dark. But there is another place within its walls where the atmosphere changes entirely.
The Bub Below with the Darker Energy
Beneath the building lies a pub, and it is here that the stories turn darker.
Employees have reported sudden waves of discomfort while working there. Feelings of unease that arrive without warning, heavy and oppressive. Some have noticed the smell of smoke filling the air, despite no fire and no source to explain it.
Others claim to have heard music drifting through the space. Faint, distant melodies that vanish the moment someone tries to locate them. No one else hears it. No radio is playing. The sound simply fades, leaving silence behind.
Unlike the calm presence in the hallways, whatever lingers in the pub does not feel benevolent.
Actor and Medium Meeting her Ghost
One perhaps unlikely ghost hunter who visited the school once, was Mikkel Gaup, Norwegian and Sami actor most known for Pathfinder from 1987. He has also been a public person, chasing ghosts and exploring the occult, especially through Sami traditions and rituals. Mikkel Gaup came up with his concept of “Mikkelmessen” in 2009 and chose the school to have it. A large part of the focus will be on Sami culture; Sami outdoor activities, Sami crafts, food, music, film, theater and concerts.
But another thing he was going to do was to meet the ghost there. How the meeting went though, is uncertain.
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