Swedish Palace Haunted

I suppose it's no surprise to report that Drottningholm Palace, the private residence of the Swedish royal family that dates back to the late 16th century, is allegedly haunted. Not only is the palace hundreds of years old, giving it centuries to accumulate paranormal presences, castles are also traditionally home to ghosts and other spirits in Gothic fiction. Sweden's Queen Silvia claimed to be sharing the palace with ghosts in a documentary that was aired last week.

Queen Silvia of Sweden believes her royal palace is haunted, according to a documentary to be aired on Swedish public television on Thursday. She said she shares 17th-century Drottningholm Palace, with "small friends ... ghosts".

"It's really exciting. But you don't get scared," she said. The building, near Stockholm, is the permanent residence of the queen and her husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The documentary, Drottningholm Palace: A Royal Home, was made by public broadcaster SVT and airs in Sweden on Thursday. "You sometimes feel that you're not completely alone," the queen told the filmmakers, insisting her alleged cohabitants are "all very friendly".

I know it's too much to ask the Swedish royal family to let teams of paranormal investigators tromp through their home with a bunch of equipment, but it would be awfully interesting to record evidence of the palace's ghostly residents. Queen Silvia's anecdotes are vague, and without more detailed stories and better knowledge of the palace's architecture, it's hard to say whether something paranormal is going on, or if some other explanation can be found for her experiences.

Since Queen Silvia is not bothered by the ghosts, I expect it's pretty unlikely that an investigation will be conducted any time soon. The palace is apparently a popular tourist destination, though, and looks lovely in pictures. If I ever wind up in Sweden, I'll have to check it out and see if I sense anything unusual about the place.