Treachery of the Long Knives 108/5 1 . . . 70160. Some say it wasn't built to keep evil from entering but to prevent it from spilling out. The name comes from the old Saxon word nicor meaning water spirit or monster. A depth of 745 feet is seriously impressive. But even today, over seven hundred years after the pit has been sealed, visitors still claim to hear the scratching of creatures from the lower floors at night, trying to claw their way to the surface. Within no time, they heard a desperate cry. They tried to fill the hole with stones, but to no avail because it seemed never-ending, a true bottomless pit. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle, 47 kilometres north of Prague, in Czechia. In the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618 1648), the control of Houska Castle was taken over by the Swedish Army. He claimed to be the owner of a property seized by the U.S. government that was the location of a mysterious hole associated with very weird goings-on. Another person who claimed to know its location, a man who called himself by the assumed name Red Elk also never demonstrated any genuine evidence of the hole even though he said he had visited it for decades. The castle is surrounded by the forests 30 miles north of Prague. The Bohemian noble families of Berka z Dub. Thors well is a spectacular feature along the Oregon coal near Yachats. Houska Castle looks just like any other ordinary medieval castle but upon closer inspection, one can notice a few strange features. They can be dangerous as the water is constantly cold and the sides may be steep making it hard to climb out. The danger is personified in a monster called the Lusca, a shark-headed creature with an octopus body who was said to live in the deep blue holes. In his vision, a girl came to him, and continued to show him a series of moving pictures in a small casket, before finding himself walking along some high sandstone cliffs in complete darkness, that were riddled with holes that projected an eerie yellow light. Whatever is down there is unknown but undoubtedly unpleasant. The dark hole is universally scary. (13.06.2020) . Objects thrown into the hole arent recovered. Indeed, to this day, visitors claim to hear screams and scratching noises from beneath the chapel floor. To fall into the pit is symbolic of the descent into hell and damnation. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. Standard admission is 135. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Visitors still claim to hear screams and scratching noises from the chapel at night. In the 18th century, it stopped serving as a noble residence and fell into a state of disrepair before being renovated in 1823. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. William Corliss, a collector of anomalies wrote that the accounts of such pits smack of sensationalism and must be taken with several grains of salt. In fact, the aim of the villagers living here behind the construction of this house was to cover the mysterious pit, which has infinite depth, also known as the 'door of hell'. Himmler was adamant that by harnessing the powers of the occult, the Nazis could achieve world domination. Address: Hrad Houska 1, 471 62 Doksy, Czechia Phone: +420 728 351 101 Website Public transport to the castle is limited, so one of the best ways to reach the castle is to hire a car for the day. For several hours now, seven people have been driving together in one car to a place that is the dream of most paranormal investigators in the Czech Republic. Therefore, it might not be surprising to discover how often legendary bottomless holes have a demonstrated bottom that people simply chose to ignore. Tales are told of swimmers pulled to their doom by whirlpools or some other underwater force. A local paranormal group approached Jack for more information. This is entirely unsubstantiated, and the bay is not bottomless but has a strong current that may have prevented accurate line measurements. PDF in Czech: "The Mystery of Castle Houska" Bachelor Thesis by Dana Kolov. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. It would only be fully restored more than a century later in 1823. After about 20 hrs of falling, youd reach the center of the earth, but then get stuck in the core trapped in the gravitational center. Some water bodies eventually have dried up enough to lose the mystique. It revealed a seemingly endless abyss that villagers deemed an entrance to Hell. Two huntsmen were keen to take the locals up on their offer, and managed to shoot him through a window. Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds, Submarine Canyons and Other Topographical Phenomena: A Catalog of Geological Anomalies. Houska Castle LOCATION: CZECH REPUBLIC Residing in the northern region of Bohemia, Houska Castle seems to be something out of a horror story. [6][11], The Travel Channel series "Legendary Locations" covered several sites in Season 2, Episode 4, including the castle "said to protect a portal to hell". Earthquakes dont open giant cracks miles deep or with lava pools. Even Thoreaus famous Walden Pond was rumored to be bottomless. He vanished into the darkness, before those on the surface began to hear his blood-curdling screams. The most famous blue hole of New Jersey is in Winslow, one of many pools that appear in the sandy Pine Barrens coastal plains. In 1990, Rich Buhler, a radio host for Christianity Today, tracked the story back to the propaganda article that was based on a made-up story. The Golden Legend. Glacial lakes can be particularly steep-sided and deep. Vouliagmeni is a lake in Greece that was said to suck people in via a whirlpool, or they could be nabbed by the evil fairy folk living at the bottom. The infamous SS chief Heinrich Himmler, was so obsessed with pagan lore and occult teachings, that he made it his personal objective to collect as many books and manuscripts about witchcraft, the occult and the supernatural as he could. The characteristic of bottomless is associated with the idea that a lake does not give up its dead. The castle was originally constructed in the 13th century, between 1253 and 1278, under the reign of Ottokar II. Blue holes: Definition and genesis. The investigation at Houska Castle (which today is more of a castle mansion than a . Formed during times when sea level lower, they were then flooded and may be isolated in inland areas or open to the existing marine environment. June 4, 2021. The deepest spot in the ocean is 35,814 feet belowsealevel, part of the Mariana Trench between Guam and the Philippines called the ChallengerDeep. The first of the prisoners who agreed to the terms in order to escape a more severe punishment, was lowered down into the endless pit. [7], The pit in the lower levels of the castle is said to be a gateway to hell. Earth mysteries, weird locations, anomalous phenomena. Bale Lake was also rumored to hold a dragon. The city is surrounded by water and before the 20th century, the northern portions were undeveloped. Notable features include a predominantly gothic. The most famous of all the legends is that the castle was built as a defense against a bottomless pit in the ground, known as the Gateway to Hell. There was an infamous story, frequently retold, that someone once threw a dog carcass into it and later the dog was seen alive. Locals believed this was a gateway to Hell from which demonic beings emerged to feed on villagers and drag them back into the abyss, never to be seen again. Slavic tribes migrated to the area that is now Czechia as early as the sixth century C.E. Manage Settings linus pauling vitamin c, lysine protocol. Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. The strangest of these paintings depicts a creature with the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a horse. Allegedly, SS leader Heinrich Himmler feared his extensive library of occultist manuscripts would be destroyed as the war increasingly threatened Berlin. Its only about 20 feet deep, the water is recirculated. Indiana State University Folklore Archives. Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. 3. In 1901, English Mechanic magazine reported on a seemingly bottomless hole at 171st St in New York City. The chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who led God's armies against Lucifer's fallen angels. They were said to have conducted unknown experiments there, perhaps trying to make the Spear of Destiny lead people to immortality or what not, nobody knows. The legends surrounding the site of Houska Castle are older than the castle itself. Although not one of the largest or the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic, with no huge parks nor the oldest chapels, Houska Castle has become a favourite destination for many adventurers and travellers alike. Rather than having defences on the outside to try and stop people getting in, all of its defences were built on the inside, as though they were built to try and keep something in. Scholars have since discovered cracks in Hjek's histories, and any evidence of Oronto's existence is rather dubious. When he told them the paranormal tales were nonsense but the real hole was a typical mine shaft, they ignored him. There are many names that describe this curious castle. He knew the claims were ridiculous and figured that the story might be based on an old gold mine shaft in a field northwest of Ellensburg. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle, located 47 km north of Prague, the Czech Republic, close to the German border and surrounded by thick woodland crisscrossed with low peaks and rushing streams. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Dog rescued after disappearing down a sinkhole, the bottomless pit has also become a media horror trope, The lake dried up in 1866 and again in 1869 and 1976, Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico, Knucker or knacker holes are bottomless ponds that do not freeze or dry up. [1] It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Locals were terrified of the half-human hybrids that began to crawl out of the hole at night and tear livestock apart. Legends and Romances of Brittany. These water bodies claim people (dead or alive), animals, treasure, transport vehicles, and many secrets. Required fields are marked *. The area in which the castle was built isnt all that strategic. Houska Castle Country: Czech Republic Built: 13th century Haunting: Located in the forests north of Prague, Houska castle was never a strategic battle location. Spence, L. (1917). The Youdig also was home to ghost lights that may be a result of an unknown reaction of swamp gases, though locals thought of them as spirits or fairies that lured people to their doom. The term is used primarily in Europe. Hjek also recounted local folklore that described the emergence of a crack in the cliff. Residents reportedly went missing in the forest surrounding the pit, and were thought to have been dragged to hell by the winged beasts. Legend has it that the sole reason to build this castle was to close the gateway to hell! According to folklore, Houska Castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground which was known as The Gateway to Hell. A single survivor reports that the black clad men have lead prisoners back to Houska Castle where they are being used as slaves, helping the strange men assemble towers of steel. It lies about 47 km (29 mi) north of Prague. They tried to block it with stones, but the abyss allegedly gobbled up anything they dropped into it, refusing to be filled. Knucker holes are springs. The Frightening Legend of Houska Castle by Prague Morning June 4, 2021 In the second half of the 13th century, a mysterious Gothic castle was built. [2], Folklore considers this castle to cover one of the gateways to Hell, built to prevent demons (trapped in lower levels) from reaching the rest of the world. Some have water. When the hole gets blocked it may temporarily hold water until the plug comes loose and the hole drains. Even today, some people remain imaginative enough to think that they found some secret military project, an ancient city or even evidence of a Hollow Earth. The deepest natural pits in the world include the Devils Sinkhole, Rocksprings, Texas at 400 and Deans Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas at 650. Most castles have a some kind of valid purpose behind them and are built in the best interest of the people around them. Houska was built by Pemysl Otakar II as a remarkable royal castle, but was soon sold to a noble family, which continued to own in until after WWI. No. Gas release may also account for the tales of the swamp boiling and bubbling. You can visit this location during the kosher tours with Kosher River Cruise to the gems of Central Europe! from Prague to Houska..you will get the route..basically leave Prague on D8 up to Nova Ves, turn off to Melnik and continue on 273, 259 to Houska.70 kilometres, an hour and a bit. Natives thought the lake was bottomless because the bodies of those who drowned were not always recovered. Adding to the evil in this old fortress, the Second World War saw the invading Nazis set up base in Houska Castles upon hearing the stories of it. Houska castle was built with no fortifications, no water, no kitchen, near no trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion. It was described in 1888 as a bowl-shaped feature with a dark pool in the center said to be unfathomable. The first man to do so was young and healthy, and he happily accepted. New light on contested identity of medieval skeleton found at Prague Castle Date: August 22, 2019 Source: University of Bristol Summary: Used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis and Soviets during .