Hvítárnes Hut in Iceland (Investigation)

In August 2019, we were given access to visit and record inside the Hvítárnes hut.

About

Hvítárnes is the oldest mountain hut in Iceland. It was built in 1930 and is still operated by the Icelandic touring association. In terms of its interior, it is very basic. There is a downstairs room that sleeps 4 in bunk beds, and a kitchen space with a gas stove and running water from a water tank. Upstairs there are sleeping mats for up to 25 people. There is no electricity in this lonely hut, no WiFi, no telephones, and you certainly can't get a mobile phone signal out here. This is the most remote you will ever be. It is located very close to the Hvítárvatn lake, which serves the River Hvítá (translates as White River) which flows into the famous Gullfoss waterfalls, which all tourists will see if they ever do a Golden Circle trip in Iceland.

The views are stunning - to the north, you can see the spectacular Langjökull glacier. If you're lucky, you will see icebergs floating in the lake. About 20 miles to the west is Hofsjökull, another Glacier which is very much visible from the hut. Its hard to put into perspective just how remote this place is. Its possible that you can sleep here and be 15km from the next nearest hut. This hut is really for hikers, climbers and local shepherds...and that's how the legends started.

The ghost stories of this hut are terrifying, especially for men. The stories go back pretty much to the opening of the hut when Englishman staying here claims to have seen a woman walking out of the hut, and vanish into thin air in its first season of operation.

A lawyer from the small town of Keflavík was so afraid, he slept outside in a tent. When he woke, he saw a woman in the tent with him, and claims to be able to see the fabric of the tent through her body. Until then, he knew nothing of the legend.

The hut has several guest books going back over 70 years. It is full of accounts of bizarre goings on. A regular occurrence is for men to be awoken in their sleep to that of a woman trying to physically pull them from their bunk bed. This occurs mainly in the bunk downstairs by the door. One man claims he was dragged out while his son watched him...3 times in one night.

In the 70's, a group from Austria and Switzerland were on a hiking trip, and slept in the hut for the night. It is claimed that a woman was seen in the middle of the night talking in a strange language, and even went as far as pushing one of the guests out of the upstairs window and onto the roof.

Stories of the haunting also very common within large groups of people staying in the hut at the same time. In the early 2000s there is a report of a group of visitors that were woken during the night to the sounds of metal scraping on metal as if someone was trying to climb up to the top floor.

There have also been sightings of the face of a woman seen inside of the hut while people are standing outside. When people go inside to investigate, the hut is empty.

Another common phenomenon are people having strange dreams while staying in the hut. There are several cases in guest books where people have described the exact same dream. It starts inside the hut, and the person realises that they can see a woman standing out of the back of the hut. Every time she beckons them to follow her. When the person who is dreaming does follow her outside, she leads them past a fence surrounding the hut. This seems bizarre because there is no fence around the hut, but back in the early days, there was one. Once you get next to the woman she points back towards the hut and you can see the face of a man staring from the window. The woman seems distressed to see him and at this point to dream always ends. Since the first guest book in the 1930s there have been over 25 cases of people reporting to have had this exact dream. Descriptions of the woman are almost identical, and also match those who have seen her at the hut in a ghostly form.

So who could be haunting this hut? Many people theorise that it may have something to do with the ruins visible outside of the hut. It is believed that they are part of an old settlement that once existed on this site. According to legend and there was a murder here, although there have been several different variations in the story. One Legend claims that's when this place used to be a village, a man murdered his wife for reasons unknown. It is claimed that he cut her body up into several pieces and either buried her in a shallow grave or dumped her body in the lake. Many people believe that it is her restless spirit that haunts the site. Could this ghost be trying to tell people where her body is hidden?

The settlement on this site was abandoned after the Hekla volcanic eruption some 70km away. Many other small settlements in Iceland were also abandoned because of the ash that travelled such a great distance in the year 1104. The Hekla volcano last erupted in 2000.

Another legend tells of a woman who got stranded during one of Iceland's bad winters in the 1930s. It is said that she became lost and disoriented, and froze to death outside. This version of the story is least likely as there have been no records of a woman dying in these circumstances.

During my research, I spoke to Halldór Óli Gunnarsson who wrote his entire university thesis on this hut. During a stay, he captured this photograph.It clearly shows a strange mist n shot over the spot of the old ruins.He claims he took several other photos, and this is the only one with anything like this on. This is also the exact spot that people have claimed to see the woman in their dreams.

It was taken facing the hut from beyond the ruins of the old settlement. In the photo you can clearly see a strange mist over the old ruins. He claims that he took several photos, and this was the only one with this phenomenon in the photo. I can't thank Halldór enough for giving me access to the research, interview transcripts and photos he has taken of this place and it's guests.

Visit Hvítárnes

The first thing I must stress is how difficult it is to reach this location. The only way that you can reach it it is with a 4x4. It is around a 3 hour drive from Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. The main route actually takes you past the Gullfoss waterfall, and then a mile or 2 later, the tarmac road ends and you drive on a single gravel road. It really does feel like you are on the surface of Mars, ad the orange dust, and large boulders on either side are similar to that of The Martian. Over 20 miles of the journey is on terrain that only a 4x4 vehicle can handle. If using a rental car, using a non-4x4 vehicle could void your agreement.

It is also worth noting that all hire car companies in Iceland have 4x4s, as the terrain can be unpredictable. Most rental companies require bookings made with a credit card, and do not accept debit cards. There is one company that will accept debit cards, but they do require you to buy the premium insurance package. Lotus car rentals do this, and they are based at the main Keflavik Airport.

Finding the hut can be tricky, but keep an eye open for sign posts. In fact, the drive from Reykjavik was very enjoyable. I chose to take the southern route, which takes you past the Blue Lagoon and over the former sea bed where today you can still see the old cliffs inland where the waves would crash against, up until the last ice age. The other route takes you through a lava field and through the town of Selfoss. This town was where the epicenter of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck in 2008, injuring 30 people. If you stop at the supermarket, you will see an earthquake simulator, which is terrifying.

Below shows where the Hvítárnes Hut is located. You will also appreciate from this just how remote this part of Iceland is, as there are no villages or towns nearby.

To book a stay in the haunted hut, visit The Icelandic Touring Association's Ferðafélag Íslands.The cost of staying for the night is 6000KR (£37.50 as of 2019, or €43) per person, and it can accommodate up to 30. It Is essential that you bring your own food, as there are no shops for miles. There is an outdoor toilet located about a 30 second walk from the hut.

There is no postcode or address for the hut, but it's GPS coordinates are 64°37.007 – W 19°45.394.

Summer if the best time to visit, as the roads are clear, and also there is no heating in the hut. Don't forget your camera...the views are out of this world.

Top Tip: When leaving, leave early in the morning and stop at Gullfoss waterfalls. The coachloads of crowds won't arrive until late in the morning, so get there early and appreciate the stunning photo ops.

Contact Icelandic Touring Association:
Telephone: +354 655 0173
Email: fi@fi.is

Meanwhile, while visiting Iceland, visit Reykjavik, its a cool town, and I have also compiled some of the city's best ghost stories in another video.

The Fatima Sightings of 1917

About


At noon on May 13th 1917, 3 young children claimed to see an apparition of The Virgin Mary while watching over sheep for the family business. The apparition would appear every month for a total of 6 times. For the final event, an estimated 100,000 people who had heard about the visions turned up and witnessed what was labelled as a modern day miracle - the sun dancing in the sky.

The eldest of the children, Lucia would claim that the apparition would give them a series of prophecies, and 3 secrets which could not be revealed. Several years later, 2 of those secrets were revealed by Lucia in 1941 - the first was a vision of hell, showing demons and embers. The second secret was a statement that World War I would end, along with a prediction of another war during the reign of Pope Pius XI (World War II).

Lucia would never reveal the final secret, and with the other 2 children dying young due to influenza, nobody else knew either. Lucia would write it down on a single sheet of paper, seal it in an envelope and give it to The Vatican. In 2000, Cardinal Angelo Sodano would apparently reveal the secret to be a prophecy of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, which coincidentally would occur exactly 64 years to the day of the first apparition in Fatima.

But conspiracy theorists have noted that the Cardinal was not reading from the same piece of paper that Lucia wrote the secret down on. Many people believe that the 3rd secret was a prediction of the Apocalypse. Lucia would die in 2005, leaving many to speculate what the final secret really was.

I traveled to Fatima in Portugal to see the exact spot where these visions were said to occur. I have also researched the case in depth.


Visit Fatima

Despite its remote location, Fatima is actually not too difficult to get to. I stayed in Lisbon during my travels, and bought a return bus ticket from Oriente bus station for around €20 (on the Metro, take the red line out towards the Airport, its a couple of stops before the Airport) The bus journey itself was about 1 hour 15 mins each way despite being advertised as 1 hour 30 mins, and was on a fully air-conditioned coach. Traveling from Porto will probably take a bit longer.

You can also book a tour from tourist information spots around Portugal, although these can cost a minimum of €60 depending on which day you go, and can go up to €300, and can last a full day. This also includes a lunch and visits to places of interest along the route, such as the house where the 3 children lived, which is a couple of miles south of Fatima, and also the village of Valinhos where the 4th apparition occurred. The spot is marked by statues. The children had been arrested the night before the day of the 4th apparition by local authorities who were fed up with the gossip that was spreading around Portugal. The children were weren't released until later the next day and therefore missed the noon meeting point.

If you go on a weekend, especially a Sunday, expect it to be very busy for obvious reasons. I went on a Tuesday afternoon in April 2019, and the place was actually quite quiet. There is a huge visitors car park and coach drop off, so that gives you an idea of how many tourists they get.

A huge religious site awaits, built on the site of the visions on the Cova da Iria. The Basilica of Our Lady of The Rosary is the name of the minor Basilica built close to the site of the visions. The apparition is said to have requested this church to be built here. Inside it contains the tombs of the 3 children, who have since been made saints.

The Chapel of the Apparitions is a small structure with glass on 2 sides and open on the front. It was built in 1919 to mark the exact spot where the apparitions took place (well 5 of them, one apparition actually took place in another village...see the video!). You will see this is where most people come to pray to a statue of The Virgin Mary which marks the spot that the children claimed she was.

Next to this chapel is a tree which is closed off so people can't touch it. This is said to be the tree the children would wait under for the apparition to appear.

Near the entrance to the Fátima Sanctuary, south of the rectory, is a segment of the Berlin Wall intended to emphasize the belief that the Rosary prayers influenced the fall of the Berlin Wall related to the Consecration of Russia based on the Our Lady of Fátima messages.

While in Fatima, you will notice that every shop in the city cashes in on the tourism. Everywhere sells rosaries, statues, Virgin Mary fridge magnets, postcards and keyrings. From what was once a small farming community in 1917, it is now a small city.

Greyfriar's Kirkyard (Investigation)

About

Greyfriar's Kirkyard is a must for all paranormal fans - it is said by many to be the most haunted Graveyard not only in the UK, but possibly the world. An entity is said to attack visitors to this graveyard after a disturbance in 1998, and as of recording, the poltergeist has been blamed for 2 deaths, and over 700 injuries.

There have been burials in this Kirkyard since 1561. It was originally a ravine that dipped below ground level, but as more and more people were buried here, the ground is now a bulging hill. Official records estimate that there are more than 750,000 bodies here, but given that many more people were buried here under the cover of darkness to avoid costs, and the fact that there are also plague pits with an unknown number of bodies inside, that number could stretch to well over a million.

It is said that after bad weather (and in Scotland, that often is the case), the ground can become soft, and it is not uncommon to find human bones sticking up. Most of the bodies were not buried at 6 feet, and many are literally just below the surface.

The darkest part of this graveyard lies behind a set of locked gates at the far side of Greyfriars, known as The Covenanter's Prison. The national Covenant was signed in this very graveyard in 1638, opposing the monarchy- but after the coventanters were defeated at The Battle of of Bothwell Bridge in 1679, captured rebels were locked in a walled section of land to the south of Greyfriars. Many of these rebels would die in captivity, under the commands of a man called George Mackenzie. His ruthlessness gave him the nickname "bluddy Mackenzie." The irony of this is that after George's death many years later, he was buried just a few feet from the site of The Covenanter's Prison. Many strange goings on are said to occur around the black mausoleum where his body is buried.

Today, The Covenanter's Prison is now part of the Kirkyard. After a need for an overflow due to a need for more land to bury the dead, the Kirkyard was extended into the piece of land where thousands of poor prisoners were held for many months. A lot of the land was built on, but a thin strip of land containing tombs still exists.

And it is here where the hauntings are said to occur. In 1998, a homeless man broke into the black mausoleum while looking for a place to sleep during a storm. However, when inside, the man is said to have fallen through the floor and damaged the coffins of the bodies inside...including that of George Mackenzie. Just days later, all kinds of strange things started happening. People were reporting injuries inside the prison section. It became so severe that Edinburgh Council were forced to keep the gates to this section locked from the public. Only official tour guides have access.

In 2000, a priest named Colin Grant spent the night in the Kirkyard with a local reporter to perform an exorcism and to bring peace to Greyfriars. He would claim that he was tormented by the number of troubled souls in the Kirkyard. A photograph from the night even shows what appears to be a black figure behind him, watching. Colin was badly affected by his night in Greyfriars, and he would die just weeks later during a seance, after repeatedly telling people that something from Greyfriars was following him. The reporter from the local paper was also attacked while in the Kirkyard, and the next morning, she woke up covered in bruises.

In 2011, Dead Air Radio's Chris Felton also has a strange encounter alongside Steve Taylor and the team when they had stones thrown at them, and all witnessed a white mist floating towards them, all while live on the radio.

I was kindly given access to spend the night in The Covenanter's Prison section of the Kirkyard.

Visit Greyfriar's Kirkyard

Address

26A Candlemaker Row

Edinburgh

EH1 2QE

Greyfriar's is located in the old town area of Edinburgh. There are a couple of entrances to the Kirkyard which are open 24 hours. The most common way is behind the pub, Greyfriar's Bobby, which is named after a small Skye-Terrier dog who is said to have visited and sat beside his owner's grave everyday until his own death in 1872. Bobby is one of the biggest tourist attractions to Greyfriar's, and there is a gravestone dedicated to him in the entrance. However, not many people know that the story is actually a load of fiction. While there really was a dog called Bobby, there is no evidence to prove the existence of his owner, 'John Gray'. There is a gravestone for John along the East side of the Kirkyard, but nobody is buried beneath it. 

We know that Bobby was a real dog. The most logical explanation is that he was a stray dog visiting a local butcher shop, who would often throw scraps out of the back window...and into the Kirkyard. Animals weren't buried in Greyfriar's, so we know his 'grave site' is not genuine. In fact, if you really want to know the exact location, some BT engineers found it in the early 2000s just outside these gates while installing fiber broadband. They were digging in the road and found a shoebox size wooden box containing Bobby's bones. It was buried back in the same spot. That exact spot is where there is a grey rectangular patch of tarmac about 10 meters from the gates. 

A lot of Harry Potter fans also visit Greyfriar's, as it is believed that J.K. Rowling took inspiration for the character Voldermort from the grave of a man called Thomas Riddell. She was known to spend time in the Kirkyard, and would often write her novels in Elephant House Cafe nearby. 

Another entrance at the bottom of the Kirkyard is opposite The Budget Backpackers hostel, which is one of the cheapest places in Edinburgh to stay.

When going in via the main entrance by Greyfriar's Bobby, turn to the left, and walk along the tombs at the south side of the Kirkyard. When you see the black one, that is George Mackenzie's. Carry on walking and you'll see the locked gates of The Covenanter's Prison. If you really want to go inside and brave the Mackenzie Poltergeist, you'll need to book onto an official tour, with City of The Dead Tours. They are the only group who can take you in. Their office is just on the right hand side of the main gates, and tickets can be bought online or from here. The tour starts outside St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile. It takes in some stories from around the ancient streets of Edinburgh, before taking the group into the Kirkyard, and then into the prison. The tour starts at 21:00 between Easter and Halloween, and 20:30 over winter, and costs £13pp. The tour lasts around 1 hour 20 mins. 

People on this tour have genuinely been hurt by something while in the Covenanter's Prison. There are photos on their Facebook page. People with pacemakers are advised not to attend - not because of the scares, but because electrical appliances have been affected in here, and a man in the past was taken ill with a pacemaker. 

Contact City of the Dead:

Telephone: 0131 225 9044

Email: info@cityofthedeadtours.com

Note: City of The Dead also do tours into the Edinburgh vaults. That is also very much worth visiting!

There are many places to stay in Edinburgh. If on a budget, stay in The Budget Backpackers Hostel for £11 per night, and walk 10 seconds to get to Greyfriar's. For hotels...take your pick!

Food and drinks is also a huge option. There's everything from ubs that serve food and host live music, to Nandos and Pizza Express all within 5 minutes walk.

Finally...this is Scotland, so bring an umbrella and a coat! 

The legend of Luxembourg’s haunted bridge (Pont du Stierchen)

Whilst traveling around Europe, ticking countries off my list, I heard an incredible legend about a haunted bridge in Luxembourg. 

Europe has a different approach to the paranormal than in the UK - you’ll find it very difficult to have access to their haunted castles unless you buy day tickets, and they don’t seem to do ghost hunts like we do, so for the country’s most haunted location to be a public bridge, I had to feature the location.

About 

The legend states that a drunk man fell to his death from the bridge. Whilst finding his identity and exact era of his death has been impossible, the hauntings seemed to have started prior to the 17th Century.

Early stories indicate that the ‘geescht’ (translates from Luxembourgish into English as ‘spirit’) haunted the area around the old town, rather than just the bridge. One legend states that a parade was taking place through the streets of Luxembourg which involved the Grand Duchy in the 1600s when the spectral figure appeared in front of one of the horses, scaring it into a frenzy, sending people running. The event was witnessed by hundreds of bystanders including the Duchy himself. His mischief has also included preventing monks in the nearby Abbaye de Neumunster from holding mass, by holding the bells and preventing them from ringing to the villagers.

Other forms of the legend say that the spirit guards the bridge at night, and targets specifically people who have been drinking. People have reported shape shifting animals and even objects. He is said to jump onto people’s shoulders and beat them up, or throwing them into the water below. One eye witness reported seeing a large dog standing on the bridge, before shape shifting into a human form and running after the terrified local.

One witness reported seeing a floating barrel above the bridge. When he reached out to touch it, the barrel moved further away, causing the man to stumble and fall into the river. Another account, a man tried to cross the bridge and encountered to Geescht, and was lifted up to the top of the Bockfelsen, which is an old Roman fort that overlooks the Grund area of Luxembourg where the bridge is located. The next day, the man had to be rescued and brought to safety.

Another legend states that the Geescht would appear as a piglet, and when someone would eventually catch it, it would appear on the other side of the bridge. On another occasion, three women claimed to see the spirit in the form of a cat. As they threw a shoe at the creature, it vanished, meaning the shoe missed and landed in the river below. The following day, the shoe was found back on the bridge.

Others claim to be followed home by a spirit. Even today, many locals refuse to cross the bridge after dark. People have seen strange figures and the sensation of being pushed when trying to cross.

What do I think? It’s a great legend, and probably that’s all it is. There will always be a correlation between people being very drunk, and having accidents crossing a narrow stone bridge. The stories do sound a lot like old tales that get passed down over the centuries.

When I did visit the site, I did notice that not many people were walking across the bridge after dark!

Visiting Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a beautiful country. It’s so small that you can probably drive across it in under an hour. It is also confusing when talking about Luxembourg whether I’m referring to the country or the capital city - both have the same name. The city feels more like a large town, but there is plenty to see. The amazing fort and it’s caves can be exploited during the daytime for a few euros. The views of Luxembourg are stunning - there is a path overlooking the Grund that has been described the the “most beautiful balcony view in Europe.” 

Just outside of the city are two World War II cemeteries, one for American soldiers, and the other for German soldiers. Luxembourg was the first country in Europe to offer to build a  cemetery to the German war dead, and with several major battles taking place in the area, there were a lot.

Getting travel guides for this country is hard, but the local tourist information shop does sell one. Very few public tours take place, but there is a self guided tour that you can collect in map for from the tourist information shop.

Getting there can be a bit tricky but it is worth it. There is a main airport a couple of miles from the city - I flew to Berlin from here to continue my travels, and there are some flights to Gatwick airport form the UK. There is a main train station too. I arrived via train from Brussels in nearby neighbouring Belgium, which cost around €40. I stayed in the Luxembourg International Hostel, which was really nice, and was €22 per night. Don’t come here unless you enjoy walking up steeps hills, although they have started building lifts on the side of the city’s cliffs.

Most people in Luxembourg speak Luxembourgish, which has a lot of elements of German in it. The locals also speak French, but most will understand English too.

Jedburgh Jail (Investigation)

So after presenting ghost hunts on the radio for almost a decade, it was time to raise the bar, so the first one needed to be a big one to get the ball rolling.

About

Built on the site of an ancient 12th century fort, the Jail was built in 1823 to house some of the most notorious criminal in the area. Jedburgh itself lies in a troubled location in the Scottish Borders and has seen the border change between the Scots and the English many times.

The term ‘Jeddart Justice’ originates from Jedburgh, and means “hang first, tried later.” The execution spot in the jail can still be visited today, although it is not marked.

The first ghost is said to be that of s Scottish Piper, who is often heard playing bagpipes on the battlements. His ghost is more of a legend to the people in the town, but strange lights have also been seen in this area. The ghost of a prison guard is said to wander the notorious Men’s wing - he has often been reported as a dark shadow, while others have felt the sensation of being pushed out of the way. Cell 18 is said to be haunted by a prisoner known as Edwin McArthur, who was executes in the prison. People inside Cell 18 have been scratched and objects thrown at them. Many mediums have also claimed to have picked up on his presence too.

Several TV and radio shows have used Jedburgh to broadcast from, all of which reporting technical problems. Batteries draining faster than usual is the most common feature, and this is something members of the public have also reported - especially mobile phones going from fully charged, to flat within minutes.

Other sightings include a shadow often seen close to the execution spot and mischievous children in the family wing.


Visit Jedburgh Jail

Address

Castle Gate

Jedburgh

TD8 6AS

Telephone: 01835 864750

If you ever get the chance to visit Jedburgh, I fully recommend it.
From Newcastle, it’s only around. 90 minute drive. Drive west along the A69 towards Hexham, then turn off onto the A68 and head north. It’s a beautiful route and takes in some stunning scenery, including one or two locations we will be visiting in the next few months. Once you get over the border into Scotland, you will see signs for Jedburgh. Stay on the A68 all the way and the road actually runs through the town itself. The Jail is at the top of a very steep hill and parking is available around the side.

From Edinburgh, it’s a similar distance - head south on the A7 then follow signs to the A68.

Please be aware that the jail’s opening times are seasonal between March and November, and general access is free. Please this their website for more info.

If you are visiting Jedburgh Jail, I also fully recommend spending time in the town itself - the abbey has its own ghost story, although much of it is in ruins now. I also really recommend The Carter’s Rest for pub food. Between shooting daytime scenes around the jail and the investigation that evening, this was where we hung out at, and their Thai curry is 10/10!