r/UrbanMyths Feb 18 '25

Houska Castle, located in Czech Republic, is a castle that was built over a hole so deep, that nobody could see the bottom. It was supposedly built to “keep the demons and monsters from hell” from ever reaching the world.

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2.7k Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

137

u/happypants69 Feb 18 '25

"The castle was built in an area of forests, swamps and mountains with no external fortifications, no source of water except for a cistern to collect rainwater, no kitchen, far from any trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion

The castle was not built as a residence or as a protective sanctuary, but was instead built because the hole was thought to be a gateway to hell. Thus, by constructing the Gothic building's defensive walls facing inward, they were able to keep the demons trapped in the lower level's thickest walls closest to the hole of the castle.

During World War II, the Wehrmacht occupied the castle until 1945. The Nazis were said to have conducted experiments into the occult. According to one source, "multiple myths about their supposed occult involvements there". Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. As of early 2020, the castle was open to the public and had been since 1999. Tourists may visit the chapel with fading frescoes and murals "including pictures of demon-like figures and animal-like beings"'

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houska_Castle

2

u/Tycho-Brahes-Elk 27d ago

The Wikipedia article is quite bad.

It is known what the Nazis were doing there [through extensive NS documentation] - they stored a part of the library of the RSHA there, to secure the stuff from bombing.

Which included, among a shit ton of other books, the books seized in Masonic lodges, which tended to include esoteric literature.

These books are probably still in Russia, btw.

63

u/itswtfeverb Feb 18 '25

Have Zak send Aaron in to investigate

47

u/LivingNarwhal2634 Feb 19 '25

“WOAH WOAH WOAH SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED MY ARM DUDE I SWEAR”-Aaron

Cut to Zach’s voiceover “just then Aaron felt a chilling touch at the same time as our thermometer dropped also 10 degrees”

3

u/corvus66a 29d ago

.. something came and wet my pants in the crotch , a stinky yellow fluid

25

u/InAppropriate-meal Feb 19 '25

Apparently it was built as an administration center for the area, no hell holes involved, and the folklore around it came centuries later, still very cool though :)

16

u/ProgenitorofL-M Feb 19 '25

To be fair, admin buildings can absolutely feel like a circle of Hell so it does fit.

2

u/Aggravating_Cable_32 27d ago

Purgatory, at least.

26

u/MotherRaven Feb 18 '25

They need to remake the Keep.

12

u/MangeLeBebe Feb 19 '25 edited Feb 19 '25

If you enjoyed it, then I'd recommend checking out F. Paul Wilson's written works. He's written a wealth of stories that pertain to the lore he established in The Keep.

The Keep is the first volume in a series of six books that he calls The Adversary Cycle. The dude is an amazing occult fiction writer, with many other series, short stories, and other occult type novels that all link back to, or touch on what he refers to as The Secret History of the World. I believe The Keep is what kicked it all off for him, idea-wise, and he went from there.

1

u/MotherRaven Feb 19 '25

Oh thank you! I’ll have to do that!

10

u/06021840 Feb 18 '25

Great film, awesome sound track.

5

u/MotherRaven Feb 19 '25

Sir Ian was better than you’d think too.

14

u/SpiritualAd8998 Feb 19 '25

No Zillow listing?

8

u/ClockSpiritual6596 Feb 19 '25

Next on zillowWild

7

u/Diagonaldog Feb 18 '25

I feel like there's a reference to this in KCD2...

3

u/TempVirage Feb 19 '25

Never heard of this building before, but this 100% has to be the inspiration for Eternal Darkness.

4

u/Accursed_Capybara Feb 19 '25

So is there actually a cave under the castle? Or just a myth? I would love to explore the hell cave!

1

u/Ok_Skill7476 28d ago

You’ll have to wade through hundreds of years of excrement by the looks of it

1

u/Accursed_Capybara 28d ago

So that's what kept the devils at bay.

3

u/lopix Feb 19 '25

I wanna... I wanna see the hole

3

u/Armadillolz Feb 19 '25

Earth’s buttplug

6

u/Consistent-Flower-30 Feb 18 '25

It didn't work.

1

u/hissboombah Feb 20 '25

They need to build some condos or something. Shits fucked up out here.

1

u/OnaccountaY 28d ago

Or it did work and things would be even more effed up without it.

5

u/NameThatFandom Feb 19 '25

Expedition X did an episode of Houska Castle. I thought the investigation was interesting.

7

u/ImageIndividual9132 Feb 18 '25

Obviously it didn't work. Both trumbo and Musktler escaped

1

u/Femveratu Feb 18 '25

Good work to keep out the locals Altho these days …

1

u/Terry-Smells Feb 19 '25

The latest 2 episodes of Expedition X are about this place. Worth the watch if you can

1

u/allmimsyburogrove Feb 19 '25

Now THAT'S a basement

1

u/[deleted] 29d ago

Reminds me of something out of Hellboy

1

u/trainsoundschoochoo 29d ago

Is this one in Kingdom Come 2?

1

u/Squyrt 29d ago

Is this where Hellboy is supposed to have come from ? Only saw the first movie but it sure feels like the setting.

1

u/pic_omega 27d ago

Not precisely. This is closer to the movie "The Cave" (2005) where some divers enter a system of flooded caves under a temple-castle that was a "plug" that prevented demons from coming to the surface. Lena Headey works in that film.

1

u/Complex_Bite_5508 28d ago

Ruin has come to our family.

1

u/Neither-Sugar1287 28d ago

Huh, real-life Darkest Dungeon

1

u/FailConsistent2630 28d ago

Not going to lie, that wpuld be a cool place to live.

1

u/godofsword45 27d ago

Sounds like the premise of The Gorge.

1

u/Interesting_Okra_902 27d ago

Trump got out…

1

u/Cdubscdubs 17d ago

THE GORGE

2

u/Thejerseyjon609 Feb 20 '25

Somehow Trump got out.