Who could be haunting the elderly Hald guesthouse in Mandal? Soft piano music plays in the afterlife and rumors of traces of a Norwegian pirate seem to persist.
In the seaside town of Mandal, where the summer lightweight lasts until the evening, Hald Guesthouse looks inconspicuous on the seafront. Legend has it that it is haunted, although there are not many details about it.
In the left wing there is a carved and decorated ceiling in the Renaissance style with 42 carved heads. The heads are different and symbolize, among others, sadness, joy, depression and despair. Perhaps only they can influence what's really going on behind these walls.
Installation of the Hald guesthouse
The property is a sophisticated of buildings consisting of one central building and two wings. The building in the center was originally built around 1795 in Eikvåg near Farsund and was called “Krohn's House”. Around 1897, Jens Bugge moved this building to Mandal.
Both wings were also moved to their current location from other locations. The west wing was originally an older house in the Mandal district of Malmö. The eastern wing was the older house at Kleven in Mandal, built around 1750. All in all, the history of this house comes from many parts of the country.
Today it houses the Halda International Center. In summer, the facility is used as a guesthouse. The building was absorbed by the presence of countless guests, their daily activities, conversations and moments of silence. However, it is believed that not everyone who stayed here left.
Playing the piano alone
But who is behind the haunting rumors? Some say it must have been John Jahnse, a pirate and ship hijacker who lived in one of the rooms in the 18th century. This particular room was one of those that had been moved from Farsund to Hald. There were footsteps heard around the house, which were said to have scared the German soldiers who took over the house during World War II. The footsteps scared them so much that they shot at the ceiling of the fireplace room. Stories say the bullet hole is still noticeable.
The most eminent phenomenon of the Hald Guesthouse is the piano music that seemingly comes from the fireplace room. On more than one occasion, music was reportedly heard flowing through the rooms with no player in sight.
Sources say that in the fall of 2000, a group that heard piano music went to check it out. Upon examination, the piano turns out to be intact. The lid closed and the room was empty.
A figure in the corridors
Equally disturbing is a figure that some people claim to have seen in the corridors. The figure appears for a moment and then disappears around a corner or into the shadows where there is no door.
But who could this character be? The building dates back to post-Reformation times, so no monks lived in it. Some speculate that the former caretaker. Others suggest that he was a deeply religious visitor who once sought solitude within these walls. There is no record to support any theory.
A place he remembers
Unlike many haunted hotels that relied on the ghosts of their houses, the guesthouse manager used to say that the Bible did not want the living to contact the dead and did not want people to come looking for ghosts.
When the summer season comes to an end and the house is peaceful, some people believe that music makes a comeback. Soft notes echo in empty rooms. Something stays awake at the Hald Guesthouse long after the guests have left.
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May the spirits live in peace – NRK Sørlandet
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