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Please note this article was translated into English from its original French.
Hotel Val Sinestra, Switzerland, was built early in the 20th century as a "Kurhaus" (therapeutic centre) close to 6 mineral springs
in the Swiss Alps. At 1500 metres above sea level they first built a small version (now called Berghaus Val Sinestra) in 1902-
1904. Six years later, as a result of its great success, they built the much larger Kurhaus (now called Hotel Val Sinestra) a little
higher up.
The therapeutic activities were closed down in 1972, but their presence is still quite tangible. Many things have remained the way
they were in the early days.
Haunted: The Berghaus Val Sinestra
You must not be faint of heart to spend a night in Val Sinestra. This hotel, located in Lower-Engadine, Switzerland at 1500
meters, is at the center of strange phenomena. Windows open suddenly, wine glasses begin to ring, balls of light emerge at
night and cold drafts pierce the temperature of the rooms, though well-heated. In the Grisons, the oddities pass for legends. Yet
the media are formal about it: a ghost haunts the places.
Val Sinestra might as well have served as a backdrop to the film The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. The former sanatorium, built in
1912 to treat patients for syphilis, leukemia or tuberculosis, looks like a gigantic mansion. Immersed in the winter night, the
eleven-story revisits all the classics of horror: a situation lost six kilometers from the first resort, a snow-covered road near
impossible to traverse, huge furniture pieces which combines an old grand piano and pictures of portraits of strangers, and long
dark corridors leading to the closed doors.
Enough to drive up fear of the most sophisticated.
"Who Haunts The Berghaus Val Sinestra?" asked Wanda, Berghaus owner and Director. "A Belgian lover - Guillon."
Wanda, Dutch, 47 years old has lived here for twenty years, but has just become acquainted with Guillon. "For many years, I had
no explanation for the phenomena occurring here," says Wanda, whose friendly smile does not stick to the script of a horror film.
Many times the windows which are double locked reopened on their own. And once they are closed, others opened."
"One day I was alone in the living room when suddenly music was engaged," adds Wanda. "I who am a natural skeptic, I started
to believe that something strange was going on within these walls."
Earlier this year, [2010] two mediums, instructed by the press, came to check it out. "They have concluded a ghost is living with
us," says Wanda seriously. "This is a Belgian named Guillon, a TB patient who received treatment from the sanatorium in the
1920s. According to the medium employed by the weekly SonntagsBlick, Guillon had fallen in love with a employee named
Maria. At his death, he came back to haunt the premises in order to protect the personnel."
"It's a friendly ghost, we have been assured. He lives in the lower floors, where patients received the thermal treatment at the
time." In the
basement, it is not uncommon for a cold current to begin icing the back of the visitors"
Does Guillon scare the renters? "One client ran away. He was so afraid that he hurriedly left the hotel. But it's rare, reassures the
Director. Our clientele is mainly from the Netherlands who ignore the existence of phantoms. We forget it.
"Guillon does not like a crowd," said Wanda. "When the hotel is full, he will not appear."
Apparently, he prefers girls only. The door of our room was suddenly locked, and we had not touched the key. Was this Guillon?
Possibly.
If you are a light sleeper, Guillon’s presence at a phantom piano might keep you awake for most of the night.
Hotel Val Sinestra, Switzerland, was built early in the 20th century as a "Kurhaus" (therapeutic centre) close to 6 mineral springs
in the Swiss Alps. At 1500 metres above sea level they first built a small version (now called Berghaus Val Sinestra) in 1902-
1904. Six years later, as a result of its great success, they built the much larger Kurhaus (now called Hotel Val Sinestra) a little
higher up.
The therapeutic activities were closed down in 1972, but their presence is still quite tangible. Many things have remained the way
they were in the early days.
Haunted: The Berghaus Val Sinestra
You must not be faint of heart to spend a night in Val Sinestra. This hotel, located in Lower-Engadine, Switzerland at 1500
meters, is at the center of strange phenomena. Windows open suddenly, wine glasses begin to ring, balls of light emerge at
night and cold drafts pierce the temperature of the rooms, though well-heated. In the Grisons, the oddities pass for legends. Yet
the media are formal about it: a ghost haunts the places.
Val Sinestra might as well have served as a backdrop to the film The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. The former sanatorium, built in
1912 to treat patients for syphilis, leukemia or tuberculosis, looks like a gigantic mansion. Immersed in the winter night, the
eleven-story revisits all the classics of horror: a situation lost six kilometers from the first resort, a snow-covered road near
impossible to traverse, huge furniture pieces which combines an old grand piano and pictures of portraits of strangers, and long
dark corridors leading to the closed doors.
Enough to drive up fear of the most sophisticated.
"Who Haunts The Berghaus Val Sinestra?" asked Wanda, Berghaus owner and Director. "A Belgian lover - Guillon."
Wanda, Dutch, 47 years old has lived here for twenty years, but has just become acquainted with Guillon. "For many years, I had
no explanation for the phenomena occurring here," says Wanda, whose friendly smile does not stick to the script of a horror film.
Many times the windows which are double locked reopened on their own. And once they are closed, others opened."
"One day I was alone in the living room when suddenly music was engaged," adds Wanda. "I who am a natural skeptic, I started
to believe that something strange was going on within these walls."
Earlier this year, [2010] two mediums, instructed by the press, came to check it out. "They have concluded a ghost is living with
us," says Wanda seriously. "This is a Belgian named Guillon, a TB patient who received treatment from the sanatorium in the
1920s. According to the medium employed by the weekly SonntagsBlick, Guillon had fallen in love with a employee named
Maria. At his death, he came back to haunt the premises in order to protect the personnel."
"It's a friendly ghost, we have been assured. He lives in the lower floors, where patients received the thermal treatment at the
time." In the
basement, it is not uncommon for a cold current to begin icing the back of the visitors"
Does Guillon scare the renters? "One client ran away. He was so afraid that he hurriedly left the hotel. But it's rare, reassures the
Director. Our clientele is mainly from the Netherlands who ignore the existence of phantoms. We forget it.
"Guillon does not like a crowd," said Wanda. "When the hotel is full, he will not appear."
Apparently, he prefers girls only. The door of our room was suddenly locked, and we had not touched the key. Was this Guillon?
Possibly.
If you are a light sleeper, Guillon’s presence at a phantom piano might keep you awake for most of the night.
| Hotel Val Sinestra, Switzerland |
