5 ghosts at Örebro Castle

1. The Ghost of Engelbrekt

1434 was the year when the future regent from Bergslagen captured the castle in Örebro. Two years later, he was murdered at Göksholm Castle on Lake Hjälmaren and buried in St. Nicolai Church. His popularity drew many pilgrims to his grave, a development that the future King Charles IX viewed with disapproval.

According to legend, he had the grave dug up and the remains walled into the castle’s walls. Is it true? No one knows. But the grave has disappeared. And many have testified to having encountered a small man in the castle’s stairwell—a man carrying his head under one arm.

2. The Woman in the Attic

The year is 1993. A new ventilation system has just been installed in the castle. Late one evening, the construction manager is about to do a final inspection of the attic, but suddenly he freezes. He feels as though he’s being watched. He continues, but the feeling lingers. At the far end of the attic, he turns around. Right next to him stands a young woman. She’s walking toward him. He backs away. He starts running toward the exit. Almost there, he turns around and sees the young woman transform. In just a few seconds, she ages half a century. He rushes out into the stairwell. Out in the courtyard, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But he never returns to the attic alone again.

3. Mischievous ghosts at the castle

Many ghost stories are dramatic. Encounters with shadowy figures and tales of violent, sudden death. Others are small, everyday—yet inexplicable—incidents. Like when the governor’s flower pots were moved around in a mysterious way. Or when a bowl of candy rattled without anyone being there. How can the upper windows in the Chapel be opened and closed without any human involvement? And why do the key rings in the castle shop suddenly start swinging back and forth? Well, see for yourself! It’s as if the castle were filled with ghosts playing tricks on us. And maybe that’s exactly what it is.

4. The Unknown Key to the Lock

A children’s party at the castle. Fun, noise, and chaos. And a little suspense. The children are allowed to go up to the attic. The haunted attic! The guide tells slightly spooky stories to the wide-eyed children. In the background, she suddenly hears the attic door being locked. From the outside. Strange. The attic key is a large, forged key, of which there are only two. The guide has one. The other is at the front desk. The guide shouts. The children start to get scared. Finally, a passerby hears the shouts and runs down to the front desk. Thanks to the second key, the door can be opened. A key that has been safely stored in the key cabinet the whole time. Apparently, there is a third key. But no one knows where. Or who has it...

(Psst! Did you know that the friendly ghost Laban lives at Örebro Castle?)

5. Harald Pletting is back at the castle

Sometime in the 1980s, one of the most peculiar stories took place. One of the residence’s employees was just about to go home. Out in the courtyard, she suddenly heard a strange sound—a sound coming from above. She looked up at the ceiling, toward the old winch that had once been used to hoist grain up to the attic. She let out a scream. A dead man hangs from a thick iron chain. He is wearing homespun clothes, knee-length trousers, and a vest.

The woman tells her story. No one believes her. But a couple of years later, it happens again. The heavy wind hatches slide slowly open with a creak, and the hanged man sees the light of day once more. But this time, he is not alone. Behind him stand two men with gleaming swords in their hands. Perhaps it is the squire Harald Pletting who has appeared. In 1499, he was hanged at Örebro Castle “without a proper trial, wearing boots and spurs.”