Trollkäringeskogen

Finspång, Östergötland · Sweden · Execution site

The forest where eight women died in Sweden's largest witch trial. A woman's voice is still said to repeat the same words: I am innocent.

Trollkäringeskogen — the forest named after a witch trial

North of Finspång, between the lakes Bleklången and Lilla Skiren, lies an old and varied mixed conifer forest that has been a nature reserve since 2023. The area covers around 61 hectares. The name Trollkäringeskogen — roughly "the witch woman's forest" — is no invention for tourists. It comes from what happened here in the 1600s.

Sweden's largest witch trial before the great panic

In 1617 a witchcraft trial concluded in the Finspång district that was the largest in Sweden before the great panic — the period between 1668 and 1676 otherwise associated with the Swedish witch trials. The Finspång trial thus took place half a century earlier.

Behind it stood Duke Johan of Östergötland and his consort Maria Elisabet, together with the court chaplain Claudius Prytz. A process had already begun in 1613, and surviving records show that both torture and the water ordeal were used on the duke's orders. In 1616 it is noted that the executioner was occupied with submerging accused women in water and forcing confessions under torment. Branding tongs and a rack were made specifically for the purpose.

The women have names

Seven of those condemned are named in the sources: the neighbours Elin of Näs and Kerstin of Näs, Ingrid from Rippestorp, Margareta from Eketorp, Kirstin from Tråbrunna, Ingrid from Gållbo in Regna, and Ingrid Orres from Vånga. Elin of Näs was the first to confess. Lusse from Mullsäter died before her execution could be carried out. Those condemned were executed three at a time.

The trial continued to cast a shadow. Lussi of Svartorp confessed under the water ordeal that she had been to Blåkulla, was sentenced by the Svea Court of Appeal in 1619 and burned at the stake the following year.

The map from 1761

The strongest evidence for the execution site itself is a survey map drawn up on 13 September 1761 — nearly 144 years after the trial. On his map of the Skir or Trollkärring common, the surveyor Johan Brandberg noted that a hill in the area had taken its name from women executed for witchcraft. He described a tradition according to which the women were led up the hill and then cast down towards a burning pyre below, and he marked the place on the map.

That the note was written long after the event does not make every detail established history. But it does show that a very concrete local tradition about the execution site already existed in the 1700s.

The voice among the trees

This is where the place becomes interesting for anyone seeking the supernatural. An established local legend holds that the forest is haunted. Visitors are said to have heard a woman's voice, sometimes several, among the trees. It repeats the same words: I am innocent.

The same tradition tells that people long avoided working and felling timber in the forest because of its reputation. What is striking is that the county administrative board itself notes that the legends surrounding the witch trial probably contributed to the area being used less than the surrounding forests. Fear preserved the forest. The witch trial gave rise to legends, the legends kept people away, and the untouched old-growth forest eventually became valuable enough to protect as a nature reserve.

What to look for on site

Several points in the area connect to the history. Trollkäringeberget is the traditional execution site. Trollkäringegölen is associated with the water ordeals, in which the accused was bound and thrown into the water on the absurd logic that whoever floated was guilty and whoever sank was innocent. There is also a cave where three women are said by legend to have hidden from the trial — an account that should be read as tradition rather than established history. The cliff ledge is linked to the story of the pyre, and Lilla Skiren lies immediately adjacent.

Practical notes

The terrain is hilly. There are old roads and bridle paths through the area, but the county administrative board states that no regular parking has yet been arranged. Finspång municipality's guided walks start from Flasbjörke by the car park and the sign towards the Trollkäringe area. Bring sturdy shoes and go in good time before dark.

FAQ

Where is Trollkäringeskogen located?

Trollkäringeskogen is in Finspång, Östergötland, Sweden.

More haunted places in Östergötland

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.