The Haunted Ancient City of Nan Madol Floating in the Pacific Ocean

The Legend of its Creation

Research says that human activity can date back to the first or second century, but the megalith structures were built in the 12th and 13th. There are no written records at the Pohnpeians operated without one, so there is no recorded history that tells us exactly how the city came about.

It is uncertain how the giant stone foundation of Nan Madol came about, but the local legend is that they were flown in by the use of black magic or that it was giants that placed the rocks there. What we do know that the black rocks is around 750 000 metric tons and was more work than with the Egyptian pyramids according to some reports.

**The Mystery of the Rocks:** One of the enduring mysteries they haven’t quite been able to figure out how to get there. Local lore say it was giants that brought them, or that the founding fathers of the city brought the rocks back to the city on dragons. // Source: Flickr

According to local lore, Nan Madol was not constructed by mortal hands, but rather by sorcery. There once came two twins from the mythical Western Katau or Kanamwayso that came in a large canoe in search for a place to build an altar.

The island was inhabitable, so the twin brothers, Olishipa and Olosohpa were sorcerers. They started to worship, Nahnisohn Sapw, the goddess of agriculture they wanted to build the altar in honor of. They then brought the basalt rock back to the island on the back of a flying dragon and then created the Saudeleur dynasty.

It is said that the dynasty was destroyed when Isokelekel invaded and moved in. But the lack of food and being so remote made his ancestors leave, eventually leaving the city to be reclaimed by the lagoon and its palms.

The City of Nan Madol

In the middle of nowhere, one might wonder why such a grand city was built here. Some of the walls are over 25 feet tall and 17 feet thick and the ruins are spread across 92 artificial islands. Nan Madol was the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty until 1628, which consisted of a series of artificially constructed islets off Temwen’s southern coast. The ruins include tombs, baths, and temples and was clearly meant for the elite of Polynesia with the city itself perhaps not inhabited by more than a thousand at most.

As with most of the abandoned cities, the question remains: Why? The eventual fate of the Nan Madol civilization remains a haunting mystery for many to say for sure. Theories range from natural disasters to the island being engulfed by the encroaching sea, leaving its advanced society lost to time.

The name Nam Madol means “the space between”, something researchers remain unsure of its root. Perhaps more accurate is the translation “within the intervals” and refers to the canals the ruins are built upon. Worse perhaps is that people often also call it “ghost city” and that the local Pohnpei people refuse to get near it as it is said to be extremely haunted.

Haunted Rumors in the City

As Nan Madol rose from the ocean, so too did stories of its cursed nature. Locals whispered of strange happenings within its crumbling walls – of voices heard in the dead of night, of shadows that moved with a will of their own, and of unsuspecting travelers who vanished without a trace upon entering its labyrinthine passages.

The very foundations of the city is a type of magnetic rock, and when you bring a compass close to them, they spin and spin, losing all sense of direction.

The locals are said to be terrified of the island because of some strange glowing orbs they claim to have seen there. According to popular superstition, if you spend the night on the island, they will die.

Read More: Check out more stories about haunted abandoned cities like The Ghost of Khar Khot, The Black City in the Gobi Desert or Lac de Paladru and the Ancient City of Ars

Why you might ask, but there are more questions than answers of this place. The island used to be a burial site for the chiefs in the area and was also the location for important religious rituals. So the way the island is both spiritual and religious important goes way back.

The Haunted Island and City

Many brave souls sought to unravel the mysteries of Nan Madol, only to meet a fate worse than death, like when German governor Berg opened what was believed was Isokelekels tomb on the island. He died of a sunstroke, reinforcing the local superstition about the place.

It is said that Isokelekel saw his reflection in the water and decided to kill himself as he was getting so old. According to one gory legend, he decided to tie his penis off the top of a palm tree. His penis was cut off and he bled to death. After his death it is believed he was buried in a big mortuary on the island and perhaps he himself is haunting the area.

Even to this day, Nan Madol remains a place of mystery and dread, its secrets locked away beneath the waves, waiting for those foolish enough to seek them out. And as the winds howl through its crumbling ruins and the waters of the Pacific churn with an otherworldly energy, the whispered legends of its creation and the haunted rumors that surround it serve as a chilling reminder of the darkness that lurks within us all.