By the banks of the Emajõgi River, where the sculptures of a young Lydia Koidula and Papa Jannsen now stand, Estonia's first cinema, Illusioon, was established in 1908. However, 200 years earlier, blood was spilled in the same location.

"By the Town Hall Square, there was a ravelin built during the Swedish era — a triangular, pointed fortification made of piled-up earth — which is said to have been a site of executions. Literary language developer, clergyman and translator of the New Testament, Adrian Virginius, was executed there during the Great Northern War in 1706 — his head was cut off," said Siim, adding that Virginius was accused of spying for Sweden.

According to Siim, however, the man at least received an honorable death, as hanging was considered a more shameful fate. "Some city councilmen were also hanged at the same spot," he noted.

Tartu's deadliest historical accident in terms of human casualties is linked to a river crossing on the Emajõgi, which occurred in 1918 — at a location best remembered by today's residents as the site of the Atlantis nightclub. A ferry was so overloaded with people that it lost balance and sank. "Sixteen people drowned, mostly those who tried to swim to shore but suffered cramps in the cold water," Siim recounted from historical records.

The Emajõgi was also the site of the deadliest car accident in the university town's history. "A group of merrymakers was driving near what is now the city's swimming area. At the time, however, the spot was used for ice-cutting, as the brewery needed ice to store in cellars during the winter. The authorities had made the foolish decision to allow the ice-cutting area right in the middle of the river. In the darkness, a car with weak headlights drove straight into an ice hole. All nine people in the car perished," Siim explained.

The Tartu City Museum organizes tours of the city's eerie locations, covering topics such as serial killer Juri Ustimenko, urban legends surrounding the former KGB building and other chilling tales. The tours also delve into some infamous murder cases and the activities of Satanists in the 1990s, as well as how cemeteries were treated during the Soviet era — including the use of historical tombstones to reinforce riverbanks.

In 1919, the Red Army occupied Tartu, but the Estonian Army was advancing rapidly from the north. "On January 14, battles began in the Tähtvere fields. The Reds were terrified and had to decide what to do with the prisoners. The nearby police station couldn't accommodate them all, so some were placed in the basement of the credit bank. Without a trial, 19 people were brutally executed there, including Bishop Platon, who was later canonized as a saint," Siim explained.

A plaque on the wall of the building that now houses the Tartu City Library commemorates the infamous credit bank murders.

During World War II, 193 people were brutally executed without trial at Jaani tänav 8, the site of Tartu Prison at the time. "There are horrifying accounts of how the killers got themselves thoroughly drunk beforehand and fired multiple shots directly into their victims' faces. The most well-known among those murdered was writer Jüri Parijõgi," Siim said. "Efforts were made to hastily cover up the traces of the mass murder by burning the bodies and throwing them into a well."

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