We are standing in a room with sculptures of saints while our guide tells us about their place in Finnish history. I move away to take some photos of the group and put my eye on the viewfinder of my camera. What’s that?
I see something dark in between the legs of those visiting the castle with me. Maybe the lens is dirty. I put the camera down and look at the group again, only three meters away from me. There’s definitely something crawling between their legs.
Turku Castle: A Bit of History
The construction of Turku Castle started in 1280 when Finland was still part of Sweden and known as “Eastland.” The castle functioned as a military fortress and administrative center until the 17th century and as a prison for two centuries after that.
Throughout the centuries, the Turku Castle suffered many sieges, a great fire, and several wars. Although restoration works had begun at the beginning of the 20th century, they weren’t finished until 1987 (my birth year, by the way).
Now the Turku Castle is a historical museum with a church for the local congregation, restaurants, and banquet rooms for city happenings. It is one of the oldest medieval buildings in Finland still in use and the largest medieval building in Finland still standing.
I’m visiting that historical museum tonight as part of a press trip. Apparently, they’re opening the museum just for us so that we can experience the special Ghost Tour there without any other visitors wandering around.
A ghost tour?
Unexpected Guests
When we meet our guide, she’s dressed in a large black cape. Hair tied back, skin pale, lips blood red. Tonight she won’t just guide us through the castle. She’ll focus on its gruesome history, on the things that happened there that people would rather forget.
As we commence our tour, I notice that all the main lights are out. The small ambient lights lit here and there sure add to the spookiness of the tour, but they’re not that great for photography. I’m often fiddling with my camera while our guide tells us about murders, trials, diseases, and other fun stuff.
At a certain moment, we enter a larger room with sculptures of saints while our guide tells us about their place in Finnish history. There’s a bit more light here, so I move away to take some photos of the group and put my eye to the camera’s viewfinder.
What’s that?
I see something dark in between the legs of those visiting the castle with me. Maybe the lens is dirty. I put the camera down and look at the group again, only three meters away from me. There’s definitely something crawling between their legs.
At first, I think it’s fellow blogger Inma lying on the ground to get a shot from a different perspective, but then the crawling figure starts to moan and sigh. By the tone of its voice, I can tell it’s a she, but when I go up to look closer, she suddenly collapses on the floor. Her face is hideous, full of opened-up blisters and other wounds.
Only then does our guide step in: “She died o