Välsta

Hälsingland · Sweden · Farmstead

"Look at the ugly dog standing on the floor", said old Mrs Behm at supper. No one else saw it – but everyone heard the rattling at the window and smelled the quenched embers.

Välsta in Rogsta is the farm where Olof Broman was born in 1676, son of the crown bailiff Johan Larsson Broman. Old Mrs Behm, a factor's widow, used to visit here. In the autumn of 1712, with the family gathered in the nursery one evening, she spoke of hauntings at Välsta and at other farms she frequented, and said it was often the Evil One himself who appeared. She urged those present to read and sing along with her when he came. Shortly afterwards they all heard a violent thundering in the chimney and the damper, and the old woman cried out that the wretch was here again. She struck up a hymn, and after three verses declared that he had gone – but that he would return. At supper she told them to look at the ugly dog standing on the floor. Broman saw no dog, but everyone was shaken by the rattling at the window. After another hymn came a rumbling and hissing, and a smell as of quenched embers.

FAQ

Where is Välsta located?

Välsta is in Hälsingland, Sweden.