HALLOWEEN is fast approaching, so here’s a spirited story of the supernatural from the Norwegian hotel where they always set a dinner table for … a ghost.

Fairytale-towered Dalen Hotel in Telemark was the scene of tragedy in the late 19th century – the sad death of the woman they still call The English Lady.

A guest named Miss Greenfield, from England, checked in on a spring morning and spent several months as a guest. But she was keeping a heartbreaking secret.

She was pregnant.

Miss Greenfield kept very much to herself and no-one at the hotel knew of her condition. It was later, when staff entered the room after her departure, that they found a dead infant.

The English Lady was arrested and charged with murder but took her own life before the trial could begin.

Guests and staff tell stories of the notorious Room 17, where Miss Greenfield’s ghost is said to spend her restless afterlife. To this day, a table is set for her in the hotel restaurant.

Dalen Hotel was built in 1894 in grand romantic style with dragon heads, towers and balconies. After golden days, it fell into disrepair and decay, only being brought back to life in 1994.

Images courtesy Visit Norway. To learn more about the hotel, or to make a booking, see the official website.