Halloween. The day when evil spirits terrorise innocent people, and witches get busy with their unholy rituals. It’s said that on this night, innocent people are forced to wear costumes and masks so that they wouldn’t be recognised and captured by these monsters. But, hey, that’s just a legend, right?
Modern Halloween wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain. This ancient festival marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year and the end of the harvest season. It is said to be the time when the boundary between the living and the dead blurs. Aos sí (Irish name for elves) could more easily enter our world. People left food and drink outside for the aos sí, and portions of the crops were left in the ground.
Photos of Samhain ritual bonfires. Painting of aos sí (Riders of the Sidhe, 1911, John Duncan).
When Christianity spread, Allhallowtide (Western Christian celebration) appeared. All Hallows’ Eve (31 October), All Saints’ Day (1 November), and All Souls’ Day (2 November) are collectively known as Allhallowtide. People celebrate the Church’s saints and pray for all souls who have not yet reached Heaven. Also, precisely during All Hallows’ Eve (or Halloween, nowadays), the boundary between the living and the dead is thinned. Do you get deja vu? Yes, it sounds like the Celtic festival of Samhain, as one theory suggests that All Hallows’ Eve is inspired by it.
This is all quite interesting, but how does it relate to Tartu, or why should you care? Throughout the history of Tartu, numerous local ghost stories have circulated, and many emerged in the late 1990s with the end of the Soviet period.
Also, Samhain closely resembles local Estonian folk holidays such as All Souls’ Day (hingedepäev), Michaelmas (mihklipäev) and Martinmas (mardipäeva)
Halloween as a holiday was similarly introduced to the Estonian people through screen media from the late 1980s. At that time, the Internet became a big deal, and different cultures began sharing their traditions. And eventually, it became a fun holiday, where you could enjoy getting frightened. So, let’s set the mood and dive into some chilling legends that take place right here in Tartu.
The keeper of the keys of Tartu Cathedral (Click here to read the full story)
The legend says that the building of Tartu Cathedral on Toomemägi Hill didn’t go that smoothly: the walls simply refused to rise. The builders thought it was a great idea to wall up a woman inside the walls, so they could deal with stubborn walls.
Builders went around telling poor women that whoever came with them would become the keeper of the cathedral keys. However, women didn’t believe their lies and refused to go with the builders. Days passed, and the builders found one kind-hearted girl who agreed to become the keeper.
By the time she realised that the builders had tricked her, it was too late: they had started to seal her into the wall. She cried and begged for mercy, but no one answered except the priest. He told her that once every year, on Christmas Eve, she would be allowed to leave the wall as a spirit and fly over Toomemägi. And if she ever found another woman willing to take her place as keeper, she would finally be free. Every Christmas Eve, she flew over the hill, but no woman was seen who could release her from her curse. She might still be in these walls alone, tired and desperate to escape. So, girls, no walking around Tartu Cathedral on Christmas Eve.
Tartu Cathedral in the autumn.
Lilac Lady (Click here to read the full story).
Legend has it that the ghost of a woman has lived in the fireplace hall of the old Estonian Literature Museum on Vanemuise Street in Tartu for decades. This spirit, believed to be Frederike Julie Annette Marie, also had an unhappy life story. She died in this very house in 1913. She took her own life after suffering from unrequited love for a doctor. On that day, she wore a lilac dress. Ever since, she has been known as Lilac Lady.
Many believe that the Lilac Lady doesn’t like it when anyone makes changes to her beloved home. Every time an extension or some major change has been made to the house, someone has died or been injured. The moral of the story? Don’t make changes to a new home without asking for the approval of its invisible hosts. After all, you never know who might be watching… maybe they don’t like how the grey wallpaper looks?
Shot of a documentary where Heino Räim talks about the Lilac Lady (watch here).
Human sausage factory (Click here to read the full story).
After the Second World War, famine and financial instability were very common in Tartu. There are stories that some poor people went mad from hunger and started to make sausages from innocent people. Allegedly, they turned the bones into soap, used the intestines and human flesh to make sausages, and rendered the fat into some kind of cleaning paste.
Eyewitness stories include:
“That was also in Tartu. We went to buy cheap things. We took our onions and went to Tartu. A girl came, a young girl. We say that we would like to buy some saccharine. She says, “Come with me.” “How far is it?” – “Not far, by the Emajõgi.” We went with her. We peeped in from a door. God, there were heaps of heads. They had a sausage factory there. Many children had been missing there. They wanted to make sausage out of us. We called the militia (soviet police). Only then did the militia found out about that factory. It was underground, in a kind of cellar. A father recognised his daughter from her apron. It was after the war when sausages were made from human flesh. A man found only the head of her daughter: a pink ribbon was tied in her hair”.
“A mother had a daughter. She gave her child a ring as a birthday present. Soon, she sent her daughter shopping. The daughter went along an asphalt road and disappeared underground. Mother waited and waited, waited, but her daughter didn’t come. Mother went and bought some minced meat. At home, she began to fry the meat. Suddenly, she saw the same ring in the minced meat. Then she realised what had happened to her daughter”.
Main square in Tartu during the soviet regime. Image credits to V. Samussenko.
Now that I creeped you out (at least a bit), you might wonder how to spend your Halloween. Don’t worry, there are parties for every taste, as well as some movie showings. Check Facebook or just Google “Halloween in Tartu”, you will definitely find something for you.
Very Halloweeny vibe, but I took this picture in summer…
At the end of the day, don’t be scared to get scared on Halloween. Enjoy this day with your friends and don’t forget to wear a costume, or else the monsters catch you. They are close by, right behind you… Turn around…
All images are the author’s own unless otherwise specified.
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