Ep 84: Houska Castle – Gateway to Hell Part 2

Image of Houska Castle's chapel, over which the fissure or "Gate to Hell" was built.  Photo Credit by Scary Side of Earth on flickr, used with CC by 2.0 attribution.

Travis J. Dow

Here we see Travis in "uniform" while he was working as a Tour Guide for McGee's Ghost Tours in Prague, Czech Republic.

Image of Houska Castle's chapel, over which the fissure or "Gate to Hell" was built.  Photo Credit by Scary Side of Earth on flickr, used with CC by 2.0 attribution.

Copy of Front gate entrance to Houska Castle

Original photo by By Mirek256 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=482683

Image of a faded fresco in the castle which appears to show a chimera type of creature; a woman's torso coming out of a lion's head.  Notice that the bow is drawn with the lion/woman's left hand, an archaic symbol of evil, and aiming at what looks like another woman.

Another medieval fresco depicting what appears to be a scene of angelic benediction to the wretched.  Photo by ŠJů (cs:ŠJů) used with  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Image of a medieval fresco depicting a pastoral community scene... or something else?  Photo Credit by Scary Side of Earth on flickr, used with CC by 2.0 attribution.

Aerial view of Houska Castle, photograph by Michal Votápka

An ominous shot of Houska showing its cliff-top position.  Photo by David Oupor

A directly overhead shot of Houska Castle, showing some of the inner courtyard.  Photo by Miroslav Šálek

Another aerial angle of the castle, more clearly showing the rock outcropping on which it stands.  Photo by Miroslav Šálek

Wider shot of Houska Castle showing then front entrance.  Photo Credit by Scary Side of Earth on flickr, used with CC by 2.0 attribution.

Shot of Houska's center courtyard by VMG Č.Lípa

Shot of the center courtyard showing the drainage grate over the original fissure, filled in by rocks and concrete.  Some believe it's a water well or fountain, but those who visit don't seem to think so.  Photo by No. 666

One of the many nicely finished rooms inside the castle with modern appointments.  Photo by Jiří Třeštík

Photo by No. 666

The upper walkway that seems to be the one described by former Houska Property Manager Tyler McGee on the Ghost Hunters International episode, where he claims to have seen some kind of dark specter who resides there.  Photo by VMG Č.Lípa

"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."
– Johnny Cash

 

LOCATION: Castle or "Hrad" Houska, in the Czech Republic

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Map showing location of Hauska Castle relative to other medieval Bohemian castles that were under Nazi control during WWII. Map created by A.R.C. member Cody Rice.

BACKGROUND:

There are two connected, yet distinct traditions of weirdness concerning Houska Castle: its mysterious, violent and spotty history of purpose and ownership, and the reported sightings of horrific creatures and terrifying specters since its founding.  Regarding the castle's originally intended design; whether it was really built to keep something from escaping rather than defense from outside forces, the lack of any definitive or comprehensive historical records will only lead to debate and speculation.  However, those that have been inside the walls of this fortress and others in the region will tell you that Houska's architecture clearly doesn't seem to fit with the standard intentions.  Regarding the encounters with frightening phantoms, if you believe places can be haunted, Houska Castle seems to be just that. 

 

Reference Links:

• Photo gallery of Houska castle from the Czech website, Mapy.cz

• Pete Collman and Travis Dow's Bohemican Podcast, covering Castle Houska

• Travis Dow's shows and videos on YouTube

• Travis Dow's (with Pete Collman) collection of podcasts on Podcastnik.com

• The Search for Nazi Treasures, Book 3, exploration project and documentary proposal by Jaro Sveceny

• "On general issues of movement of books in Czechoslovakia after World War II" by the Czech project, Books Discovered Once Again

• A Virtual Exhibit with mages from the Books Discovered Once Again project

• Stash of Books from the Witch Library of Nazi Chief Himmler Found in Prague, article by Natalia Klimczak on Ancient Origins

• Himmler's stash of Witchcraft books discovered in Czech library by The Daily Mail

• In Prague found a collection of books Himmler of his “witch” of the library from "Last news from Russia" website

• Norwegian ‘witch' books stolen by Nazis found, on Norway's "The Local"

• No Witchcraft books in Prague, according to historian by Heather Greene from The Wild Hunt

• 11 Hidden Spots to Enter the Underworld on Atlas Obscura

• Kola Superdeep Borehole

• The Unsolved Mystery of the Tunnels at Baiae on Smithsonian.com

• Various "Gates of Hell" on Wikipedia

• "Mel's Hole"

• Devils Hole

• Ploutonion at Hierapolis

• Pluto in Greek mythology

• The Medical Mystery of Hair That Whitens Overnight: Canities subita

• Are there gasses that cause hallucinations? on Quora

• Nitrous oxide

• Methane

• Radon

• "How is Sulpher dioxide formed?"

• The Reich Main Security Office, or "RSHA"

• Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and Amt I - Amt XI

• Himmler and his Ahnenerbe project

• The German Völkisch movement

• German Ariosophy

• Nazism and occultism

• Wewelsburg Castle and the Nazi "Black Sun" symbol

• "Hrad Houska's" Czech website – use Google Translate to view the page in English

• Ghost Hunters International, Season 2, Episode 3: "Gate to Hell"

• Charlie Jewett's site and podcast, Renovating Retirement – JewettWealth.com

• Houska Castle on Wikipedia

• Sorbian prince Slavibor

• The Central Bohemian town of Mělník

• The Bohemian noble families of Berka z Dubé

• Ottokar II of Bohemia, Czech king and warrior, known as the Iron and Golden King

• The Golden Legend

• Treachery of the Long Knives

• List of Bohemian monarchs

• Houska Castle on Week in Weird

• Saint Ludmila of Bohemia

• The official Czech website for Houska Castle, it's in Czech so use Google to translate the page

• Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia and Czech Royal Saint

• Boleslaus "The Cruel" complicit in the murder of his older brother Wenceslaus I

• The legend of Saint George and the Dragon

• Archangel Michael

• Karel Hynek Mácha, Czech Romantic Poet and Houska visionary

• H.G. Wells' The Time Machine

Related Books:

77 Prague legends

By Alena Jezkova

Buy on Amazon

Encyklopedie českých hradů (Czech Edition)

By Tomáš Durdík

Buy on Amazon

The Lives of St. Wenceslas, St. Ludmila and St. Adalbert

By Eduard Petiska

Buy on Amazon

The Wonders Of Bohemia, Moravia, And Silesia

By Petr David

Buy on Amazon

Suggested listening:

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Credits:

Episode 84: Houska Castle – Gateway to Hell (Part 2).  Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle and the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2017 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.