Stranger Than Fiction? Jakob Weber’s Arctic Universe

The Abandoned Village of Mostad (Værøy)

While the first Jakob Weber book, Into Thin Air,  was set on Røst, its neighbouring island, Værøy, is home to the ‘ghost village’ of Mostad. Reachable only by boat or a treacherous mountain path, it was once a thriving community but is now completely abandoned. The empty houses standing against the Atlantic wind create an eerie, ‘frozen in time’ atmosphere – the perfect backdrop for a cold-case mystery.

The Marble Grottoes of Fauske

Just east of Bodø, the earth is honeycombed with deep marble caves and limestone grottoes. Places like Svarthammarhola (one of Scandinavia’s largest natural caves) are pitch black and silent, and maintain a bone-chilling temperature year-round. Who knows what dire secrets these labyrinthine passages hold? I suspect that in the not-too-distant future, Jakob and his colleagues may have to find out.

The ‘Hidden’ U-Boat Bunkers (Kilbotn/Narvik area)

The fjords of Nordland hide dark military secrets from the Second World War. In several spots, Nazi bunkers and sunken wrecks remain partially visible or tucked away in the dense forest. These concrete giants, now overgrown with moss and ferns, feel like scars on the landscape. They provide a heavy, oppressive sense of history and – if you are unfortunate – a hint of some lingering, hidden evil.

The Saltstraumen Whirlpools (Near Bodø)

While it is a famous tourist spot, there is something deeply unsettling about the world’s strongest maelstrom. The way the water boils, creating massive, silent vortices that can swallow small craft, is haunting. Local legends often speak of what the current ‘brings back up’ – a phenomenon Jakob Weber and his colleagues are all too aware of.

The Stetind ‘Altar’

Stetind is Norway’s national mountain – a massive, smooth granite obelisk that looks like it was carved by giants. Because of its sheer vertical walls and the way clouds often snag on its peak, it has a mystical, almost religious presence. The isolation of the surrounding Tysfjord area, with its deep shadows and ancient Sami sites, creates a powerful sense of being watched by the landscape itself – as Jakob, Noora, and Arman are about to experience in Into the Dark.

The Ash-White Beaches of Bleik (Andøya)

Bleik is home to one of Norway’s longest and most striking beaches. In the summer, it looks like the Caribbean, but during the autumn ‘Blue Hour’, it turns spectral. The sand is a pale, bone-white, flanked by dark, jagged peaks and swampy marshland. Local folklore is rife with tales of the Draugen (the sea-wraith of drowned fishermen) and wights. The contrast between the beautiful white landscape and the dark folklore makes it a haunting location. Unbeknownst to Weber, there will come a day when the legend of the Draugen feels far more real than he would like.