---
title: "A 1852 Børholmen case involved claims of a ghost and a buried child"
url: "https://usubjects.com/article/a-1852-brholmen-case-involved-claims-of-a-ghost-and-a-buried-child-3752"
updated: "2026-09-25T16:15:13.407Z"
description: "In 1852, alleged psychic Erika Larsdatter Bogen visited Børholmen in western Norway and claimed to have discovered the ghost and corpse of a dead child. She also accused a named woman of burying the child, in a case that reportedly became the subject of a courtroom proceeding."
sources: ["https://moonmausoleum.com/the-utburd-of-borholmen-and-erika-larsdatter-bogen-a-haunting-and-scam-that-reached-the-courtroom/"]
licence: "All rights reserved"
---

# A 1852 Børholmen case involved claims of a ghost and a buried child

Published: 2026-09-24  
Source: [Moon Mausoleum](https://moonmausoleum.com/the-utburd-of-borholmen-and-erika-larsdatter-bogen-a-haunting-and-scam-that-reached-the-courtroom/)

### A Case at Børholmen

In **1852, an alleged psychic named Erika Larsdatter Bogen** arrived on Børholmen, a small island off western Norway, and became involved in a disturbing story about a supposed dead child. According to an account published by Moon Mausoleum on September 24, 2026, Bogen claimed to have detected both the ghost of the child and its buried remains. She also identified a named woman as the child’s alleged mother and accused her of having concealed the body. The claims reportedly became serious enough to prompt a courtroom proceeding, transforming what might otherwise have remained a local haunting story into a matter of public and legal concern.

Børholmen lies south of the entrance to the Sognefjord, between Kversøy, Grima and Lomannsøy. Although the island was not formally registered until 1838, it had reportedly served as a trading and lodging center since the late 17th century. Fish landed there was packed into barrels and shipped to Bergen. In 1852, fewer than 20 people were said to live on the island, making the alleged events especially difficult to separate from the close-knit social environment in which rumors, suspicions and personal accusations could spread quickly.

### The Utburd in Norwegian Folklore

The story drew on the traditional Norwegian belief in the **utburd**, a restless spirit associated with an unwanted or abandoned child. The word derives from the Old Norse *útburðr*, meaning “that which is taken outside.” In rural folklore, an utburd was commonly understood as a child left to die or denied a proper burial, sometimes because of poverty, illegitimacy or the social stigma surrounding childbirth outside marriage.

Stories about such spirits often described them as crying, whispering or wandering until their fate was acknowledged. Some traditions portrayed the ghost as identifying or accusing the parent responsible for its death. On Børholmen, residents reportedly heard **childlike crying and faint whining beneath the floor of a living room**. In a society where supernatural explanations remained influential, the sounds were interpreted by some as evidence that an utburd was seeking justice or release.

### From Haunting to Accusation

Bogen’s reported intervention gave the rumors a specific direction. Rather than merely describing unexplained sounds, she allegedly claimed to locate a corpse and connected it to a particular woman. Such an accusation carried potentially grave consequences in a small 19th-century community, where reputation, religious judgment and legal authority were closely intertwined.

The available account characterizes Bogen as an **“alleged psychic”** and presents the episode as involving both a haunting and a possible scam. However, the information supplied does not establish whether a child’s remains were actually recovered, whether the accused woman was convicted, or precisely what evidence was presented in court. Those distinctions are important: a courtroom appearance demonstrates that the allegations were treated as a legal matter, but it does not by itself confirm the supernatural claims or the underlying accusation.

### Folklore, Fear and the Historical Record

The Børholmen episode illustrates how folklore could interact with local disputes and formal institutions. A sound beneath a floor may have had an ordinary explanation, while a sensational interpretation could create a narrative of hidden crime. At the same time, accusations involving an alleged dead child could not easily be dismissed in a period when communities relied heavily on testimony, religious belief and reputation to make sense of unexplained events.

The case remains notable because it reportedly crossed the boundary between **oral ghost story and courtroom controversy**. Yet without fuller court records or independent contemporary documentation, the details should be treated cautiously. The surviving account is best understood as a report of an extraordinary 1852 allegation—one that reveals as much about Norwegian beliefs, social anxieties and the power of rumor as it does about what actually happened on Børholmen.

## Provenance

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