Fraeylemaborg
At the village of Slochteren in the province of Groningen stands the Fraeylemaborg, a curious little castle with a small leaning tower. The first mention is from 1475, and was a farmhouse then. In 1500 the inhabitants of Groningen occupied the house and made a fortress of it. After 1548 the Rengers family altered the house and let the moats dig. In 1781 the house was in state of decay, but the new owner, Hendrik de Sandra Veldman restored the house. The two towers at the corner were demolished, and so was the base of the remaining 'hanging' tower in the middle of the house. This was to create the hall. The house is now a museum.
Fraeylemaborg, the most beautiful castle of Groningen.
A strange scholar once lived at the house. This Hendrik Piccardt studied in Groningen, but disappeared from there. He went to Paris where he became a doctor, and even chamberlain at the court of Louis XIV. The people wondered how he got his money, but then they discovered that on daytimes he went on the street, disguised as a beggar, where he sang songs accompanied by his harp. After this was discovered he had to fly, so he flew back to Slochteren where he took up residence at the Fraeylemaborg.
Sometimes you can hear him sing and play his harp; the sound comes from out of the little tower.
Sometimes this sound is mixed with the distant cries of a young boy, who was hanged innocent for a crime he didn't commit.
A theft was discovered at the castle, but the bailiff couldn't solve the crime. The lady of the castle knew who the thief was; it was her parlour maid, but she told her husband that it was the son of a servant to save her maid. The boy was arrested immediately and was to be hanged. The lady of the house tried to persuade her husband not to do such a drastic thing, but he didn't want to hear of it. Before the boy was hanged he cried out loud that he was innocent, but nobody came to save him. His cries still can be heard in the wind that blows around the castle.
The small leaning tower is the home of the singing ghost.