Carta Monastery
Worn by time and now peacefully crumbling in the tranquility of the Transylvania countryside rests the ruins of the Abbey of Carta. This Monastery formed sometime in the early 1200s is actually the oldest gothic, fortified church within Eastern Europe. It is a breathtaking structure and although it is in an advanced state of decay it remains majestic. Though most make the pilgrimage to the Carta Monastery to take in its beauty, a darker, lesser known side of the monastery exists. The ruins of this church are believed to be one of the most haunted places in the whole of Romania.
The Haunted Abbey of Carta
This Cistercian Abbey in Carta was a tough place to live for the Monks, which inhabited it during medieval times. They awoke each day at three in the morning to work hard during daylight hours, food was scarce, living quarters cramped and their average life expectancy was never more than around 40 years of age.
This way of life led to many deaths within the Carta Monastery and the basis for its most famous ghost story. To this day many of the monks remain within the monastery, being buried in the courtyard of the abbey alongside soldiers from WWI. Many believe that their souls may have remained in the area of the monastery too. The most commonly reported paranormal activity to occur within the Abbey of Carta is sighting ghostly, white monks roaming around the ruins.
Other burials within the abbey are also thought to have resulted in hauntings. Two unmarked graves were uncovered within a cellar during recent excavations. The remains found were from two men who were taller than 6.5 feet. This was quite odd back in the day when people were much smaller and shorter on average. It is theorized that these men were sent to the abbey to have them removed from the public eye, as anyone different in those days was usually ostracized by the general public.
Since their bodies were uncovered, strange, paranormal events began to occur within the monastery. It is said that the walls within the cellar they were uncovered inside of will aggressively vibrate at times, without explanation. Poltergeist activity has also been recorded in the cellar with objects being flung across the room. Additional poltergeist type activity has been observed in other parts of the monastery, particularly the church where chairs have been dragged across the floor by unseen forces.
Though not related to any of the monastery’s true hauntings, the new film THE NUN (2018) is set at a monastery that shares the Abbey of St. Carta’s name. This adds infamy to the monastery, though it certainly was never haunted by a demonic nun.
Visiting the Haunted Abbey of Carta
The small town of Carta rests in Southern Transylvania and is easily accessible by car. If you are like me and do not have access to a car in Romania the trek can be a little more difficult. There is a train station in Carta, though it is not serviced often or by any major lines. I stayed in the nearby town of Arvig and hitchhiked (which is a common method of transport in Romania) to Carta. To enter the abbey it costs a few dollars, which includes access to its small, connected museum.
I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. If you are interested in researching other haunted ruins left by places of worship, the Las Ruinas De La Parroquia in Costa Rica are very interesting.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Posted by Pam Hill on September 6, 2018
This video is one of the best yet your a star or should i say stars!!!!!!
Posted by Amy on September 7, 2018
Thank you so much, Pam! Really appreciate you watching and that you call us stars!!!
Posted by Bertil Hoberg on September 13, 2018
Very interesting and instructive! Very good quality of video and audio.
Posted by Amy on September 13, 2018
Thank you so much! I’m really happy to hear that and glad you enjoy these videos.
Posted by nova on September 18, 2018
Thank you for this 🙂
Posted by Amy on September 18, 2018
No worries at all! Thank you for your comment!
Posted by Bruce on September 19, 2018
I take my hat off to you for that story of the abbey. Very well done and informative. May I suggest a topic or two you might like to look into?
Posted by Amy on September 20, 2018
Thank you so much for commenting. Glad you enjoyed learning about the Carta Monastery. I would LOVE to hear your recommendations!!!
Posted by Sameera Pervaiz on October 6, 2018
Thanks dear for spreading and sharing this information with us and you did it so well. GBU
Posted by Amy on October 7, 2018
Thank you so much Sameera. Glad you enjoyed reading my article.
Posted by Zainab on October 31, 2018
Thank you so much for your effort and great information.
Posted by Amy on October 31, 2018
Thank you so much for your comment. Glad you enjoyed learning about the Carta Monastery.
Posted by Buddhika on November 8, 2018
great amy keep it up..
Posted by Amy on November 8, 2018
Thank you so much Buddhika.
Posted by Denver Subramoney on January 4, 2019
great story on the Abbey. loved it. hope to hear more from you.
Posted by Amy on January 4, 2019
Thank you so much for this comment! Really appreciate this! Plenty more coming in the future.
Posted by Aquib on August 2, 2019
Nice and interesting video and thank you for sharing such awesome informations.. I am not so brave kinda guy in terms of paranormal activities but love reading and gathering real knowledge about such incidents. Love your blog. Thank you.
Posted by Amy on August 3, 2019
Thank you, Aquib! It is so cool to know that you enjoyed learning about this one.
Posted by William on August 10, 2019
Thank you Amy what a great read . Kind regards William
Posted by Amy on August 11, 2019
Thank you so much for reading, William! That is very cool to hear.
Posted by Laura Pizzicara on September 29, 2019
I applaud your most intrepid travels. Intriguing yet frightening…
Posted by Amy on October 2, 2019
Thanks for reading, Laura! I really appreciate this comment too!
Posted by Hank on November 6, 2019
great movie, valak is a vampire in John Carpenter’s Vampires, with Dennis Woods.
Posted by Amy on November 7, 2019
Thanks for reading, Hank! Glad to hear you enjoyed the movie too. I wonder if he gained inspiration from somewhere to use the name Valak too?
Posted by Charlie on January 7, 2020
Thank you, good video this was a fun watch.
Posted by Amy on January 8, 2020
Thank you so much for watching Charlie.
Posted by Adi on June 1, 2020
So nun movie is not real
Posted by Amy on June 3, 2020
Hi Adi! The Nun movie is not based on actual events though elements of it do have some real-life stories behind them.
Posted by Sabrina Couture on July 8, 2020
Amy, what else do you know about the two figures whose height are 6.5? Have you already speculated that if you add 6.5 and 6.5 you get the number 13? Split? Were the bodies transported somewhere else? Maybe if the bodies are placed exactly where the bodies were buried, the haunting in the convent will stop.
Posted by Amy on July 17, 2020
Hi Sabrina, thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I hadn’t made the connection to the number 13 – a scary coincidence perhaps, or something more sinister?
Posted by Angel Gibbs on October 7, 2020
very interesting vids and very educational
Posted by Amy on October 9, 2020
Thanks very much, Angel!
Posted by ebi esarah on October 19, 2020
…bizarre tales but some truth
Posted by Amy on October 20, 2020
Thanks for reading Ebi.
Posted by Steven on July 11, 2021
I’m curious Amy. Did you ever have any encounters with demonic forces when present at the Abbey. Maybe you have had direct demonic encounters before where they have actually spoke to you or either engaged in potential harmful acts against you. I would really like to hear from you if that be the case. You would think demonic entities would never let one go out of their presence without harm.
Your details would be most appreciated.
Posted by Amy on July 11, 2021
Hi Steven – No we didn’t experience anything of that nature when we were there. Though, having said that, we were only there to film during the day. Thans for the comment.
Posted by Micheal on September 29, 2022
Thanks Amy for this video, though i have a small question, Is this place still haunted up to date?
Thank you
Posted by Amy on October 16, 2022
I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
Posted by Raymond on January 9, 2023
Hi Amy! I loved your presentation! I wanted to ask you if you saw something in the clouds on one of your photographs? I saw a man with a mustache, eyes and a nose! If you look at it closely, you can see it! Also, to the right of the photograph there is another face but doesn’t look human. I’m not crazy… I saw it!!
Posted by Amy on February 12, 2023
I can’t say I did, but thanks for sharing it ith me.