Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana from The Netherlands & Belgium
Feelings
Location: Ghent (Belgium, Antwerp) - Gravensteen castle
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Although reported haunted by several websites, it is unclear what, if anything, haunts this castle.
Key Holder
Location: Grave (Netherlands, Noord-Brabant) - Not known
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area was home to a phantom dog which held a key in its mouth.
Distressed Woman
Location: Groningen (Netherlands, Groningen) - Noorderplantsoen (large park in the city)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A story goes that a distressed woman will emerge from the park and flag down motorcyclists. She explains that her boyfriend is chasing her and ask to be taken away. The cyclist does so, but shortly afterwards, notices the girl is no longer on the back of the bike. Reporting the story to the police, the cyclist is told her description matches that of a woman murdered by her boyfriend in the park several years earlier...The story does sound very similar to the vanishing hitchhiker myth.
White Lady
Location: Grubbenvorst (Netherlands, Limburg) - Grebben Castle, aka Het Gebroken Slot (The Broken Castle),
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The female phantom here is said to be the daughter of a local pub landlord who cheated on her boyfriend. The boyfriend and her secret lover had a fight - the former was stabbed and, as he lay dying, cursed the girl who died of a fever a few days later.
Dancer
Location: Grubbenvorst (Netherlands, Limburg) - Het Gebroken Slot (Broken Castle)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fight between two men over a woman ended when one was critically injured. With his dying breath he cursed the woman. She died three days later and since then is said to lurk around the castle ruins. When she sees a man she forces him to dance with her until he drops dead.
The Hero of Haarlem
Location: Haarlem (aka Harlem) (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Exact location non-existent, statue of the boy at Madurodam
Type: Legend
Date / Time: N/A
Further Comments: A story created by an American author and little known in the Netherlands, Haarlem is the setting where a boy finds a hole in a dike and plugs it with his finger until help arrives, saving his country from flooding.
Knight
Location: Haarzuilens (Netherlands, Utrecht) - Castle De Haar
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A selfish fifteenth century knight who owned the castle is said to have drowned in the moat after attempting to hit a beggar (the knight's horse slipped on the edge of the moat, the knight's armour holding him under water). The knight is said to make an occasional appearance in the castle, although the site was rebuilt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Fiery Horse
Location: Haelen (Netherlands, Limburg) - Aldenghoor Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A horse covered in flames is said to haunt this location, and is believed to have taken someone who shot at it to Hell.
Yelping
Location: Hattem (Netherlands, Gelderland) - House at site of Dikke Tinne (castle)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Although the castle was demolished in 1778, a dog is reportedly heard yelping in the old cellar.
Hidden Treasure
Location: Heemskerk (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Assumburg Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hidden in the dungeons is a chest of 'treasure', protected by the ghost of an insane woman. Unfortunately, the contents of the chest is said to be false gold and worthless trinkets.
Saint Willibrord
Location: Heiloo (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Circa eighth century
Further Comments: Saint Willibrord prayed for drinking water for his people - a well sprung forth and saved them.
Strangling the Lord
Location: Herbeumont (Belgium, Wallonia) - Lands around Herbeumont Castle
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While out hunting on the Sabbath with his aids, the lord of the castle came across two women riding together. One woman, young and radiant on a white horse, warned the lord to cease. The other, old, haggard and on a black horse, told the lord to continue his hunt. The lord hunted on and after many hours cornered a deer, but before having a chance to kill it, Satan appeared and strangled the lord.
The Fever Tree
Location: Heumen (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Hatertse and Overasseltse Vennen (fens)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The history of the tree is not particularly clear, but it is covered in scraps of cloth thought to have been left by people with sickness and disabilities who would once walk here after mass at Wijchen.
Blue Lady
Location: Hoensbroek (Netherlands, Limburg) - Hoensbroek Castle (aka Gebrookhoes)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lady's two children died and were buried within the castle without, although the burial site was not told to the woman. She now wanders looking for their graves.
Old Man
Location: Hoensbroek (Netherlands, Limburg) - Staatsmijn Emma (mine, no longer operational)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: The cold mine was said to be haunted by an old man. On one occasion he was said to have helped a teenager who had become lost in the mine.
Leaking Sack
Location: Holten (Netherlands, Overijssel) - National Park De Sallandse Heuvelrug
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Mountains still present
Further Comments: A giant who wanted to fill the Zuiderzee travelled from Germany with a sack of sand. The sack split open and the sand which poured created the Sallandse Heuvelrug mountain range.
Gnome King Kyri
Location: Hoogeloon (Netherlands, Noord-Brabant) - Kabouterberg (a tumulus on heathland)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While ruled by King Kyri
Hanging Women?
Location: Huissen (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Huissen House (aka Binnenveld house)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Johan Vlemmix claimed his house was haunted that that he had seen a hanging figure in the attic, the site where four women had previously committed suicide. Johan also experienced a run of bad luck since purchasing the site. Ghost Hunters International investigated but could not confirm the site was haunted.
Twelve Women
Location: Hummelo (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Witte Kolk (White Pool)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Midnight (reoccurring)
Further Comments: At midnight, a dozen dancing white women are said to emerge from the pool and travel to the Wrangebult, a nearby hill thought to be sacrificial in nature.
Vanishing Soldier
Location: IJmuiden (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Fortress IJmuiden
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Ghost Hunters International investigated Fortress IJmuiden after it was claimed that a dog could be heard howling (although no dog was on site), doors would slam shut, and people reported a feeling of unease in the Pink Room. Another visitor reported seeing a soldier standing in a room who vanished into thin air.
Cat Bat
Location: Keijenborg (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Old farm on edge of city, exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sounding initially more like a poltergeist outbreak, this farm was subjected to locked doors which opened themselves and cattle being let out of their stables. However, a creature which was a cross between a bat and a cat, with long teeth and green eyes, was discovered in the attic and blamed for the chaos. A priest was summoned, who managed to force the creature on to a cart which was pulled by a team of horses and left somewhere in the countryside.
Goatriders
Location: Kerkrade (Netherlands, Limburg) - General area
Type: Other
Date / Time: 1740s
Further Comments: Authorities in this town arrested dozens of people who confessed, under torture, that they were part of a gang known as Goatriders or Buckriders, who flew around on goats raiding properties.
Bornes
Location: Kloosterzande (Netherlands, Zeeland) - Court (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Professor Henricus Bornius was known for his malevolent ways, and was said to haunt his former home until it was demolished.
White Horse
Location: Kollumerzwaag (Netherlands, Friesland) - Close to the Beampoel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly red haired figure, thought to be a former lock master, on a white horse would ride around the area.
Former Owner
Location: Laag-Soeren (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Hotel Dullemond (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s-2000s
Further Comments: As this hotel degraded into ruins (prior to being demolished), rumours sprung up saying it was haunted by a former owner who killed himself.
Records 51 - 75 of 75
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