Historian Jaak Juske: Over 50 ghost stories told about Tallinn's Old Town

Tallinn's Old Town remains a popular tourist attraction in Estonia. In an appearance on Vikerraadio's "Vikerhommik," historian Jaak Juske, who offers ghost story tours of the Old Town, says that plenty of ghost stories are told about the medieval Hanseatic city, but none more than about the Short Leg Gate Tower.
The ghost story tour of Tallinn's Old Town begins by Gustav Adolf High School, which Juske says may even be the most notorious haunted school in Estonia.
"This is the medieval St. Michael's Convent, which was rebuilt," he said. "But a similar story has been repeated there in recent decades, in which a teacher is at the school at night for one reason or another, dozes off and wakes up to see the ghost of a nun, believe it or not."
"Looking for a rational explanation for this, when the schoolhouse underwent renovations at the end of last century, archaeological exploration was conducted in the courtyard, where they found a very well preserved medieval nun cemetery," he explained. "Those remains were gathered and reburied in the [Tallinn Cathedral] of the Transfiguration of Our Lord next door."
You can believe in ghost stories or not, but either way, these tales exist, Juske said, noting that entirely rational people will come and talk, convinced, about how they've seen a ghost or something unexplainable in their house, castle, manor or tower.
"It got their imagination going, and they're thoroughly convinced that that place is haunted," he added.
According to the historian, more than 50 alleged ghost stories are told about Tallinn's Old Town.
"These stories cover the entire Old Town," Juske said, adding that the spot about which most ghost stories are told is the Short Leg Gate Tower, the medieval tower located near the top of Pikk jalg and the Danish King's Garden. "That one tower was so haunted a century ago that a dedicated book was even written about the gate tower ghosts."
More new ghost stories keep cropping up too.
"A couple years back, I was walking up Lühike jalg when a complete stranger approached me and said, 'Juske, you research these stories,' and [told me how] he recently had an office in one of these buildings and he swears that papers on his secretary's desk started rising up in the air," the tour guide recalled.
"If we're going to talk at all about how to explain these stories, then without a doubt a good share of these stories fall under the 'fear skews perceptions' category: an old building, it creaks and rattles, and that then sets off your frightened imagination," he described.
"But another category is stories that were made up," he continued. "Fear has helped contribute to it, but it's moreso [someone's] old tower, building or castle must have a ghost story. These stories got especially popular in the 19th century."
Juske did acknowledge, however, that there is also a third category of ghost stories – stories that he has no rational explanation for.
"I'm eagerly looking forward to my own first encounter with a ghost, but I won't rule out that maybe that world really does exist," he admitted.
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Editor: Kaspar Viilup, Aili Vahtla