Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Black House Dweller
Category: House dweller
The Myth
The Black House Poltergeist haunted a house in Tübach, in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen. The building had a sinister reputation, and people avoided living there because strange disturbances made it seem as though something was terribly wrong inside. Its most notorious feature was the terrible noise heard at night, as if heavy sticks or tree stumps were being thrown about the house by an unseen presence.
The disturbances were severe enough to make the house an unwelcome place to live. Although the legend does not describe the spirit’s appearance or explain why it haunted the building, the unexplained nighttime racket suggests a poltergeist whose presence was revealed through the violent movement of objects and the disruption of domestic peace.
Eventually, the Black House was demolished. A new building was constructed in its place, becoming the popular restaurant known as Ruheberg. The old haunting was no longer a source of fear, and the legend concludes that the poltergeists had finally found peace. People could enter the new establishment without worrying about the frightening disturbances associated with its predecessor.
The Black House Poltergeist represents a haunting tied closely to a particular building. Its identity is defined not by a visible form or a known history, but by the noises that made the house infamous and drove people away. The demolition of the structure brought the story to a peaceful conclusion, suggesting that the supernatural disturbance was bound to the old house itself.
Sources
“Das schwarze Haus in Tübach.” SAGEN.at – Schweizer Sagen. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/schwarze_haus_tuebach.html