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Höfði house, Iceland
- mysterious world
- Aug 20, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 9, 2023
Built in 1909, the Höfði house in Iceland is famous all around the world as the meeting place of President Ronald Reagan of the United States and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union which was an important step towards the ending of the cold war. Even before this meeting which took place in 1986 the house has hosted several famous residents.
It was initially built for the French consul Jean-Paul Brillouin in Iceland, and was the exclusive residence of poet and businessman Einar Benediktsson (1864-1940) for twelve years (1913-1925). From 1925 to 1937 painter Louisa Matthíasdóttir grew up in the house since her family resided there. From the 1940s to the 1950s the British embassy resided in the house before it was purchased and restored for formal occasions by the city of Reykjavík. The house was built from timber and design imported from Norway.
One of the earliest occupants of the house believed it to be haunted by the spirit of a woman. They allegedly witnessed the spirit on various occasions. Rumours on how the woman had died vary from an accidental drowning to suicide and many more. When the British embassy resided in the house, John Greenway, the member of the embassy who lived there requested that the house should be sold as he would allegedly experience something that he called ” bumps in the night”. One other legend is that the place where the house was built is haunted by the spirits of ancient Viking warriors who used to have a house that was burnt down at the same place and they were buried there.
Whether the place is really haunted or not is a matter of debate but the house is known as one of the most haunted places in Iceland. Foreign ministry has stated that “we do not confirm or deny that the Höfði house has a ghost” thereby causing even more people to believe that there is something supernatural going on in the house.
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