Lahneck Castle is a fortress steeped in history and horror by the picturesque Rhine River, some 600 kilometers from Germany's capital Berlin.

Our brush with this stronghold was part of our AmaWaterways River Cruise, where we sailed on a leisurely multi-day exploration of all sights and sounds, regional culinary feasts, vineyards after vineyards of excellent wines of the rivers Rhine and Moselle, all while disembarking at ports-of-call of tiny yet pretty villages, to relish the entire day — and in this case, even the evenings.

On this specific European trip — the more-than-just-a-riverboat — had a curated itinerary we could customize — we chose between various high-intensity or laid-back activities on a daily basis. While the young ones opted for adrenaline-pumping goings-on, we immediately snapped up the opportunity to have an after-dusk tour of the much-talked-about fort.

After our rather earlier-than-usual dinner at the Captain's Table — by invitation only — we set off for an eerie tour that will be difficult to forget.

An inspiration even to German playwright, critic, poet, scientist and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Lahneck Castle was the spark for his poem "Geistesgruß" or "Ghost Greetings." If that wasn't enough reason to visit, we don't know what else would have convinced us!

Upon entry to just-unlocked rusty iron gates, we immediately noticed the age-old rather unkempt vines — with more dried leaves than fresh ones — that crept up all over the walls, giving the entire area a creepy feel. And to add to this, the moment we gingerly stepped inside, a plethora of flickering candles — all already with drips — on even floors, on top of broken tables, suspended from beams of ceilings, served as illumination from the darkness. We asked ourselves "Where is the draft coming from?"

The first shocking tidbit offered to us by a hoarse-voiced lived-in tour guide was that the legendary Knights Templar took refuge in this bastion. When Pope Clement V ordered to disband the Order, the last 12 soldiers swore to never abandon the sanctuary as long as they were alive. Here, they were slaughtered in bloody combat against the party of Mainz Archbishop Peter of Aspelt, who brought the archbishopric to its highest peak.

We were then earlier forewarned of a spooky yet tragic story, which we finally heard in full from our invested tour guide. In 1851, a Scottish family went on holiday at Lahneck, when suddenly their 17-year-old daughter Idilia Dubb disappeared.