#146 Castle Staadtsburg

Age: 300 years

Hidden or Lost?: Forbidden

History: Towering over the quaint village that bears its name is Castle Staadtsburg. Once a grand fairytale palace, it’s now a haunted ruin where it is said that the very walls hunger for blood.

Staadtsburg was once ruled by the kind and benevolent Staadtsburg dynasty. They shared their wealth and prosperity with the village and the lush forest valley rang with song. In return, members from each village family worked in the massive castle on the mountain as their will. But then came the Lonely Prince, a Staadtsburg heir who could not find a partner with whom to continue the family. Their solitude made them selfish and bitter, and the Lonely Prince against advice from the village greenman, prayed to the fell powers, that they might end his loneliness. Those dark intelligences behind the sky answered the prince with a curse.

The Prince was transformed into a monstrous beast, making it impossible for him to leave Staadtsburg Castle. In addition, the souls of the castle staff were torn from their bodies and invested within the palace furnishings, from the floorboards to the cutlery. When the villagers finally came to the castle and found their families dead, and the ornate palace hopelessly haunted, they blamed the beast creature and fled.

Distraught at the sadness of their loved one, the restless souls of the staff knew the truth of the prince’s dark bargain, and they revolted against the beast. The curtains drew tight around him while hot pans seared his face and living pokers lanced his flesh. Once the beast prince was weak enough, the living objects buried him alive and undying beneath the gardens. Resigned to their cursed fates, the furnishings and living objects made discrete portions of the castle their own, to live out their days in what solace they could. The sharp objects took over a parlor and made of it a roiling storm of clashing steel; the kitchen and its wide-mawed, roaring oven prepares delicious feasts to try and lure unsuspecting victims to become their next meal; and the candles all melted together to create a massive pool of screaming wicks and burning wax.

Since the curse has taken hold, the Staadtsburg valley and village have become dark, gnarled reflections of their former selves. The villagers now serve the spirits of the forbidden castle, hoping that someday someone will break the curse and free their ancestors.