CARPATHIAN GHOST HUNTER EXTRACT
Turniansky Hrad
Type
Castle ruin
Location
Southeast Slovakia, close to the village of Turna nad Bodvou, in the
municipality of Turnianske Podhradie, and only a few kilometres from the
Hungarian border. The city of Kosice is some 40 kilometres to the East, while
the town of Moldava nad Bodvou is less than 10 kilometres away
Background
In 1314, Ladislav de Thurna (Tornay) was given permission by King Ludovit to
build a stone castle on his land, possibly over an older wooden construction.
When the Tornay family became extinct in 1406, the Crown took possession but
lost it in battle to Jan Jiskra in the 1440s. His forces lost Turniansky Hrad to
the Czech Brethren in 1458. After such a tumultuous period, Imrich Zapolsky
bought the castle in 1476 and left it in his Will to his wife Ursula Bubek. It
was her family that improved the fortifications in the 1500s. When that family
line died out in 1567, the castle was taken over by General Schwendi, with
Gaspar Magosci as castellan.
The second half of the 17th Century was another violent period with the castle
being taken by the Turks in 1652, followed by Imrich Thokoly’s rebels in 1678.
The Crown fought back and recaptured the castle only to lose it again to a
combined Turkish and anti-Hapsburg force in 1683. Two years later the Turks lost
the war to the Austrians at Vienna and the castle returned to the Crown. General
Schultz decided to undermine the fortifications to put the castle permanently
out of action although it remained in use as a barracks until 1848, when it
burned down.
Recorded Paranormal Phenomenon
Two sisters, Eva and Katarina, used to live in the castle with Eva being the
more beautiful of the pair. When the magnate Koloman (it is unclear if this is
the same as Prince Koloman from the 13th Century, prior to the modern castle
ruins‘ construction), was assassinated - he was stabbed from behind a bush
while sitting in the garden - Eva blamed her sister for murdering him out of
jealousy. When Eva saw her lover’s dead body, she killed herself with a knife.
Her ghost still wanders the castle, crying and moaning, on full moon nights.
Investigation
Just getting to the castle is a trial in itself. The closest thing to
signposting is the occasional blue and white streak of paint on a tree to say if
one is going in the right direction but to find the start of the trail I had to
ask some locals – and as Turniansky is in the South of the Country, the local
language is Hungarian… But once I found the trail, then the fun really began.
The locals had said I could drive halfway up and then walk the rest of the way.
What they didn’t say was that there is no road, just an extremely pitted rock
track less than a car’s width across at a very steep incline. My old BMW station
wagon screamed its way up in first gear (manual shift) and I cried with it as
the suspension and wheels took every stone painfully. And then the walk began.
Did I say walk? Next time I’ll bring crampons, carabineers and rope. The entire
valley is rocky (some amazing cliff faces) but this little trail has way more
than its fair share of stony protuberances. And it’s long and winding.
However, when I finally reached the castle I was more than pleased. It’s very
high up and commands spectacular views but more than that it oozed creepiness.
As can be seen in the photos, the ruins have crumbled into odd face like shapes
which really play mind tricks. I can’t imagine the castle having been built in
this manner as, for example, the cellars would not have been visible, but now
they form mouth shapes which sit eerily beneath window eyes in stand-alone walls
facing the horizon.
The best parts of the castle are obviously the interior sections and there are a
few to explore but I really had to watch my footing so as not to slip and break
my equipment (and my camera, etc…..).
A number of times during my investigation I heard footsteps and what sounded
like heavy breathing. I hoped that these could be caught on my Dictaphone but a
combination of wind and clicking from the machine itself (despite having a
microphone) ruined the recording. One thing I have always found difficult to
capture is these particular sounds and yet, to me at least, they are about as
close to a spectral visitation offered by most locations I’ve visited and
something I would stand behind. They’re not caused by micro sleep and the vast
majority of people can identify these sounds as, especially when alone or in the
dark, they cause us to take notice very quickly and increase our adrenaline for
fight or flight mode.
Turniansky was well worth visiting and I really got the feeling that there was
something I was missing there. Perhaps a repeat visit (albeit next time on a
Paris-Dakar Enduro bike, or yak) would allow me to entice whatever else was
there out of the shadows.
News: Carpathian Ghost Hunter, the new book by Edward O'Toole, is now available
Or, direct from the Publisher -
Signed copies by the author may be ordered directly via Paypal here:
For U.S. buyers (including postage and packaging): USD 22
For U.K. buyers (including postage and packaging): GBP 11
For E.U. buyers (including postage and packaging): EUR 13