Five Maltese ghost stories to spook you out this Halloween

Saint, ghosts, ghouls and spirits… For what is reported to have started as a pagan ritual, Halloween has gradually gathered more and more followers even in oh-so-Catholic Malta. Tonight, more and more children in costume will roam our streets, going door to door asking for a trick or treat, while many adults will attend invitation-only costume parties or get together to tour Malta’s favourite haunted sites. MaltaToday revisited some of these places a few days ago, hoping the ghosts that haunt these places would still be getting ready for tonight.

Villa Sans Souci – Marsaxlokk

Constructed by Prof Salvatore Luigi Pisani CMG, MD as his residence in the 1870s, this house was later used as a hotel in the 1910s and then by the Royal Air Force in the 1940s. This long-abandoned mansion on the road to Marsaxlokk is said to be one of the most haunted properties in Malta. People constantly hear weird noises coming from inside the house, and people who have been inside have reported a sense of dread overcoming them throughout all the accessible rooms.

Splendid Hotel – Valletta

This hotel in Strait Street, Valletta, was originally a brothel. Folklore has it that an argument broke out one night between one of the prostitutes and a client of hers. The woman was murdered in a bathroom on the first floor and her spirit is said to walk the empty hallways of the hotel to this very day. Eyewitnesses have reported furniture being hurled across rooms.

Telgha t’Alla w’Ommu – Naxxar

When driving along the road from Salina to the Telgha t’Alla w’Ommu, on the outskirts of Naxxar, many drivers have reported seeing a teenage girl stumbling along the road below the steep hill and trying to flag down drivers as though pleading for help. Those brave enough to stop all say that the girl simply vanished once they got down to try and assist her. Many said that, when they saw the teenager, they pressed down harder on the gas pedal and kept their eyes forward, but that did not work – or turned out worse. When they next looked into their rear-view mirror, they found the girl sitting in the back seat of their car.

The Cathedral in Mdina is said to be one of the most haunted in Malta

Cathedral – Mdina

The Cathedral in Mdina, and the immediate area around it, are said to be some of the most haunted in Malta. One of the most popular myths has it that the congregation of the cathedral, gathered for Mass one morning, noticed something odd about the old priest that celebrated mass every day. So did the sacristan. The same thing happened the following two days until, late on the third day, the sacristan met a friend of his who told him that the old priest had died four nights earlier in his home. It is said the priest was allowed to continue celebrating mass for three days until another priest was appointed to replace him.

Verdala Palace

Grand Master De Rohan informed his niece that he had chosen a suitor for her and that she was to marry him even though she was not attracted to him. When he heard that the girl did not like him, the suitor locked her in her room at Verdala Palace. It is said that she tried to escape out of her window, but fell to her death. Since then, her ghost has roamed around the palace in the iconic blue dress she died in, making her known as the Blue Lady. People say they have seen her reflection in many mirrors around the palace, or standing on the edge of the palace balconies.