Haunted Hotels on Halloween: Here You Can Win a Night at Ten Nordic Hotels

Scandiweekends redaktion · 15 October 2026

Ghost stories are as much a part of old hotels as creaky floors and heavy curtains. In preparation for Halloween, Strawberry, Petter Stordalen's hotel group, has gathered ten of its properties with the most enduring legends in the Spookcation campaign – from a fairy tale hotel in Telemark to two former prisons in Karlstad and Helsinki. On the night between October 31 and November 1, overnight stays for two will be drawn at all hotels.

How the Competition Works

It is free to participate, and you can register for all ten rooms but can only win one. A total of eleven winners will be chosen: one per hotel and two at Dalen Hotel. Dinner for two is included everywhere except at Farris Bad, where spa time is included instead. Travel to and from the hotel is not included, the date cannot be changed, and participants must be at least 18 years old. The competition closes on October 25, and the winners will be contacted by phone during week 44. Registration can be done at Strawberry's competition page.

It is worth noting that all ten hotels are operated by Strawberry and that Spookcation is a marketing campaign. The legends are the hotels' own stories rather than documented events – but they are also part of what makes the properties special.

Dalen Hotel: A Table Set for a Guest Who Never Comes

Dalen Hotel opened in 1894 by Lake Bandak, where the Telemark Canal ends, and is one of Norway's largest wooden buildings. The hotel's most famous legend is about Miss Greenfield, an English lady who stayed in room 17 in the late 1800s and left behind a hidden tragedy surrounding a newborn child. Since then, guests have reported hearing children's cries in empty corridors, and according to the hotel, some of the staff have preferred to avoid the room.

The legend is kept alive every evening. In Restaurant Bandak, a table at the entrance is set for Miss Greenfield, complete with plate, glass, a candle, and a name card. Dalen is the only hotel in the competition where two winners are chosen – and even without winning, it is one of the most atmospheric houses in Norway on a dark autumn evening.

Home Hotel Bilan: The Prison in Karlstad

Home Hotel Bilan is located in the heart of Karlstad, in the city's old prison, which also served as a psychiatric ward before the cells became hotel rooms. The most told story concerns Anders Lindbäck, the vicar in Silbodal who, in the 1860s, poisoned the congregation with arsenic in the communion wine. Three people died. Lindbäck was sentenced to death but died in his cell before the sentence was carried out.

Former staff have reported hearing footsteps in empty corridors, slamming doors in the kitchen, and a man clearing his throat in an empty dining room. Those who want to dig deeper can visit the prison museum in the basement, where old cells have been preserved.

Prisons, Villas, and Tower Rooms

The other hotels in the competition have their own stories. In Helsinki, there are two: Home Hotel Katajanokka, a former prison in Skatudden that is said to be haunted by former inmates, and Home Hotel Jugend, where winners sleep in a castle tower. In Oslo, Home Hotel Gabelshus offers a haunted master suite, and in Larvik south of Oslo, the spa hotel Farris Bad features a spooky suite, a museum night, and spa to calm the nerves.

In Sweden, there are four more: Home Hotel Victoria in Jönköping with room 426 and the story of Ebba, Home Hotel Uman in Umeå in an old doctor's villa with a ghostly nurse, Home Hotel Borgen in Örebro, a building from 1891 that a medium has declared haunted, and Home Hotel Grand Helsingborg, where a murdered mistress is said to walk again.

Worth a Weekend – Win or Not

The competition is for one night only, but several of the houses work just as well for a regular autumn or winter weekend. Dalen Hotel is the most pure weekend destination, with historical rooms, afternoon tea, and a sauna by the lake. Bilan and Katajanokka suit those who want to combine a city weekend with a night behind old prison doors, and Farris Bad is for those who prefer to alternate chills with sauna and sea views.

Sign up before October 25 if you want to take a chance – but for those who want a real ghost weekend, you might as well book Dalen Hotel, have dinner at Restaurant Bandak, and see if the table at the entrance gets company.

Foto: Dalen Hotel

The information is based on Strawberry's competition page for Spookcation and the hotel group's own stories about Dalen Hotel and Home Hotel Bilan.