Móri — The Mischief Ghost of Iceland

Galtará Farm (former site), Seltjarnarnes, Iceland

The Móri case of 1672 is one of the most thoroughly documented poltergeist cases in European history — a spirit attached to the Galtará farmstead at Seltjarnarnes, just outside Reykjavík, that threw stones, mimicked voices, and was formally examined by a bishop.

Seltjarnarnes is a small peninsula west of Reykjavík — flat, exposed to the Faxaflói bay winds, a place of fishing farms and scattered settlement when the Galtará household experienced what became Iceland's most formally documented poltergeist case. Móri — the name is a nickname, meaning something like 'the swarthy one' — arrived at the farm around 1670 and remained for two years. What makes the case exceptional in European terms is the documentation: the phenomena were observed and recorded not just by the household but by the Bishop of Hólar, Brynjólfur Sveinsson, who visited specifically to investigate and whose notes survive. The Móri threw stones. Not randomly — targeted throws at specific people, from directions where nothing could be seen. It mimicked voices with frightening accuracy, speaking in the tones and cadences of household members to confuse and distress them. It moved objects that required the strength of several men. Bishop Brynjólfur's notes describe watching a cheese-press — a heavy wooden implement — move across the floor of its own volition while he and three witnesses stood watching. The farmhand Jón, who became the primary focus of the disturbance, was eventually driven from the farm. The Móri followed him. The phenomena reduced in intensity after Jón left the area entirely, and ceased when he died some years later. The Galtará farmstead no longer exists — Seltjarnarnes is now a Reykjavík suburb. The site of the farm is a residential street. Neighbours on the eastern side of the peninsula occasionally report thrown stones against windows on calm nights. They do not report it to anyone in particular.

Folklore Disclaimer: These accounts are drawn from local tradition, oral history, and community memory. They are not presented as factual claims.

Location accuracy: Approximate. Coordinates indicate the general area.