Huis De Griffioen

Huis De Griffioen was said to be a haunted house in the Zeeland city of Veere and finds its location at the end of a canal leading into a body of water called the Veerse Gat and further up leading into the sea. Once upon a time Veere possessed a bustling harbor with impressive ships mooring in from faraway places on a regular basis. It is within their pubs where they but whispered stories of a haunted house along the canal.

Haunted House
Not much was known about the Griffioen but ill stories of the former master of the house. Among the clapping of trapdoors that didn't exist anymore, tenants saw shadowy figures of things that weren't supposed to be there and heard the horrifying cries and raspy whispers of those who fell victim to murder.

The Story
Alongside its picturesque tilia bordered canal stood many rowed houses, but they fell into a state of decay one by one until the Griffioen was the only building left. Facing the canal, anchor plates decorated the front of this step-facaded old house that stood slanting in its soil, with its numbers but barely exposing its year of construction: 1527. The Griffioen was just over 3 centuries old and estate agent Cornelius Griep ran a successful business renting the Griffioen to oblivious strangers. Townsfolk conspired with him for a profit by recommending the place to strangers but the house was never inhabited for long periods of time. Previous tenants had knocked on Cornelius' door in the middle of the night, explaining the bizarre occurrences but nobody in town ever claimed to believe any of it. All newcomers had to pay upfront for the entire year and always left prematurely. That is until Cornelius met with another stranger on a Thursday in early November of 1836 for a home viewing. The stranger arrived from the direction of Middelburg and made it known that he had met a previous tenant in a nearby town. He confronted Cornelius about the shady business he's running but was not dissuaded from viewing the interior. Openly speaking with Cornelius of the horror show that goes on at night, the stranger seemed undaunted and told Cornelius that he would have loved to stay, but alas the Griffioen would not live to stand another day. He was right. That night Veere was met with a flood that left the entire place intact save for the Griffioen, which had mysteriously collapsed the following morning.