Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories · 07. February 2021

It was in the spring of 1516 that the scholar Gerrit Gerritszoon arrived in Amsterdam. He had travelled all the way from the city of Leuven where he taught at the university. It was curiosity that brought him to Amsterdam. Gerrit had heard of this new metropole of the north with its busy harbour and ambitious merchants. And although Amsterdam did not yet have the power and wealth of the great Flemish and Brabantian cities of the south, its reputation was on the rise and he wanted to see it with...

Ghost Stories · 18. December 2019

It was in the year 1638 that the merchant Willem Gerardszoon Spieghel returned home to Amsterdam after many years away. Years that he had spent in the lands of the Meuse where he had made his fortune in the wine trade. And had fallen in love. Her name was Alys, she had freckles and the soft accent of the south and every time she smiled Willem felt his beard itch. She thought him nervously scratching his beard rather charming and when one day she playfully let her hand caress his face he was...

Ghost Stories · 19. November 2019

Dear Reader, Some houses have a troubled history. Not because something happened in the house itself but because the site on which it stands is cursed by events from the past. And even though the last witness has died long ago, some experiences can attach themselves to certain locations in such a way that they can survive death as well as time. The following text is part of a story I’ve recently been working on. I’ve already performed it several times on the Ghost Walk in an abbreviated...