Athenodorus' Haunted House in Plaka

Attica · Greece · Haunted house

The philosopher rented the house nobody dared take. At night the gaunt old man in fetters came and beckoned him out into the courtyard.

The oldest recorded haunted-house story in the world is set in Athens. Pliny the Younger tells of a spacious house that stood empty because everyone who lived there fled: at night iron scraped and chains rattled, and finally an emaciated old man appeared, bearded, filthy-haired, fettered at wrists and ankles. The philosopher Athenodorus rented the house precisely because it was cheap. When the figure came and beckoned, he followed it out into the courtyard, where the man vanished at a particular spot. Athenodorus marked the place, and the next day a skeleton in rusted chains was dug up. After a proper burial the house fell quiet. The tale carries no address, but it belongs to Athens and to the lanes below the Acropolis.

FAQ

Where is Athenodorus' Haunted House in Plaka located?

Athenodorus' Haunted House in Plaka is in Attika, Greece.

More haunted places in Attika

• The Tomb of the Marathon Fallen (Tymvos Marathonomachon) Attica · Haunted site
• The Tower of Dreams (Pyrgos ton Oneiron) Attica · Tower
• The Weeping of the Caryatids (Erechtheion) Attica · Ruin
• The Funeral Procession of Piraios Street (Ta pnevmata tis Peiraios) Attica · Road
• The Haunted Shirt of Distomou Street (To stoicheiomeno poukamiso) Attica · Haunted site
• The Mavromichalis Mansion (Epavli Mavromichali) Attica · Manor
• The Athanasopoulos House (Oikia Athanasopoulou) Attica · Haunted house
• Gina Bachauer's House (Oikia Tzinas Bachauer) Attica · House

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.