Haunted Stockholm tour

The Haunted Stockholm tour visits buildings and places in Gamla stan and Södermalm said to be haunted, or remembered in horror stories.

Understand
This article is based on excerpts from Stockholms spökhus (Stockholm's Ghost Houses) by Stig Linnell, which is a comprehensive guidebook for places in Stockholm's inner city said to be haunted or, which have inspired Nordic folklore, as well as sources in the public domain.

Daylight in Stockholm varies a lot between seasons. While summer is the most comfortable time to visit Stockholm, the white nights of June only offer the atmosphere for a ghost tour from midnight until 2 AM. As daylight saving time ends at the end of October, evenings get pitch dark from 7 PM or earlier; a ghost tour however turns the darkness from a nuisance to a sublime experience.

Sweden celebrates All Saints' Day on the Saturday past 30 October, with lighting candles on graves. Halloween is celebrated in Sweden since the 2000s, and can be a good occasion for a ghost tour.

Get around
The itinerary goes around the less-visited back alleys of Gamla stan and Södermalm. It is practical to get round on foot, though some streets are less accessible for visitors with disabilities. Strollers and bicycles might also have difficulties to get through.

Destinations
The tour starts at Riddarholmen (the Knight Island), which is full of nobility palaces, today used as courthouses and government offices. As they close down at evening, the island gets dark and quiet.