As you walk along the serene alleys of the Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town, you will come across one of the most charming building in town. A dark red, five floor house, probably the most photographed house in Stockholm. But if you know the story that has been circulated from generation to another, you will think thousands of times before snatching this shot. In 1520 all prominent Swedish noblemen were summoned to Stockholm to participate in the coronation of the King Kristian II, a Danish King elected for the Nordic Union (Sweden, Denmark and Norway). There was a large party to celebrate the coronation, but on the third day the king has the gates locked and none is allowed to leave the city. Knowing that the noblemen were against his coronation, the King seized the opportunity to get rid of the opposition.
92 persons were executed and it's said that in some very cold and rainy nights one can still see the blood floating on the paving stones.
In 1650 the house was rebuilt by a Swedish architect. Look closely to the building. Can you see this little white dots around the windows? The architect put 92 white stones into the wall of the construction in memory of each person who was executed at the Stockholm’s bloodbath. It's said that if any stone will disappear, the person representing that stone will have to walk the streets of the Old Town in eternity.
The moral: As the old saying goes: Not all that is beautiful from the outside is beautiful from the inside!
The vicinities of Amsterdam's Red Light District, the famous sex district, was once, or maybe still, inhabited by evil spirits and ghosts. It was hard for me to believe that such a rational and enlighted society, like the Dutch society, is home to several eerie stories and hair-raising places. And ironically they are all located few meters away from the most erotic, lecherous and carnal district in the world. Ghosts of burnt witches still lingering side by side with those who came to find a lust for life. In the Red Light District, the Oude Kerk(Old Church) bell tower is said to be haunted by a small boy and his family who appear once a year on June 2nd. Nearby, the De Waag (weighhouse) where women were weighted to determine whether they are witches or not and people where executed. You will then cross to the Bloedstraat (Blood Street), which was flooded with blood once the executions take place at De Waag.
Are you freaking out already? Wait a bit, coz the most interesting part of the story is yet to come: the Spooksteeg (Ghost Alley). This is where you, supposedly, can still hear the tormented soul of Helena, the most famous ghost of Amsterdam.
The moral: Sometimes I believe that as long as we are still living on earth, it means that we have not come to terms yet with mistakes from our previous lifes. Could Helena be a demonstration of this theory?
In his famous novel ‘Le Fantôme de l'Opéra’, French author Gaston Leroux was inspired by a number of tragic incidents that happened at the opera in the 19th century: the death of one of the audience on seat 13, the death of a ballerina who fell on the 13th step of the stairs, a mechanic who committed suicide, and other accidents that made people believe that the opera is hunted. Who is the phantom behind all of this? The legend tells that a young pianist fell in love with a dancer of the Opera’s conservatoire. On the wedding day, as he was preparing a composition for his future bride, the Opera was set on fire and many people died, including his beloved dancer. The pianist himself had his face totally disfigured and escaped to the underground of the Opera where he finalized his piece of music and later on died alone. His body was never found however, and apparently his spirit has been lingering all over the place since then.
The moral: If you got stuck with the tragedies of your past, chances are that more of them will keep occurring!
Do you recognise this tiny naked boy peeing in the heart of Brussels, just few meters from the Grande Place, the city’s main square? This 61cm statuette is surrounded by endless stories and legends about the boy’s identity. The most famous legend claims that it depicts a young boy who saved Brussels from a disaster. The enemy was at the gates ready to bring down the city walls with gunpowder. Fortunately, a little boy who happened to be around desperately needed to relieve himself and in doing so he urinated on the explosives.
Another claims that it’s Duke Godfrey III of Leuven, two years old Lord whose troops were battling against the troops of the Berthouts. During the fights, the infant lord was put in a basket and hung in a tree to encourage them. From there, he urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.
Manneken Pis might also be a victim of an old witch who convicted a little boy of a sad punishment when he relieved himself on her front door, so she decided to transform him into a stone statue.
No matter how or why the Little Julien (as they sometimes call it) decided to pee, he remains an emblem of the rebellious spirit of the Belgian capital, who has been peeing for centuries. Maybe the moral behind his story is no matter how sad the past looked like, just pee on it and move on.
One day, a young Knight was to carry a secret message to the Sultan in Constantinople. Before leaving, his beloved wife placed a silver crucifix around her beloved husband's neck to protect him from danger. He delivered the message safely, but on his way back, he was attacked by Pirates and sold as a slave. Loosing hope to have him back, the wife was to marry one of his friends. At the same time, the Knight dreamt of her standing before Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna and was exchanging wedding vows with his friend.
The young knight woke up terrified, and said "I must be in Vienna tomorrow, even if the devil takes me!”. Instantly the Devil appeared to him: "This rooster will carry us to Vienna, but in return I must have your soul!". So the deal is, if the knight could sleep through the entire flight, the Prince of Hell would have no power over his soul, the knight agreed and they both climbed onto the rooster's back. Before putting himself into the Evil One's hands, the knight secretly took hold of the crucifix on his breast. Then he committed his soul into God's hands and fell fast asleep.
The moral: Make a deal with the Devil if you have to, but… only if you can be smarter!
Legend holds that in 19 BC thirsty Roman soldiers were guided by a young girl to a source of pure water thirteen kilometers from the city of Rome. The discovery of the source led Augustus to commission the construction of a twenty-two kilometer aqueduct leading into the city, which was named Aqua Virgo, or Virgin Waters, in honor of the legendary young girl. The aqueduct served the hot Baths of Agrippa, and Rome, for over four hundred years.
But the most traditional legend of the Trevi Fountain says that you should stand with your back to the fountain and toss a coin from your right hand over your left shoulder to guarantee a return trip to Rome.
The moral: The fountain is immersed with an enormous number of coins from everywhere in the world. I personally do it each time I visit Rome. Now you wonder how many times I’ve been there? Well, four times for various reasons. Absolutely Not !!! I don’t believe in superstition, neither do the 10 million tourist who visit Rome each year.
The Teufelstritt, or Devil's Footstep, at the entrance of Munich main Cathedral is a black mark resembling a human footprint. In order to get funds for the construction, the builder of the church made a deal with the devil, on the condition that the church should not contain any window. The clever builder, however, tricked the devil by positioning columns so that the windows were not visible from the spot where the devil stood. When the devil discovered that he had been tricked, he could not enter the already consecrated church and could only stand at the entrance. Furious and full of rage, he stomp his foot, which left the dark footprint that remains visible in the church's entrance today. The legend also says the devil then rushed outside and manifested its evil spirit in the wind that furiously rages around the church.
The moral: Do you think that the end justifies the means?… well maybe, sometimes, if it’s for a good cause. But if not, then be sure that you will get devoured by your own Devil!
If you think that Venice is symbolized only by its gondolas, you are totally wrong! There is nothing more close to the Venitians heart other than San Marco or St Mark. The Winged Lion of St Mark is the symbol of the city as the remains of this evangelist are supposedly buried in St Mark’s Basilica. But this Apostle, who founded the First Christian Church in Africa in the city of Alexandria, has to do with Venice? I think he has never even visited the city while he was alive.
The legend says that St Mark was murdered and buried in Alexandria, Egypt. Eight centuries later, two Venetian merchants who were trading in the city stole the remains from a Muslim crowd who was about to destroy it. They hid the body of the first bishop of Christianity in a basket of pork and fled home. Why pork? Because pork is forbidden in Islam, so in order to avoid any control from the Muslims, the used pork meet to guarantee that they will not dare to touch it. The Doge, governor of the Venetian Republic, ordered the construction of a church to honor the Apostle, but at some point they lost St Mark, who allegedly appeared inside a column, where he still is and where Venetians and tourists visit him every day.
The moral: Nothing specific, except that stealing is immoral!
Tired of reading? Since you went that far with the article, I got some more spooky stories this time from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.