Meet three ghosts at Engsö Castle! Today is 31 October and Halloween, so what could be better than a story about a ghost castle? Last Sunday, Peter and I visited Engsö Castle outside of Västerås, Sweden, where no less than three (!) ghosts live.
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Dice game with the devil
Engsö castle was built in the 1480s and is located just outside Västerås. In the summer, you can also see the interior of the castle, including the famous Engsö chain, which Johan Sigismund Sparre won in a "game of dice with the devil himself".
According to legend, the devil promised that fire will rage if the chain leaves the castle, and that's what has happened every time the chain has been taken away... But, now it's time to meet some ghosts at Engsö Castle, right?
Ghost 1: A hunchbacked court dwarf
The hunchbacked 'court dwarf' Anders Luxemburg first worked for Charles XII and was popular for his French and Italian songs and his violin playing. When the king died in 1718, Anders took his horse Brandklipparen with him and joined Count Carl Fredrik Piper at Engsö Castle.
One night in 1740, the horse saw something in the dark and went mad with fear. He broke free, ran straight into a wall and died. Today it is the hunchbacked little court jester who can be seen taking a walk in the park, wearing a grey long coat and hat.
Ghost 2: The evil Brita Bååt
If you are inside the castle at night, you can sometimes see a female figure dragging her feet through the King's Room and into the main ballroom. It is thought to be the evil Brita Bååt, who drove two husbands to an untimely death.
One Christmas Eve evening, Brita asked her maid to wake her up early so that she would be able to attend the Christmas service at Engsö Church, which is right next to the castle. When she woke up, she saw that the church was lit, and thinking that the maid had forgotten to wake her up, she hurried away.
When she opened the church door, she was greeted by the dead holding mass and two ghosts, probably her former husbands, attacked her. The shock caused her to faint and three days later she was dead. To this day, the weapons that killed her, a sword and a stone called the bloodstone, remain in the church ...
Ghosts 3: Dogs Cottilion
The third ghost at Engsö Castle is the dog Cottilion, which belonged to Sophia von Fersen. Sophia lived at Löfstad Castle in Östergötland, but during a visit to Engsö Castle, Cottilion died "at the feet of his mistress", as it says in French on the dog's tombstone. You can sometimes see the dog running from the main dining room into the parlour or hear the rasping sound of the dog's paws on the dining room floor.
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Lena - gott för själen says:
Ohhh, my favourite hangout! So wonderful to walk around on the paths out there. I have never been inside the castle.
Hug Lena
31 October 2017 - 6:16
Helena says:
So you're usually here? Seen the ghosts? But maybe they mostly come out when it's dark 😉.
31 October 2017 - 13:28
Steve says:
Powerful Halloween film.
31 October 2017 - 6:38
Helena says:
Glad you like the film! 🙂
31 October 2017 - 13:29
Liniz Travel says:
What a cool Halloween film!!! Scary with three ghosts LP
The castle! Hugs
31 October 2017 - 7:19
Helena says:
Glad you like the film! Three ghosts in the same castle ... a real ghost castle 🙂.
31 October 2017 - 13:29
Anki says:
Haven't been there, but it looks exciting!
Cool and scary film 🙂
31 October 2017 - 7:23
Helena says:
Nice place! But too bad that almost all castles are closed in low season ...
31 October 2017 - 13:30
Ama de casa says:
I wouldn't dare to look, but I blame the crappy internet in the hotel 😉.
Have a nice hello wine! 😀
31 October 2017 - 8:51
Helena says:
Easy to blame the internet... when you don't really dare to look, haha 😉 .
31 October 2017 - 13:32
Kenneth Risberg says:
Great film!
I haven't been to Ängsö Castle, just passed by, but maybe I will at some point.
Nice nature out there.
31 October 2017 - 9:02
Helena says:
I considered for a long time whether I should write Engsö or Ängsö. Wikipedia (and others) write Ängsö, but the castle's own page and the city of Västerås write Engsö ... so I took it ...
31 October 2017 - 13:33
Znogge says:
It sounds like a very exciting castle with a spooky history. There must be at least one castle ghost 😉.
31 October 2017 - 9:04
Helena says:
Isn't it? Wonder if these three castle ghosts get along...? 😉
31 October 2017 - 13:34
Ditte says:
Engsö is a nice visit and it can be invigorating with different ghosts. And there are three here, each with their own story.
Not that I care at all about Halloween in Sweden, but it was a fun ghost film.
31 October 2017 - 9:09
Helena says:
There are different opinions about Halloween. We don't have a Halloween tradition, but can still think it's a bit fun. At least with ghostly castles 😉.
31 October 2017 - 17:18
Razzy says:
Cool film 🙂 Fun with some info about the castle's ghosts too. I myself have a "ghost castle" near where I live ... Bogesund Castle where Brahe himself is said to be haunted.
31 October 2017 - 9:28
Helena says:
Thanks for the tip about Bogesund Castle! I did not know about it and had to google and saw that it is located in Vaxholm. Cool castle!!!
31 October 2017 - 17:20
Fantasy Dining says:
Oh exciting, love these things:)
31 October 2017 - 9:32
Helena says:
Isn't it fun with ghost stories? 🙂
31 October 2017 - 17:20
Marina says:
How exciting! I say like "Fantasy Dining", I love this stuff too. Everything that has to do with ghosts and spirits... Thanks for the tip, I will definitely head there at some point in the future.
31 October 2017 - 10:19
Helena says:
Fun with the stories that exist! (And maybe even more interesting if you can come when they're open).
31 October 2017 - 17:21
Ruth i Virginia says:
Hahaha - What a lovely description of nasty, mysterious
Elaka Britta Boat - the favourite.
Best of all, though, are the old trees; they look almost like a
Hollywood set. Ancient, gnarled, hollow! Imagine a night out there
in the light of the full moon, and it's a bit windy. And then
Cotillion stealthy ..... It's enough to give you goosebumps.
Terrific short film !!!!!
31 October 2017 - 13:08
Helena says:
How funny that you think of the trees as in a Hollywood film, haha 😉 Glad you liked the stories and the film! 🙂
31 October 2017 - 17:22
BP says:
Hahaha! Remind me not to go into that castle;-) A walk in the castle park in daylight is quite enough, I can say;-)
Your pictures are absolutely outstanding and enhance the haunting, I can say. What trees!!!
The film was great fun:-) A perfect post for Halloween:-)
31 October 2017 - 14:33
Helena says:
Haha, yes it can be spooky enough outside the castle, though I was curious to step inside ... but preferably during the day 😉 Glad you liked the film!
31 October 2017 - 17:33
Elisabeth says:
Cosy tour of the castle!
31 October 2017 - 17:09
Deciree says:
An interesting story that I thank you for 🙂 Fun with the film too 🙂 Hugs to you!
31 October 2017 - 20:29
Helena says:
Glad you liked the film! 🙂
01 November 2017 - 22:21
Lena i Wales says:
I worked for many years as a guide in a castle, so I know what ghosts are!
I dared to watch the video! Amazingly made, what technical knowledge you have. Impressed!
01 November 2017 - 11:33
Helena says:
You are a tough guy who dared to watch the video ... 😉 It is Peter who makes the films here at FREEDOMtravel, I greet him!
01 November 2017 - 22:22
Biggeros says:
Not that I believe in ghosts, but it would be appropriate to hang out at the Ghost Castle on Halloween. Peter has really got a taste for making tasteful films?
02 November 2017 - 9:04
M says:
I have seen a ghost at Ängsö Castle. I think it was Anders Luxemburg, but he wasn't wearing a hat. He smiled and looked friendly.
07 November 2020 - 8:30