Penningby Castle

Uppland, Norrtälje · Sverige · Slott · Skrekk 4/5

A medieval fortress by Lake Väsby where a resident was seized by the foot by a bony, invisible hand.

On the northern shore of Lake Väsby, ten kilometres south of Norrtälje in Uppland, stands Penningby Castle with thick granite walls and projecting defence towers. Before the lake was lowered in the 1800s, the fortress was almost entirely surrounded by water and marshland, its sea-gate opening directly onto the ancient sailing route to the sea. The site has been known since 1339, when it was called Pitingaeby. The present castle was begun in the late 1400s, and its building history is so tangled that scholars still dispute who raised what. Among its owners were some of Sweden's most powerful names: regent Svante Nilsson Sture, his son Sten Sture the Younger, and the latter's widow Kristina Gyllenstierna, who at just 26 was elected ruler and led the defence of Stockholm. The castle's oddly flattened silhouette is the result of a chimney fire in 1831, which destroyed the upper floors. But it is not only history that lingers. A man who moved in told how, on his very first night, he woke to a sound like wind through the window cracks — though the night was dead calm. Clear breathing came from the foot of his bed. He lit the lamp; the room was empty. When he turned it off, the breathing returned, now followed by shuffling steps across the floor. The second night was worse: malevolent stares in the dark, a shadow past the window, the clatter of pots somewhere in the castle. A faint light hovered by a chest of drawers — and in that instant something hard and cold, like a bony hand, gripped his foot so violently that he cried out. The bedclothes were torn from his grasp and left in a heap on the floor. He spent the rest of the night in another room, lived at Penningby for the rest of his life, but never again slept in that room. Source: Sveriges Radio (article 6215329).

FAQ

Hvor skummel er Penningby Castle?

Penningby Castle har en skrekkfaktor på 4/5 ifølge Haunted Places’ verifiserte vurderinger.

Hvor ligger Penningby Castle?

Penningby Castle ligger i Uppland, Norrtälje, Sverige.

Image: hauntedplaces.io