Home Hotel Bilan

DOCUMENTED: Home Hotel Bilan occupies Karlbergsgatan 3, Karlstad (Värmland) — the former Länscellfängelset i Karlstad (later Straffängelset i Karlstad), opened 1847 among Sweden's early cellular prisons after the 1844 riksdag reform. Capacity about 81 places (78 light cells, 3 dark/isolation cells); inmate labour historically included bags, matchboxes, brushes and carpentry. From 1911 the larger county cellular prisons including Karlstad were redesignated straffängelse. Kriminalvården left the building in 1968. The property later also served psychiatric care before hotel conversion; Hotell Bilan opened after rebuilding in 1985 (today Home Hotel Bilan / Strawberry). Much original prison character remains: corridor layout, thick stone walls, iron doors, cell volumes adapted as guest rooms, and a small prison museum in the basement. Notable documented inmates include Anders Lindbäck (the Silbodal priest), among others recorded in prison history. ANDERS LINDBÄCK (documented crime & death — not paranormal): Vicar Anders Lindbäck (1803–1865) of Silbodal was convicted in 1865 of murder by arsenic poisoning of parishioners (communion wine and related acts in the mid-1860s; at least three deaths established in court records / biographical sources). Sentenced to death by beheading; while awaiting execution in Karlstad prison he died by suicide by hanging on 20 November 1865. DARK HISTORY (documented context): solitary cellular confinement, illness and despair among inmates, executions sentenced by Swedish courts in the era (Lindbäck's sentence was not carried out due to suicide), and later psychiatric use of the building add layers of isolation and suffering — Haunted Sweden does not invent hauntings from these facts alone.

FOLKLORE & WITNESS REPORTS (not scientifically verified): Local and hotel tradition holds that Anders Lindbäck's spirit never left the prison; he remains the building's most famous ghost story (the Arsenic Priest / Silbodal priest). Contemporary hotel and media coverage often associates unexplained experiences with former cell areas — room 204 is highlighted in Strawberry/Home Hotel marketing as linked to Lindbäck folklore. Staff and guest reports over many years describe: reluctance to enter certain basement areas alone; feeling watched in former prison sections; cold spots; footsteps in empty corridors; unexplained sounds from cell doors; strange shadows; and an uncomfortable atmosphere in old prison vaults. Mediums and Halloween promotions have amplified the legend; Haunted Sweden treats these as folklore and anecdotal witness reports, not proven paranormal events. SPECIAL AREAS: former prison cells (guest rooms / detention volumes — most reported experiences); basement vaults (strong historical atmosphere, frequently mentioned by staff); museum area (prison history displays); historic corridors (footsteps and unusual sounds). ATMOSPHERE: original prison corridors, cells as rooms, thick walls, iron doors, preserved architecture, museum authenticity, hush after midnight — one of Sweden's most unique overnight stays. INVESTIGATION IDEAS: overnight in the prison hotel; focus on Lindbäck legend vs records; EVP in former cells and corridors; basement night session; museum after dark (with permission); compare guest reports with court and prison history. BEST CONDITIONS: overnight, autumn evenings, winter darkness, rain, quiet weekdays. Keep DOCUMENTED prison/Lindbäck facts separate from FOLKLORE above.