Omenainen (or Ominainen; sv, Ominaisholmen) is a state-owned uninhabited island in the municipality of
Nagu (now
Pargas),
Finland, in the central
Archipelago Sea
The Archipelago Sea ( fi, Saaristomeri, sv, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest ar ...
. The size of the island is about seven hectares and its highest point is about 22 meters high. Trees grow there, and the beaches are rugged and inaccessible.
The island belongs to the nationally valuable landscape area of Airisto–Seili, and the
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
area to the
Själö archipelago.
The dead of the parishioners of
Rymättylä and Nagu, who the church refused to bury in the blessed land, such as
murderers,
suicides
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...
and other
sinners, were once taken to the island. The last deceased were buried in Omenainen in the mid-1850s. In the late 1960s, the Rymättylä parish declared the island a
burial ground
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
. In folklore, the island has a frightening reputation: it is considered
cursed and
ghost stories
A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...
are told about it.
Based on the stories, the author Maila Heikkilä published the youth book ''Yö kummitussaaressa'' ("Night on the Ghost Island") in 1986; in the book, the protagonist Janne finds a newspaper story about the ghost island called Omenainen and entices his sister Päivi to spend the night on the island with him.
References
External links
Ominaisten saari(in Finnish)
Aerial view of the island in the map service of the town of Pargas.(in Finnish)
A map of the Paikkatietoikkuna showing the shipping lanes around the island.(in Finnish)
Baltic islands
Finnish islands in the Baltic
Natura 2000 in Finland
Pargas
Paranormal places
Reportedly haunted locations
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