Now that Halloween is just around the corner and I have, as I write this, friends exploring an old abandoned farm house which was the site of brutal murders a century ago, I thought it would be a good time to do a little research on spøkelser (ghosts) in Norway.  Oh, and that´s not to mention the fact that we´ve experienced winds gusting up to 70 mph the past few days, which if you´ve ever experienced, creates quite creepy howling sounds that shake the foundations of houses.

I hadn´t previously heard about any spøkelseshistorier, but it appears there are many from all over the country.  The first such place I came across where paranormal activity spøker (spooks) is Gjesme gård (farm) in Flåmsdalen.  A man by the name of Kjetil Moberg from Bergen bought the farm and both he and the previous owner are 100% sure at det er noe der (that there is something there), that when you are alone, you really aren’t alone.  Kjetil claims that he sees skygger (shadows), tven slår seg av (the TV turns off), skifter kanal (changes channel), or volumet slår seg av.  He wonders if the spøkelse didn´t achieve something in life or if it is upset that there is a restaurant there now.

South of Oslo, at Fredrikstad Castle in Halden is said to reside Den Hvite Dame (the white lady).  I had never heard about Den Hvite Dame, but apparently she is a spøkelse found in many cultures.  Believers claim she represents a female that suffered trauma in life.  She usually appears in old Victorian garb, has whitish cloudy eyes and medium-length white hair.  She usually looks sad and those who see her feel that she is trying to tell them something.  Den Hvite Dame in Halden is believed to be the spøkelse of the fortress commander´s mistress, who killed herself after Swedish forces killed her lover.  Those who claim to have seen her say that she vinker (waves) and turns the fortress spotlights off before she shows herself.

At Nidarosdomen in Trondheim, Norway´s famous gothic cathedral, munken (the monk) has been seen by many people spooking around.  Even the staunchest religious believers say that they have seen munken inside kirken (the church).  Some say munken has a beautiful face with glowing eyes.  A couple of students who stayed i kirken overnight claim that they heard strange noises and mass songs.  There are several other haunted spaces in Trondheim.

Up in Tromsø, the ansatte (employees) at Bymyra Barnehage (preschool) eventually called a pastor in to try to get the spøkelser there to go away.  They say that they hear stemmer (voices), er som om de forfølger dem (as if they are following them), and sometime even feel like de tar på dem (they are touching them).

I just got a call back from one of my friends that said the property they were just on was insanely scary-found white roses on the fence, an old tire with a cross inside, an old little child´s tennis racket, and the outline of a person.  You couldn´t pay me to go to a place like that in cold, rainy, windy weather at night!