Sweden's 10 most haunted places

The 10 best-documented haunted places in Sweden — ranked by how frightening they are said to be, and by how fully the story behind each one is recorded.

1. 🏥1 Sandträsk sanatorium Norrbotten One of northern Sweden's largest sanatoriums, built in 1913 on the belief that nature itself could heal what was otherwise fatal.
2. 🏰2 Penningby Castle Norrtälje, Uppland A medieval fortress by Lake Väsby where a resident was seized by the foot by a bony, invisible hand.
3. ⛪3 Hietaniemi Church Norrbotten The farmhand took ten crowns in earnest money from a fine gentleman – by morning only a chip of wood lay in his hand, and at midnight on the third night the church door opened.
4. 🏚️4 Särkilax Chapel Norrbotten The ice break-up tore the whole church loose and carried it away — and, tradition says, ripped open the graveyard, so that coffins and bones floated in the water.
5. ⛪5 Kristianopel Blekinge In the marsh by Baneberg lies a copper kettle full of treasure. The teller's great-grandfather saw its handle break the surface — then spoke to his farmhand, and it was gone.
6. 🔦6 Nidingen Halland The reef northeast of the island seemed to move: one day a visible islet, the next several metres under water. The spirits of drowned sailors were said to shift it.
7. 🏰7 Gävle Castle Gästrikland The official Johan Wattrang was summoned to the castle and never seen again – legend says he was walled up alive in one of the cellar vaults and so never found rest. 🛏 Book a night here
8. ⚰️8 Korsbetningen and Valdemar's Cross Gotland The stone cross asks passers-by to pray for the fallen — beneath the grass 1,800 Gotland farmers still lie in their mail, the heat having made them too foul to loot.
9. 🌲9 The Blue Maiden Småland This is where the witches flew on Maundy Thursday. And whoever takes a stone from the island has bad luck until it is returned – the council gets parcels every year.
10. 🏥10 Kroppefjäll Sanatorium Dalsland Two hundred consumptives a year came up the mountain for the air. Roughly one in six never left the building alive.

FAQ

Sweden's 10 most haunted places?

The 10 best-documented haunted places in Sweden — ranked by how frightening they are said to be, and by how fully the story behind each one is recorded. Sandträsk sanatorium, Penningby Castle, Hietaniemi Church.

How is this list ranked?

By the frightfulness rating each place carries in our database, and where two places share a rating, by how fully its history is documented. Only places with a photograph and a written account of their own are included.

Browse by region

Browse by type

Browse by country

Popular collections

All haunted places →