Amsterdam looks like a postcard even when it's miserable outside, and I know this because I live here! Gabled canal houses, twinkling lights on the water, cyclists who somehow never crash into each other. It's all stupidly charming...
...until you learn that the blood of executed prisoners used to drain down one of its streets, a former mayor painted his house in satanic symbols using his own blood, and a jealous sister's ghost has been screaming in an alley since the 1700s.
Welcome to haunted Amsterdam. Leave the tulips at the door.
1. Bloedstraat (Blood Street) — This narrow lane connects Nieuwmarkt to one of the city's oldest canals. Its name comes from exactly what you think: blood from public executions flowing downhill toward the water. It was also the site of the Duke of Alba's Blood Council in the 1500s, where accused heretics were sentenced to death. Locals say some of them never left.
2. Spooksteeg (Ghost Alley) — Tucked in the Red Light District, this is home to Amsterdam's most famous ghost. Helena murdered her sister Dina out of jealousy over a sailor, then confessed on her deathbed. Her husband cursed her soul to wander forever. A hundred years later, her screams were first reported... and people still hear them today.
3. Dam Square — Tourists snap selfies here all day. They don't know it was the site of mass executions during the Spanish Inquisition, including the burning of accused witches (BUT NOW YOU DO!) The Amsterdam Dungeon nearby sits on a former 16th-century cemetery and leans hard into this history.
4. De Waag (The Weigh House) — This gorgeous 15th-century building at Nieuwmarkt is now a restaurant. It was also where Amsterdam's witch trials took place. Women were tortured, tried, and executed inside. Diners have reported cold spots, strange sounds, and the unsettling feeling of being watched while eating their bitterballen.
5. Amstel 216 — In the 1690s, former Amsterdam mayor Coenraad van Beuningen went mad inside this canal house and painted occult symbols on the walls in his own blood. The stains have never been fully removed despite centuries of attempts. The house is private, but you can see the facade from the street... preferably in daylight.
6. The Spinhuis (Now a Hotel) — Once a women's penitentiary where inmates were forced to sew garments. A priest fell in love with one of the women, couldn't act on it, and took his own life. His ghost reportedly haunts one specific hotel room... and some of the staff still refuse to enter it alone.
7. The Schreierstoren (Weeping Tower) — Built into the old city wall, this tower is named for the women who wept here as they watched their husbands' ships sail away. One woman, Trijn Jacobs, waited for her sailor who sadly never returned. Her cries are said to echo through the tower on quiet nights.
Amsterdam's canals might be beautiful, but as we now know, they're a conduit for centuries of unfinished business. And that eerie energy is exactly what fuels the Amsterdamaged series. Think dark magic, shifters, and old secrets hiding in plain sight along the water.
Thinking about a trip to Amsterdam? Prepare yourself properly and start the Amsterdamaged series pronto.