The Jewel of the Adriatic is a gorgeous wonder, filled with masks, bridges, alleyways, and mystery. But there are also ghosts in Venice, often only seen in the brief half-light when daytime gives way to the night.
I went to Venice back in August 2017, and paid a visit to the Libreria Acqua Alta. I highly recommend a visit to this most unusual bookshop if you’re ever in the neighbourhood.
But I picked up a copy of Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories by Alberto Toso Fei and being the intrepid ghost hunter that I am, I headed out into the late afternoon, armed with my new book, in search of ghosts.
While I didn’t bump into any spectres (as far as I know), I definitely noticed a peculiar chill in the air when the shadows lengthened and the tourists scurried back to their hotels…
Come with me now and meet some of the ghosts in Venice, and learn more about their peculiar lighting system involving the body parts of the dead…
1. The Devil Plays a Trick
The title of this tale should give you a clue as to its content. We’re going to start off in the Campo San Martino in the Castello district. It’s a small, quiet square, a stone’s throw from the Arsenale, not far from the brick heart in the Sotoportego dei Preti.
According to the legend, a magician lived here between the 15th and 16th centuries, dabbling in the occult arts. By all accounts, he was a cruel and brutal man. Many believed him to be in league with the Devil himself.
One night, he was out later than expected and found himself without a light. At first, he believed the full moon would guide him home and attempted to navigate the twisting Venetian streets. Unfortunately for him, clouds gathered across the sky, blocking out any light from above.
The magician swore to himself. He wouldn’t ask any of the saints for help—he wouldn’t lower himself that far. But then it hit him. He could ask Satan. After all, the Devil is supposed to look after his own, isn’t he?
He called out to Lucifer, telling him to throw him a torch.
The story doesn’t add if he said “please”. Surprisingly, someone (or something) indeed passed him a lit torch, which appeared in his hand. Satisfied that his command had been obeyed, the magician continued on his way home. He thought nothing of it when he made it back and left the extinguished torch in the woodbox for future use.
It’s entirely possible the torch would have lain there indefinitely, were it not for his maids. One day, one of them began screaming for help and the magician came running, expecting to see some kind of scene of violent bloodshed. But no. The cause of her screams was the charred arm of a dead man lying in the woodbox.
Thankfully, being a magician with a penchant for the diabolical, he found the whole affair rather amusing. The tales don’t explain what he did with the arm afterwards, but I like to think he kept it to use it again. But the story leads us on neatly to…
2. The Helpful Dead
The story concerns the churchyard of Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna. Sadly, it’s surrounded by a massive wall, so I wasn’t able to take any photos of the churchyard itself. Based on the content of the story, I can only assume the height of the wall is a more recent addition.
One November 2, a man was out late at night—perhaps not a wise move, considering the date marked All Soul’s Day. All Souls Day dates to the 10th century, and was originally the day when families prayed for the souls of their dead relatives. It was also traditionally a time to visit the graves of loved ones.
Darkness falls early in Venice, its tall buildings blocking the failing daylight. Being a good man, our hero feared robbers lurked in every shadow and he cursed himself for having no means of making a light.
The man spotted lights moving in the churchyard and hurried closer to see if anyone had a spare. A simple taper would do. But he came to a halt when he saw a parade of men shuffling around the edge of the graveyard. Each held a candle and gazed seemingly at nothing as they moved forwards.
One of the men, gaunt and melancholy, seemed a little less entranced and noticed our hapless wanderer. The gaunt man paused, before shuffling across the churchyard. When he reached our hero, the gaunt man handed his light to him.
“Best not be out here so late without a light!”
His voice sounded like wind rustling dried leaves. But our hero agreed, took the offered light with many thanks, and hurried home.
The following morning, he discovered the grisly truth. The light he’d used the night before was now a dried, shrivelled hand. He almost fainted to realise he’d encountered one of the many ghosts in Venice.
Still, he wasn’t about to rob one of the dead of a body part. That night, he returned to the churchyard of Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna. The parade of men continued their patrol around the edge of the graveyard. All but one held aloft a light.
The man ran up to the lost soul who had helped him the night before. Swallowing his fear, he held out the dried hand. The ghost smiled, took the offered hand, and it became a light once more.
I have to wonder if this story has any links to the English tale of the Hand of Glory, though these hands-as-candles don’t seem to have the same soporific qualities as the English variety. In northern folklore, the Hand of Glory was apparently used by thieves to gain access to houses, putting the occupants to sleep. They were also made differently, but the idea of a hand acting as a candle is an intriguing one.
3. Watery Ghosts in Venice
While our previous story involved a churchyard within Venice itself, nowadays the cemetery lies on its own island. You can see the Isola di San Michele across the stretch of water from the Fondamente Nove. It was here that the murderous Levantine threw himself into the water after killing his mother.
The choice of the island for a cemetery makes sense within a city like Venice. A Napoleonic edict forced city officials to bury the dead away from population centres and the authorities chose the Isola di San Cristoforo della Pace in 1807. 30 years later, they filled the canal between the island and its neighbour, the Isola di San Michele, to create a single cemetery island.
The island, and the waters around it, has links with other ghosts in Venice.
In November 1904, a fog rolled in around the city, creating an almost impenetrable wall around the city. A vaporetto captain reluctantly set off for Burano to take workers home after a long day. Two gondolas full of people from Murano also set off from the jetty. (Murano is literally on the other side of the cemetery island) The gondoliers gave the vaporetto a ten-minute head start.
The fog thickened out on the water and the vaporetto captain decided to turn back, thinking it too dangerous to continue. But the gondolas had caught up in the fog and were right behind him. The captain didn’t see them in time and the vaporetto split one gondola in two, throwing its passengers into the water. The Burano workers hauled four of the passengers onto the vaporetto’s deck, but five female passengers all disappeared.
A long search ensued well into the night.
The following morning, rescuers found one woman, Maria Toso Bullo, clinging to a post. Sadly, she died minutes after reaching Murano. Search parties found Lia Toso Borella and Amalia Padovan Vistosi, both dead, later that day. Yet there was no sign of the other two passengers—Teresa Sandon or a little girl, Giuseppina Gabriel Carmelo.
In September 1905, Teresa’s sister reported a harrowing dream. Teresa came to her in the night, telling her she was bound at the bottom of the canal between the Isola di San Michele and the Fondamente Nove. If her sister prayed for her, she would be released.
Teresa’s sister did as the dream instructed, and ten days later, a battered body turned up in the Bissa canal. Her sister identified Teresa by the tattered scarf still around her neck. Giuseppina never resurfaced, though some say she rides the waves in a floating casket, lit by candles on foggy nights.
Who knows if these tales are true?
But when you wander the labyrinthine streets of the city at dusk, pay attention to the flicker that catches your eye. Who knows who – or what – wants to talk to you…
You can find more tales of ghosts in Venice in Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories by Alberto Toso Fei (affiliate link). Or sign up below and get more folklore posts like this one in your inbox once a week.
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