by Bob Curran
Whatever phantoms prowl there, Hermitage Castle actually looks as though it should be haunted. The bleak moorland, the gaunt and forbidding walls, the moving shadows as the sun sets, all contribute to the overall sinister atmosphere of the place. And of course, the evil reputation of the Bad Lord Soulis lends color to the gloomy traditions of the place. Maybe there is some ancient and malignant force contained in its stones.
Hexenturm (Heidelberg, Germany)
“Denn die Toten reiten schnell.”
—Gottfried August Burger, Lenore
It is quite easy to experience that sensation of “creepiness” in some old house or in the middle of some ruin or remote place far away from the warmth and security of human companionship and habitation. Loneliness and isolation combined with a sensation of antiquity and decay can, understandably, generate an uneasy feeling in many of us. But what about in the middle of a bustling town? Will the same sensations be generated in the middle of thronging streets or busy shops? Maybe, argue some, that sensation is simply an innate response within us to ancient energies and forces that continually course through the world and can affect us no matter where we are. And who is to say that this is not the case? Further, what if some of the “conduits” or “relay points” for these ancient forces lay in the middle of thriving towns? Would such points give us the feeling of “creepiness” when we passed close to them, even though we were in the middle of a busy street or market place? And how would we explain such a feeling to ourselves?
Such places indeed may well exist—some natural, some man-made. In Germany, it is suggested, some of the man-made structures are stone towers known as Hexenturm (witch’s towers). These, it is said, serve as a focus for primal energies in almost the same way as an electricity sub-station, and within their stone walls, supernatural forces seethe and flicker, unseen by human eye, but sometimes detected in other ways by particularly sensitive people. Such places can sometimes produce what we might call “ghost images,” especially if they are very old. There are witch towers in a number of German towns such as Coburg, Herborn, Hofheim Idstein, Marburg, Salzburg in Austria, as well as many more. At Wildensen Castle near Leibertingen, witches burned at the very top of the tower there—although this isn’t officially a Hexenturm. Witches towers have also one thing in common—many of them were prisons, though not necessarily for witches. The greater majority of them date from the mid-19th century and were used solely to confine women. Only a few of them are older than this and these have been used to confine (and torture) women who had been suspected of witchcraft.
Although it didn’t really get underway until the early 1600s, witch-hunting in Germany was particularly ferocious. This was due to the intervention of the Church and one churchman in particular—Bishop Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen, Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg and Bamburg, who had the dubious nickname “the Witch Bishop.” Between 1609 and 1622, he committed more than 300 persons to torture and death, and upon his death in 1622 his successor Johann George II Fuchs von Dornheim maintained the trials and burnings. Among the tortures that were carried out were the boot (a great weight placed on the chest); the hot seat (a roasting hot chair of iron in which the suspect was made to sit); feathers dipped in sulphur applied to various sensitive parts of the body; and scalding hot and ice-cold baths. Many of these inhuman degradations were carried on during the 17th century in the existing Hexenturm. As in many other parts of Europe, a good number of these were muddled old women and young children, all of whom were consigned to the flames. The Prince-Bishop also insisted that many of them were mutilated in degrading ways before this was done.
Although most of the witch towers are comparatively modern, there are still a few that are very old and that may have been used for these purposes. One of the oldest lies in the old town of Heidelberg, in the corner of the market square there. Some will argue this structure is the most potent of all the Hexenturm, where the mysterious forces converge the most freely. The tower, which was originally built in 1392, has now been incorporated into the university of Heidelberg and stands at what was once the Western part of the initial town. This is now a corner of the University courtyard—a pleasant spot that is frequently used by trippers and picnickers. The tower is tall and made of stone, rising over many of the surrounding buildings with six openings in the side that face the courtyard—two large and four small. This, says the legend, was to allow the people to see the execution of local witches. It was certainly used as a prison and torture chamber for medieval sorcerers and malefactors (often women) and, according to some, their evil has somehow leeched into its very stonework. For a structure of its great age, it is remarkably well preserved, perhaps too well maintained, it is sometimes argued. Is there something supernatural within the area that keeps it intact?
Heidelberg is an extremely old site. The jawbone of a very ancient prehistoric man—“Homo Heidelberginsis” (Heidelberg Man) dating back between 600,000 and 200,000 years—was found in the nearby village of Mauer in 1907. This makes the area one of the earliest sites of human life in the whole of Europe. Even more significantly, there appears to have been a 5th-century Celtic structure on the Heilingenberg (“The Mount of Saints”) a hill on the other side of the River Nekar on which Heidelberg stands. This fortress may have been there from prehistoric times and may have given the town its name. Although many people seem to think that this was some sort of defensive position, there are others who think that it might have been some ritualistic place where sacred but pagan ceremonies may have been carried on. They point to the fact that in early Christian times, a church was erected on this spot as if to “take away the evil influence of the place.” This is a place, they say, where ancient gods might have been worshipped in faroff times and their energies still course through the site. This ancient site lies in a form of alignment with the Hexenturm, which serves as a channel for such forces. Was the tower, designed by 14th-century architects, designed specifically for this purpose? Certainly some see the Hexenturm as a kind of Harmonic Convergence Zone—a kind of mystic junction box where a number of lines of force meet and generate their own energies.
So how does all this ancient energy manifest itself? We have already alluded to the feeling of “creepiness,” which sometimes assails people when they visit the tower (which is now a national visitor attraction in Heidelberg), but there are other sensations, too. According to some visitors, another feeling is that of a chilling coldness, which seems to penetrate to the very core of one’s being. This is not just a bit of a chill but a real supernatural cold, suggestive of some other world or time.
“When we visited the Hexenturm a couple of years ago,” writes an American visitor named Christ on a ghostly experience blogsite, “it was a blisteringly hot day. Europe seemed to have been experiencing a heatwave and it was really hot enough to melt ice cream. However, as we approached the Tower, I began to notice the air begin to chill a little, although none of the others in my group seemed to spot this. And as I drew nearer to the place, the feeling of coldness grew. It wasn’t an ordinary chill, the same as you’d get in a freezer, it was a real deep and bone-freezing coldness that seemed to go right into me and made me feel sick. It was as if somebody was reaching inside me with a very cold hand. I had to excuse myself and turn away and although the others were able to visit the site, I was not. I’ve never been able to explain the feeling to this day.”
Was this sensation caused by the ancient power that is said to flow through the tower? Others have experienced similar sensations, some of which have left them ill for a while after. Is the power in the tower similar to some form of ancient radiation that can cause sickness in those who are sensitive enough to experience it?
And the feeling of supernatural and sickening coldness is not the only thing. Some visitors claim to have heard noises—like screams or shouts in the vicinity of the Hexenturm. Some even claim to see figures that have vanished almost as soon as they were glimpsed.
Writing on the same blogsite, another tourist w
ho simply signs herself Katerina says that while visiting the tower, she thought she heard a voice, high-pitched and crying in what she assumed was a form of German (which she herself did not speak). Out of the corner of one eye, she thought she glimpsed a figure off to her right. She couldn’t be sure, but it appeared to be that of an old woman clothed in a ragged dress of some kind, which was suggestive of some former time (or so she thought). The figure seemed very stooped and appeared to be limping, holding on to a nearby low wall, as if for support. There was a distinct feeling of evil emanating from the figure, which was not helped by her crippled progress. Thinking it was some sort of beggar-woman or somebody who was ill, she turned but there was nobody there. She looked around but there was nowhere for the old woman to go, even in a hurry. None of her companions had shared the experience, but she says that she too had experienced the chilling cold, although this only lasted, in her case, for a moment.
There have been other experiences, too. Several people walking around the tower have smelled burning, coupled with some other, more sickening odors. Could it be that they actually smell burning flesh coming from the time when suspected witches were imprisoned and tortured in the Hexenturm? If ancient energy seethes around the place, then it could be argued that they may have the power to evoke the sights and sensations of former years. This may be especially true if that energy force is combined with the strong emotions of the imprisoned and tortured, which have perhaps lain dormant within the very stonework of the old building. Perhaps this would explain the sounds of screaming and weeping.
Another visitor claims that he or she saw a tall man with a longish beard and carrying an unsheathed sword close to the Hexenturm. The man looked rather untidy and was dressed, once again, in clothes more suited to a former era. Thinking that it was part of an historical pageant organized by the university or the town council, the visitor turned to speak and the man melted away, as if he were no more than smoke, and leaving no trace of his presence. He seemed unaware of the visitor or indeed of many of the other people who coursed about the visitor attraction. The visitor also states that although the vision was looking directly ahead, he seemed to be also unaware of his surroundings. Perhaps, some have suggested, he was one of the guards the Hexenturm when it was a prison. Others say that they have seen a lady clad in a long and flowing white dress and with long skirts run across the yard under the tower at certain hours of the night. She appears to be too grandly dressed to have been one of the inmates of the Tower, although it is possible that she may have been incarcerated there at some time. She also appears to be screaming, although no sound is heard. She often runs through a wall close to the tower and vanishes completely.
What is the secret of the Hexenturm? Is it indeed some form of ancient psychic junction box acting as a receptor for ancient energies that flow across the immediate landscape? Or did the terrible imprisonments and tortures that were carried on there long ago leave an indelible mark on the tower—like some old photograph or print? With such an ancient and mysterious structure, who can say?
Houska Castle (Blatce, Czech Republic)
“My son I must warn you… Satan’s claws are long and the
grave is not always trustworthy.”
—Theophile Gautier, The Dead Leman
Would you visit a castle that had been constructed over a nest of demons, above caverns that were said to run all the way to the Gates of Hell? I thought not. And yet, if you were to visit Houska Castle in Blatce, near Prague, that’s exactly where you’d be. The castle, thought to be one of the most haunted in Europe, if not the world, stands on a rocky hill about 47 kilometres north of the Czech city and is probably one of the best-preserved medieval strongholds anywhere.
The fortress was built during the reign of Ottokar II, King of Bohemia (1253–1276) and was initially thought to have been one of a number of castles constructed to defend his lands from the advances of Bela IV of Hungary. However, that theory can be dismissed, as Houska was built without any proper fortifications, without a water source, without any kitchens, and with no trade routes nearby to defend. At the time of its construction, it was unoccupied. Why, then, was it built? This has always been a question that has dogged historians. It later served as an administration center from which royal estates could be managed, and between the years 1584–1590, further constructions were carried out, turning it into a kind of Renaissance castle, but still keeping the outlines of the original. The fortress was built over a very large cave system which was, according to folklore, one of the Seven Entrances to Hell to be found in the world. There is a very deep pit—so deep that no one has ever been to the bottom of it—directly underneath the castle chapel. Tradition says that Ottokar used convicted criminals as labor in order to construct the fortress, many of whom were killed as soon as the building was finished. However, the monarch also stated that he would grant a pardon to anyone who was lowered into this pit on a rope and report back what he saw. The first man was lowered down but was only gone a few moments when he started screaming wildly and had to be hauled up again. It was found that he had aged more than 30 years—his hair had turned white and his face was covered in wrinkles. His mind was gone and he made no sense, but kept screaming about half-animal, half-human beings who lived down there in the dark, and of winged creatures that flapped about through the blackness. Throughout the years, there are many stories of an alternative world, lying somewhere beneath the Castle (whether it was Hell or not) people have allegedly disappeared within Houska’s precincts, never to be seen again, and many people have taken the legends very seriously. Indeed, many people believed that the castle had been built over a tear in reality (the space-time continuum) and was there to prevent beings from another dimension entering our own. Some churchmen taught that it was constructed to prevent demons from issuing forth and polluting our own reality, and that this was why the chapel had been built over the deep pit. Many believed such tales.
One of those believers was Adolph Hitler, who instructed a scientific team to go to the castle to conduct experiments on a possible inter dimensional portal there. A massive file containing details of their findings was returned to Berlin, but has since vanished. During work carried out in the 1960s, three skeletons, thought to be German soldiers dating from the Nazi period, were unearthed in the main yard. At first, it was thought that they had been attacked by something large and fierce, but it later emerged that all three had been executed.
The chapel is a ghostly place with its walls covered in paintings—some of the oldest such art in Europe—depicting demons and slain dragons. There are some other, less identifiable additions to the main pictures, hinting at creatures that defy description. Could these be representations of things that have emerged from the pit beneath the chapel at some point?
And, of course, ghosts abound. One particular specter is a ghostly black horse, headless and with blood gushing from its neck. This has been seen by a number of visitors, especially within the vicinity of the main gates where it seems to run toward the castle wall, leap into the air, and vanish completely.
“We were on our way into dinner,” said one visitor, “when there was a sound like a distant galloping—a horse approaching at great speed, perhaps. And we turned to see this massive black shape come hurtling toward us. In a moment and before we could really make out what it was, it was past us. I thought that it was an animal of some kind, a horse maybe, but it seemed to have no head. And then it was gone into the wall and had vanished without a trace. It was all over in less than a minute. I truly don’t know what it was.” There is no record as to what this spectre might be—a horse killed in battle perhaps which, for some reason, keeps returning? Is it possible that it was a demon?
Other people have claimed to have seen long lines of individuals progressing toward the castle, but chained together as if they were prisoners. Each individual, however, boasts some sort of horrific injury, and some are even said to be carrying their heads. Some have even claimed that a giant black dog—
the Devil?—is attacking and biting several people along the length of the chain. There is no explanation for this vision although it does go back to the building of the castle using criminal labor. Many of these sightings have lasted for several minutes and have been witnessed simultaneously by a number of people.
And of course, the chapel seems to be the center of ghostly or demonic activity. Howls, blasphemies, and shrieks have been heard at all hours of the day and night, some coming from underneath the floor, some from the walls around. At one point, a visiting priest saw something squatting on top of the altar, which looked like something midway between a human being and a large frog. “It looked at me very threateningly,” said Father Jerzy Zajic. “Its eyes were very red and seemed to hold the fires of Hell. Then it seemed to fade away like a cloud of thick black smoke and there was nothing there. But I could still feel the chill of its presence. I was convinced that it was the Devil or something like it.” Other people have felt tugs on their coats in the chapel gloom or have tripped up unexpectedly with nobody there. Some have seen small shadows, which didn’t appear to be altogether human, scuttle away into the darkest recesses of the place. These shadows may be another form of life from beyond the veil, or perhaps devils from the underground pit. Voices are regularly heard coming from inside the chapel by workmen outside—sometimes heavy tones like chanting, sometimes sounding a bit crazy, like the chattering of madmen. When the chapel doors are opened, there is, of course, no one inside. According to some traditions, it was in the chapel that the Nazis carried out some of their interdimensional experiments—maybe such testing has called up the past or has released something from another world.
