The tranquillity of the Vltava River belies the restlessness of the specters that float through Prague.

One fateful evening he raised a multitude of ghosts in this very doorway to Tyne Church. He raised so many that the sight of them frightened him. Then the ghosts understood their power over him. Uhlrich ran away, down the street, away from the church. But his flight was to no avail: The pursuing spirits tore him to pieces. Since then, according to tradition, “his ghost relives this fate every Saturday night at midnight.”

Jelinkova emphasizes her point by indicating a decapitated figure depicted in the doorway’s stonework. Can anyone doubt this is indeed poor Uhlrich, whose reach so far exceeded his grasp that he lost his head?

A leaflet posted on a city street advertises the spirited adventure.

Tormented spirits

Moments later, she halts our group before a narrow intersection marked by the entrance to a restaurant. This unhappy alley is haunted by the “Turk of Ungelt,” one of many tormented spirits that can find no rest in this spellbinding city.

The jealous Turk. The Turk was a visiting merchant who had fallen in love with a Czech girl. He promised to marry her upon returning from his homeland, and the maiden waited faithfully for many years. Finally however, losing hope, she married someone else.

Eventually, the merchant returned. When he learned of the girl’s marriage, he was filled with rage and jealously stalked her through the narrow streets of the old city. Finally he cornered her and severed her head from her shoulders with his broad saber. The Turk then brought her body to the basement of his house. He placed her head in a casket, and this he carried back to Istanbul.