We’re back at it again with another haunting, dear reader. It’s been nearly three months since the last time we talked about ghosts and ghouls, so let’s jump right into things. Houska Castle is located on a clifftop just short of 30 miles North of Prague in the Czech Republic. Why is the Castle considered one of the most haunted locations on Earth? Well, it might be due to the fact that it’s said to sit on a hellmouth. Interested? Let’s explore.
The Castle
Hosuka Castle was built sometime in the mid to late 13th Century. It is a gothic-style castle that, strangely enough, has a facade full of false windows. The area the castle was built in was not exactly a logical location – there was no water source, it was not near a border, it had no apparent military function. What it did have, however, was a giant hole that it sat over. The Hole is said to be so deep that no one can see the bottom of it.
When it comes to the legends surrounding Houska Castle, the hole was already in the countryside before the Castle was built. It was apparently a Gateway to Hell through which demons could enter our realm. To prevent this, Houska Castle was constructed on top of the Gateway to seal it off. It is said that the chapel, specifically, lies over the opening to the portal. Frescoes and murals painted on the walls within the castle allegedly portray occult rituals and demons.
During World War II, specifically the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, the SS took up residence in Houska Castle, using it as a base. Rumors abound about the possibility of Nazi occultism and rituals being practiced during this time, but there is no evidence other than the track record of the group’s affinity for the subject and the idea that they would try to harness the “power of hell” by occupying the castle.
via Prague Explorer)
The Phenomena
There are only two phenomena that really come out of Houska Castle. The first is fairly typical of a haunting – people apparently see someone walking in the halls when there is no one actually there. That’s pretty mild. The second thing is the kicker. All this talk about hell, and we haven’t even gotten to the demons yet – half-man, half-animal beasts continue to try to claw their way up the pit and into our world. It’s said that the scratching noise their claws make on the stone and the floor of the Castle can still be heard to this day, if you visit.
Sources
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/houska-castle
- https://darktourists.com/inside-houska-castle/
- https://praguemonitor.com/life/16/03/2021/the-dark-legends-of-the-houska-castle/
- https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/2020/05/houska-castle-gateway-to-hell.html
- https://castles.today/slott/tjeckien/houska/legends/
- https://thelittlehouseofhorrors.com/houska-castle/
- https://www.hrad-bezdez.cz/en/tipy-na-vylet/6815-houska-castle
- https://trek.zone/en/czech-republic/places/695941/houska-castle
