Houska Castle, also known as Hrad Houska, is located about one hour's drive north of Prague, Czech Republic. Whatever is down there is unknown but undoubtedly unpleasant. The lake dried up in 1866 and again in 1869 and 1976 proving that it was not bottomless but subject to drought conditions. In order to try and unlock the power from beneath the foundations, its said that he practiced numerous rituals, which included animal sacrifice. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. They can be dangerous as the water is constantly cold and the sides may be steep making it hard to climb out. Earth mysteries, weird locations, anomalous phenomena. A man calling himself Mel Waters appeared on Art BellsCoast to Coast AMradio show in February of 1997. He had been so disturbed by whatever he had seen in the pit, that when he reached the surface, he was still screaming. Mel's Hole, Devil's Holes, and Other Paranormal Pits in the Earth What else you could to Machovo jezero/Doksy. Priests were said to send the demons from exorcisms into black dogs which were subsequently drowned in the bog. The Bohemian noble families of Berka z Dub. Bonaparte, M. (1946). As detailed below, the deepest hole ever made by humans was only half this depth. According to the legends, the scratching of the winged creatures trying to claw their way to the surface can still be heard, phantoms have beenseen walking the empty halls of the castle and the Nazis specifically choseHouska Castle in order to harness the powers of hell for themselves. It represents something dark, spooky, and unnatural. COPYRIGHT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES & PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES, 2017-2018. The bottomlessness of the various pits, lakes and bogs worldwide is not physically accurate but the concept of the unknown abyss is an essential feature of a mythological and enchanted landscape. Gate to Hell at Houska Castle - McGee's Ghost Tours Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. [12], Houska Castle was featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters International which aired on SyFy on 22 July 2009. Earthquakes dont open giant cracks miles deep or with lava pools. The listener may hear no splash or crack of a stone hitting some surface below. The castle's eerie history doesn't stop there, though. The most obvious is that people exaggerated the depth or outright lied about the claim. [4] Later on, it passed to the hands of the aristocracy, frequently passing from the ownership of one to another. Kettles or kettle holes are glacial features that seem out of place and are fodder for legends. Though the hole is often referred to as the gateway to Hell, its also referred to as the Houska Castle pit. Marie Bonaparte noted the idea of unfathomable was applied to still waters, not the ocean or rivers. That is, people didnt travel so their yardstick for a big hole was that one in their vicinity. 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. In what is now the Czech Republic there is a castle known as the Houska Castle. In this special Halloween season bonus episode, Ryan brings us just outside the North of Prague in the Czech Republic, to a 13th century castle with an ominous and extremely dark history. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. Prisoners were lowered into the crevasse to see what was down there and were promised release if they exited safely. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. As the gothic structure today attracts thousands of visitors each year, its reputation has been tainted as one of the most haunted locations anywhere in the world. There is parking (for 50 CZK) at the base of the castle, and then a little hike uphill through the grounds. Hrad Houska Nature Hiking Adventure An old Gothic style castle that is perfectly hidden in the deep forest and riddled with mystery, come if you dare! The additional features attributed to Mels Hole were bizarre. Is there any evidence of the houska castle "gateway to hell - Quora The castle was founded by Czech king Pemysl Otakar I in the 13th century. In Sompting, local lore of the 1940s described a very dangerous bottomless hole that swallowed a cart horse and all. In the summer, the cold water under the warm surface can shock swimmers. Now this carving of what looks like a plaited loaf of bread on a pedestal in the castle makes sense, but I don't know if it's original. Houska Castle, The Czech Fortress Used By Mad Scientists And Nazis The Eerie History Of Houska Castle, The Gothic Fortress Built To Seal A 'Gateway To Hell' By Cara Johnson Published April 7, 2022 Constructed near Prague in the 13th century, Houska Castle has housed mad scientists, Nazis, and perhaps even "demons." It is fabled that the hole was so deep that no one could see the bottom of it. Treachery of the Long Knives Houska Castle: This Haunted Fortress was Built Over a - Week In Weird Required fields are marked *. The lake that has no bottom. I wish I had more info on this citation from Corliss. Spirits and beasts from the underworld escaped to torment the locals. Houska Castle: The tale of "the gateway to hell" is not for the faint Ghostly figures have also been seen wandering the castle grounds. Despised by his actions, the locals that had remained in the area decided to offer a reward of 100 gold to those who could kill him. If you search for bottomless hole on the internet, youll find this crazy story incorporating the usual tropes with modern supernatural ideas. Feb 11, 2016 - Explore Lori Kopperman's board "Houska Castle, Gateway to Hell" on Pinterest. Today, Houska Castle remains one of the most haunted places on Earth. Built in the 13th century by Bohemian settlers, the layout and history of Houska Castle suggest something sinister lurks there and legend holds that it sits atop a gateway to Hell. There is a story that famous undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau saw it and never told anyone additional details. It lies about 47km (29mi) north of Prague. This mysterious castle near Lake Mchovo in Central Bohemia attracts visitors with the legend on a rift to the Hell and a convict who was lowered down into the rift. Water kept flowing in. She noted a correspondent told her of Welsh legends where the lakes had their own personalities and resented being measured. There are many legends around this Flagstaff pit and it was once somewhat of a tourist attraction. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. [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". Located roughly 50 miles north of Prague, Houska Castle is an imposing 13th century gothic Mansion that looms over the Czech countryside. Next page Divers enjoy exploring the blue holes but, as with any cave system, underwater caving can be treacherous. Some water bodies eventually have dried up enough to lose the mystique. Houska Castle is located in the eastern part of the Kokon Forest, 47 km north of Prague and about 15 km from Bezdz, another ancient iconic castle of Central Europe. 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. The castle is very well-preserved for a castle from that period. Many people who have ventured into the castle have reported hearing scratching and screams from beneath the ground they walk on, especially as you get closer to where the pit lies. The rescuing hug the strange case of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson. Is The Houska Castle A Portal To Hell? - Paranormal Junkie Mylroie, J.E., Carew, J.L. The first of these craters were discovered in July 2014. Locals thought the experiments were resulting in the strange noises and lights that could be frequently seen and heard around the Houska pit. Rocky Creek Medieval Decor Castle Houska was built not as a defense castle, nor a royal residence - but rather to cover up the exit from the "pit of hell" - an endless hole in the ground which is believed to be under the floor of the chapel room. The castle is surrounded by the forests 30 miles north of Prague. According to the legend, local villagers claimed that demonic half-human and . Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}502928N 143726E / 50.491N 14.624E / 50.491; 14.624. Ottokar II built this castle as an administration center. The lake has high peat content turning the water black and the pH to around 5, so its too low for fish. Though the building has a long history, the land on which it stands and the legends suggesting it covers a portal to hell are even older. More recently, mysterious holes are endowed with speculative suggestions that they are wormholes or entrances to another dimension. Mining created the Chuquicamata Copper Mine, in Chile at 2,790, the Kimberley Mine in South Africa at 700 and the Berkeley Pit, in Butte, Montana at 1700. The strange and haunted old Nazi secret camp, Houska Castle Episode 302 LIVE: Houska Castle and the Doris Bither Entity Haunting (13.06.2020) . Houska Castle - Blatce, Czechia - Atlas Obscura PDF in Czech: "The Mystery of Castle Houska" Bachelor Thesis by Dana Kolov. Little of the above information has much credibility and may all be just tall tales. Residents reportedly went missing in the forest surrounding the pit, and were thought to have been dragged to hell by the winged beasts. First, a less formal connotation is used to describe a deep pond that seems out of place in the wildlands of southern New Jersey. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. After the war, the remains of three german soldiers were uncovered in the inner courtyard they had been shot. The best example would be Devils Hole in Death Valley which claimed the lives of two boys in 1965 and inspired Charles Manson. 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. As of 2020, it was owned by his descendants. Legends live on even into modern times. Thus, people assume it has no bottom at all. Hydrogen sulfide gas in the water is toxic and can cause dizziness and nausea, disorienting divers. He said locals knew of the hole and would throw garbage in it. Locals avoided the area near Houska Castle even when it lay completely abandoned. There was an infamous story, frequently retold, that someone once threw a dog carcass into it and later the dog was seen alive. The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell. Houska Castle sits quietly, surrounded by forest, mystery and a whole lot of legend. Objects thrown into the hole arent recovered. The dark hole is universally scary. It is said to be an entrance to hell that swallows damned souls. Secondly, the castle has no fortifications, no water source, no kitchen, and, for years after it was constructed, no occupants. After learning about Houska Castle, read about Caerlaverock Castle and its 800 years of Scottish history. Houska Castle. The cirque lake, formed by glaciers, is a popular tourist location. Houska Castle, located in Czech Republic, is a castle that was built So, holes that deep will often collect water. The Dozmary Pool in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall was said to have an outlet to the sea which was 10.5miles (16.9 km) away. 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. According to the castle's official website, it was built in the 13th century as an administrative hub for the king, but Czech folklore maintains that the true purpose of its construction was to seal a gaping crack in the limestone. Eventually, equipment fails at the pressure and heat at about 12 kilometers. The castle is built upon a fabled bottomless pit from which winged creatures and half-man-half-beasts allegedly exited . And, I try to connect them to their geological foundations. If you dont die from the sheer bottomlessness of it all, you will encounter whatever nasty thing exists in the dark, forsaken void. It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. The most popular legend surrounding the castles construction suggests it was built to conceal a portal to Hell. Photo: ladabar / flickr / CC-BY-NC 2.0. It might not be the largest or the most beautiful castle, and it does not have a large park, but it is a popular destination for many tourists and adventurers. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_9',163,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Archeological evidence shows that Celtic people had settled in the area hundreds of years prior to the castle being built, and Slavic tribes had migrated to the area as far back as the 6th century. However, the locals were so scared of him two hunters broke into the castle and murdered him. jolene_fleur/InstagramThe castle's chapel was dedicated to Archangel Michael. Legend has it that prisoners who were facing the gallows were offered full pardons, but only if they agreed to be lowered into the bottomless hole and report on what they saw. By 1639, the castle was occupied by a Swedish mercenary named Oronto. During construction the pit was used as a form of justice in that condemned were . Continue with Recommended Cookies. Ottokar II of Bohemia not only sealed the gateway to Hell with stone plates but ordered a chapel built above it. A famous bottomless pit that was said to have released demons and monsters was situated beneath Houska Castle in the Czech Republic. Their geological origins are diverse. ABN 90643368665. legends surrounding Houska Castle may provide the answer. The story was first published in Finland by a Pentecostal Christian journal. The location was never specified, and it was never found. Himmler was adamant that by harnessing the powers of the occult, the Nazis could achieve world domination. As with some of the bottomless lakes waterless chasms are often karst-related sinkholes or caves. June 4, 2021. It was as if the purpose of the castle wasn't to keep invaders out but rather to keep something trapped within. If those methods fail, then, seemingly by default, the opening is declared bottomless. Certainly. Groundwater can be found typically within 300 feet of the ground surface. Castle Tour 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. Houska Castle has been open to the public since 1999. (1960). The name comes from the old Saxon word nicor meaning water spirit or monster. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. Ep 83: Houska Castle - Gateway to Hell Part 1 - Astonishing Legends Excavations or exploration are strictly forbidden, under the pretense that bombs from World War II may still be hidden inside and might explode if tampered with. Quicksand is also an occasional hazard here. While locals claimed to have seen winged creatures fly out of the gateway to Hell in the past, today's visitors say they've observed other entities. . Check out the video at the end of this post to hear the so-called screams from hell. And this castle was built in 1271, and the reason they built this castle in this location was to try to conceal a bottomless pit which many believed to be a gateway to hell or an entrance to the underworld. Houska, or more specifically, it's chapel, was built over a bizarre hole in the ground that was not only said to be bottomless but was also said to be a literal portal to Hell. For more on that location, see a previous feature here. Wabash Valley Visions and Voices Digital Memory Project. 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. This folklore was also the basis for the Doctor Who graphic novel Herald of Madness (2019), which is set at Houska Castle and was first published in Doctor Who Magazine 535539. In his dreams, he had a terrifying vision, which he recorded in a letter to his friend, Edward Hindle. Toggle navigation. Houska Castle - Adventure Seeds Pt. 1 | Fractalbat Some people trying to explore the underwater caves have perished. The Blue Hole has dark water and is said to be bottomless. He had been so disturbed by what he experienced in the darkness that he was sent to an insane asylum where he died two days later from unknown causes. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Hidden by thick forestry, Houska Castle in Czechia is shrouded in nightmarish myth and occultist legend. (1896). The legends surrounding the site of Houska Castle are older than the castle itself. Legends and Romances of Brittany. As such popular stories go, some people naively assume its real. It lacked defenses, most of which were built facing inward, and didn't even have stairs. The goal was to study the lower crust. The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell The cool story became popular. Standard admission is 135. While he was based there, its said that he was well aware of the stories of the paranormal phenomena that had been reported at the castle. The location has no strategic value and is not situated near any trading routes. Himmler allegedly feared his trove of blasphemous materials would be destroyed in the war, but was something even more sinister afoot? Carbonates and Evaporites 10:225233. It is situated in a remote area surrounded by thick forests, swamps, and sandstone mountains. Again, the lack of visibility in the lake is such that a person submerged 10 feet or more disappears from the view of the surface observer. The green-blue color from algae makes the pools look tranquil and ultra-deep. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. 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. Locals were terrified of the half-human hybrids that began to crawl out of the hole at night and tear livestock apart. This list now takes us to a remote part of the Czech Republic's countryside and to an actual port to Hell. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. Even Thoreaus famous Walden Pond was rumored to be bottomless. (2009). Houska castle was built with no fortifications, no water, no kitchen, near no trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion. When the prisoner, who was a young man, was pulled back up to the surface he looked as if he had aged decades in the few seconds he was in the pit. These screams may be coming from the prisoners of war that were held captive there, or the local villagers that were taken down into the Houska castle pit by the flying demonic entities. Legends and science of bottomless holes - SPOOKY GEOLOGY Houska Castle was likely built on the orders of Ottokar II of Bohemia who wanted it to serve as an administrative building where other royal properties could be managed from.