Ghost story
The tunnel phantom of Haapsalu castle, 1936
Haapsalu's castle is famous for its White Lady, but in January 1936 the town was gripped by a very different ghost story. Children sledging on the slopes of the ruins swore that a strange, dreadful-looking figure had burst out of the crumbling underground passages beneath the walls, chased and frightened them, and then disappeared back into the tunnels. The tale spread so fast that one elderly resident was left in nervous shock, and the police were sent to hunt the mysterious man. They searched the passages and found no one, only breadcrumbs and scraps of paper. Whether it was a vagrant, a prankster or something else was never settled. The ruins of the bishop's castle are now a museum.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Haapsalu linnus on kuulus oma Valge Daami poolest, kuid 1936. aasta jaanuaris haaras linna hoopis teistsugune tondilugu. Varemete nõlvadel kelgutanud lapsed vandusid, et müüride all lagunenud maa-alustest käikudest tormas välja kummaline, õudse välimusega kuju, kes neid jälitas ja hirmutas ning kadus siis tagasi käikudesse. Jutt levis nii kiiresti, et üks vanainimene sai närvivapustuse, ja politsei saadeti salapärast meest otsima. Käigud otsiti läbi, kuid kedagi ei leitud – ainult saiapuru ja paberitükke. Kas tegu oli hulkuri, naljahamba või millegi muuga, ei selgunudki. Piiskopilinnuse varemetes asub täna muuseum.
Source: Haapsalu newspaper reports of January 1936, retold in Postimees' 'Külmavärinad' series (2022). ↗