Borgvattnet Vicarage - Atlas Obscura

Borgvattnet Vicarage

Ragunda, Sweden

Said to be one of Sweden's most haunted places, this vicarage once even attracted a ghost-busting priest. 

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Borgvattnet Vicarage (Borgvattnet spökprästgård in Swedish), is known as one of Sweden’s most haunted locations, and its reputation even attracted a priest devoted to clearing out the famed spirits.

Built in 1876, the humble house for holy men started getting its first reported hauntings in 1927 when the resident vicar reported strange happenings including his laundry being torn from the line. Tales of supernatural events continued in the ensuing decades with almost every new vicar or their family or guests claiming to experience ghostly antics. Things have moved, screams have been heard, shadow people have been seen, and the old rocking chair keeps on rocking. The legends surrounding the origins of the haunting tell of abused maids and even of babies buried in the backyard although it is now also said that the old vicars themselves haunt the house. 

In the early 1980s, the renowned site caught the attention of an outsider priest named Tore Forslund, the ghostpriest. This devoted enemy of the occult came to the town promising to rid it of the apparitions that the citizens had already begun capitalizing on. Unfortunately, his exorcisms seem to have met with little to no success and he left the area within a year. 

Today the vicarage is run as a small bed and breakfast for those curious enough to stay the night, with the option to rent the whole house. Anyone who makes it through the night will receive a diploma to mark their honor.

Know Before You Go

If you want to go by public transport it's easiest to go from Östersund. From there it will take you about two hours, and they run on weekdays only; from Östersund Busstorget you take bus 132 to Stugun, and then bus 321 to Borgvattnet. You can use sj.se (the biggest Swedish railway company) to check departure/arrival and to book the trip.

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