There’s been a marked upswing in general weirdness these past few years. Perhaps it’s just me, but the rate of strange occurrences seems to be accelerating.
This example of alleged ghost activity in a medieval German town is almost comforting in its adherence to traditional haunting norms.
This is the story about how my wife and I accidentally ended up lost inside the ancient, fortified city walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and the strange, and frankly, terrifying, things we experienced inside.
For some background on the town in question, it dates back over a thousand years, is one of only three German cities from the Middle Ages with intact city walls, and has a medieval criminal law museum. Which contains a dunking stool and manuals for witch investigations.
If Germany wasn’t on track to freeze solid this winter, I’d be tempted to move.
When we arrived at Rothenburg I parked at the first parking area I could find as I didn’t want to be endlessly driving around looking for parking, which is often the case at popular tourist attractions in Germany.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I parked far away from the entrance into the old city, which looking back should have been obvious seeing as how the parking area I chose was practically empty. The old town is surrounded by its medieval wall so you couldn’t get directly inside from just any parking area.
As we walked around, trying to find a way into the old town, we came upon a path that we thought would lead us to the entrance, but I must admit it was highly suspect because it was deserted. Mind you, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Germany, and on a beautiful day as that day in 2015, it should have been bursting with people, and later we would discover it was indeed packed with tourists, but not where we were!
Important safety tip: Always make a point of maintaining keen situational awareness. If you notice a major departure from the baseline – such as the sudden absence or mass movement of people – do not ignore it. Instead, be extra alert for other signs of danger and heed your gut feelings about them.
These two didn’t do that, so we have this story.
Now, with the good fortune of obvious hindsight … it’s clear we should have considered other options. This area was so desolate that no one felt the need to close the entrance! And besides, how exactly did the door get removed anyway? Lots of questions suddenly come to mind.
Not one of my most brilliant moves, but I figured the entrance must lead to the other side of the wall and to the interior of the old town. I thought it was a logical deduction. And to my credit, a-hem, I was eventually right. I just didn’t know what we’d have to go through to get there.
Stereotypes exist for a reason. In this case, the naïve American tourist who assumes that everywhere on Earth is the concierge desk at the Four Seasons has a definite basis in fact. That’s not to ridicule anyone. That particular beam has gotten into my eye more than once before. It is to observe that most people are unprepared for how inhospitable the world is about to become.
When I saw this entrance and felt the cold emanating from the darkness when we walked up to it, I knew we should turn around and get out of there. But no, as always seems to be the case with me—I had to tempt fate and find out.
The first thing we experienced when we entered the doorway was also the first indication to stay out. A cold breeze whooshed over us. Joan then asked me if I was sure this was the right way to go and my answer was simple logic, why would they leave this doorway open if it didn’t lead to the old town?
So, we took a few steps up to a platform that led into what was a wide tunnel at first, which led to awesome old battlements, they even still had an old cannon in there! My thought when I saw the cannon was that this must be a tourist attraction, but there weren’t any other people around. I mean, no one!
Again, this is when you stop and do some serious thinking about recent choices you’ve made. You’ll be lucky to get a second chance to reconsider like these guys did.
We continued to walk through the passage looking for a way to get out. As we did, we came to several old (and I do mean, old!) entrances and exits, but none were open.
We even came to one (below) that was not merely shut and locked, but it was sealed with a wood beam bolted across it! That’s when I became concerned that we were somewhere we shouldn’t be. We found other passageways that we tried, but none of them seemed to lead out. We kept going until we realized we were completely and utterly lost.
I can’t tell you how worrisome it was to realize we didn’t know how to get out or even how to go back to where we had come in. Joan went so far as to try to open one of the locked barn-style doors and when she did, she screamed and ran back to me. She said something had grabbed her arm. I thought maybe her sweater had snagged on something, but she assures me it felt like someone had grabbed her, and when she looked for who it was, no one was there.
And boy, is she lucky no one was.
The couple’s story goes on a bit from there. Next they encountered what was described as a floating orb of light. But no one finds orbs scary or interesting except extremely online Millennials who’ve watched too many creepypasta videos.
You know what would’ve been really scary? Another out-of-place visitor with a knife or a broken bottle.
What can we learn from this spooky misadventure?
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Trust your gut.
- If an area or situation gives off menacing vibes, don’t question it – leave.
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“Perhaps it’s just me, but the rate of strange occurrences seems to be accelerating.”
I have a theory about this:
1. There are malevolent spiritual powers in the world (de fide).
2. Those powers can exercise influence on the material world (the extent of this is debated, but at least some level appears well-attested by history and revelation).
3. These powers are largely held in check by prayer and participation in the sacramental life of the church (again de fide).
4. As #3 declines, #2 increases.
Also 2 + dark mirror of 3: These powers gain in influence as people deliberately open doors to them through sinful and occult practices.
“If an area or situation gives off menacing vibes, don’t question it – leave.”
This is why we have religious superstition.
https://media1.tenor.com/images/c8afcf04376a51c0687ce15c6aa50b4a/tenor.gif?itemid=4928654
A sudden, unexplained chill or drop in temperature is a sign of the presence of evil, according to many an exorcist.
We lived in Germany for a while, when I was little, while Dad was stationed in Heidelberg. I can confirm that the touristy parts of Rothenburg ob der Tauber are nice. The thing that make the biggest impression with me was the toy store, Kathe Wohlfahrt. In my defense, I was probably about nine at the time, and we might have visited near Christmas. I didn’t go up in the tower over the gate, which is ironic given our penchant for climbing cathedral spires, but my mother did. As a Japanese tourist advised her, “Don’t rook down,” if you are prone to dizziness or vertigo. I think the Japanese tourist had, in fact, looked down.