The Paranormal Database

Chained Dog

Location: Aalten (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Presbytery
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The chained black dog which haunted this site was said to be a former pastor who converted to Protestantism.

Lord of Rode

Location: Aarschot (Belgium, Flemish Brabant) - Horst Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every night at midnight (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The phantom Lord of Rode is said to often return to this site, punished for murdering a priest (who may or may not have had an affair with the Lady of Rode).

Coach

Location: Agimont (Netherlands, Maastricht) - Agimont Castle (aka Canne or Neercanne)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather dependent: Stormy Nights
Further Comments: After driving her coach through a religious procession, Baroness Von Dopff was caught in a storm so heavy that she had to take shelter in a cave. The cave collapsed, and now she is said to drive the coach when the weather repeats its ferocity.

Kludde

Location: All over Flanders (Belgium, Flanders) - Exact location not known
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Said to resemble a large black dog, this creature walks on its hind legs and rattles chains to warn people it is nearby. It is pointless trying to escape if the creature sees you, as nothing can outrun it. The Kludde can also take the form of a cat or bird.

Rixt

Location: Ameland (Netherlands, Friesland) - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather dependent: windy nights
Further Comments: Rixt was a wreaker who used a lantern tied to a cow to lure ships onto the sandbanks where they would break up. While shifting through the wreckage of one ship, she came across the body of her long lost son. Rixt collapsed and died on the spot. Now on windy nights she can be heard calling out her son's name.

Dove Wander

Location: Amen (Netherlands, Drenthe) - Boundary stone between Amen, Grolloo, Hooghalen and Zwiggelte
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Dove Wander, also known as Dove Waander, is a boundary stone which takes its name from a man (Waander) who chose where the marker should be placed. A shadowy figure seen around this area is said to be Waander.

Laakmannetje

Location: Amersfoort (Netherlands, Amersfoort) - Along the border of Gelderland and Utrecht
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Laakmannetje was a surveyor who moved the boundary stones on the border. As punishment he now measures the border with a fiery metal chain.

Helena

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Zeedijk and Spooksteeg
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Post 1753
Further Comments: In a fit of jealously, Helena killed her sister and hid the body in a basement. Helena admitted to the crime many years later on her deathbed, but this has not prevented Helena's ghost walking the area at night.

Heretics

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Bloedstraat
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend says that the ghosts which haunt this street were executed for heresy at a monastery which once stood on the site.

The Executed

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Dam Square
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Spanish Inquisition found the town square to be the perfect place for people accused of witchcraft to be burnt alive. Some of those executed are rumoured to remain in the area.

Monk

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Spinhuis (currently a hotel)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly priest or monk haunts the former spin house. It is said that the holy man fell in love with a woman; she was punished for his actions by being sent to the Spinhuis, while he killed himself distraught at the consequences his actions had.

Family

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Montelbaans Tower (bell tower)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 02 June (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Dressed in clothing dating to the 1900s, a family (or sometimes just a young boy) manifest briefly here once a year, running up a staircase and vanishing at the top.

Black Matthew

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - All over the city
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Black Matthew was a magician who used his powers to ensure he never lost a game of chance. His winning streak came to an abrupt end when he tangled with the devil, and now he wanders the city looking for a new game to play.

Noises

Location: Amsterdam (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Hotel Amsterdam De Roode Leeuw
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2011
Further Comments: A review on Trip Advisor referred to this hotel being known for its ghosts, something the management denied. The guest claimed that they and their partner heard strange sounds outside their room which would cease whenever either of them spoke or opened the door to see where the sound was coming from.

Druon Antigoon

Location: Antwerp (Belgium, Antwerp) - Somewhere near the river Scheldt
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown, but fountain in city depicts the giant
Further Comments: Druon Antigoon was a giant who charged a toll to cross the river. If anyone refused to pay the giant would cut off their hand and throw it into the water. The giant was defeated by a Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo, who managed to cut off the giant's hand in combat.

Lange Wapper

Location: Antwerp (Belgium, Antwerp) - River Scheldt and general area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Sixteenth century, but currently has statue outside Het Steen
Further Comments: Born when a farmer touched a cabbage and parsley, Lange Wapper was given magical powers after saving an old woman who was thrown into the Scheldt. Stories based around Lange Wapper's activities range from mischievous (vanishing with a laugh after giving sweets to children) to malicious (indirectly killing a woman and her four lovers).

Winnie

Location: Apeldoorn (Netherlands, Gelderland Gelderland) - Veluwe (wooded area around the region)
Type: ABC
Date / Time: Summer 2005
Further Comments: Nicknamed Winne, a puma which was thought to be stalking the area was discovered to be a cross-breed between a European wild cat and a house cat.

Berend

Location: Arnhem (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Castle Doorwerth
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: After kissing a knight's wife, Berend was challenged to a duel by the offended knight. Berend won, killing his foe after the knight was distracted by a flash of lightning. Perhaps racked by guilt, Berend spent the rest of his life waking from dreams where the knight's wife and a bloodied sword lay in bed alongside him. Berend is still said to wander the castle at dusk.

Maid

Location: Babberich (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Babberich House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A maid is said to have decapitated five burglars who tried to enter this house through a window - she stood to one side and removed their heads one by one as they climbed in. The sixth burglar managed to escape. The maid's ghost is said to remain, protecting the house as she did in life.

Three White Women

Location: Barchem (Netherlands, Gelderland) - Pit, known locally as Wittewijvenkuil
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The white women (more fairy in nature than ghosts) who haunted this site were said to tolerate children playing nearby but were less favourable to adults (although they did, on one occasion, prevent a traveller from falling into the pit).

Sefa Bubbles

Location: Beselare (Belgium, Flanders) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1700's, but Witches Festival celebrated every other year on last Sunday of July
Further Comments: Sefa Bubbles was a witch who lived in this area, and was considered to be in charge of all the local witches.

Witch Tree

Location: Bladel (Netherlands, Noord-Brabant) - Tree in Ten Vorsel estate
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Tree still present
Further Comments: The tree was said to have been planted on the grave of a witch who also led a gang of local outlaws. The tree is said to create a strange atmosphere at night.

Kaatje

Location: Blokzijl (Netherlands, Overijssel) - Bronze statue near the lock
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Statue still present
Further Comments: Kaatje was murdered in the seventeenth century, her killer never found and the motive for the crime never certain, although it was speculated that many of her recipes were stolen - such was the renown of her cooking. A bronze statue was erected of Kaatje and it is said if you stroke her head with your left hand it will bring luck, and with the right comes wealth. If one becomes greedy and tries both hands, a punishment is given out instead.

Cornelis Theurisz

Location: Bobeldijk (Netherlands, Noord-Holland) - Unidentified house
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 June 1616
Further Comments: After setting off to sea, Cornelis Theurisz's wife found Cornelis in their home. Cornelis said that he had reached his ship late and that it had already sailed, so he had returned home. When the couple later lay down together, Theurisz's wife realised that he was ice cold. She called out for God's help - Cornelis vanished and was never seen again.

John van Mijnsbergen

Location: Boxmeer (Netherlands, Noord-Brabant) - Area around Boxmeer Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John van Mijnsbergen, lord of the castle, was murdered by Joseph de Greef. Although the killer was known, he was never caught, and John still wanders around looking for him.