Houska Castle And The Portal To Hell
Houska Castle is no ordinary gothic castle in the Czech Republic. Built in the dense forest outside of Prague, the castle may now be filled with many tourists today, but has a history of supernatural legend.
Local folklore claims the castle was built to seal up a large crack in the limestone. Some claim the crack on the Earth's surface is really a portal to hell, and the construction of the castle prevented demons from escaping the fiery depth of hell.
Before the castle's construction, supposedly demons would arise from the pit and steal local villagers away, never to be seen again. Officially however, the castle was built in the 13th century as the new administrative center for the local king.
However, the legends of the abyss to hell have not faded with time. Another legend claims that prisoners could escape their death sentence by volunteering to be lowered into the seemingly bottomless abyss.
One story claims a healthy, young prisoner took up this offer. But after he was lowered into the pit, he screamed to be pulled back up. Once back on the surface, his hair had turned white.
Someone who did believe the fantastical and occult tales of the castle was Nazi Heinrich Himmler. Nazis occupied the castle after their takeover of Czechoslovakia in the 1940s.
Himmler was obsessed with the supernatural and the occult. He believed that harnessing the power of the occult would help the Nazis win the war. While the exact reasons for his interest in the castle are unclear, locals claimed to have seen strange lights and sounds coming from the old castle.
According to some locals, Himmler and other top Nazi officials attended ceremonial rituals that attempted to harness the power of the supposed portal to hell beneath the castle grounds.
With so many stories of supernatural occurrences and a dark history to match it, no wonder Houska Castle is considered to be one of the most haunted places on Earth.
Now that you've explored seven of the most terrifying haunted castles in the world, take a look at these nine abandoned castles still standing after centuries of existence. Then, go inside Neuschwanstein Castle, the fairytale palace with a heartbreaking secret.
