As Halloween casts its eerie spell across the island, The National Archives of Malta have been sharing some spine-chilling tales from the past, and few are as haunting as the legend of Ninu Xkora, the man who was said to have been buried alive at Corradino Prison.

It all began on 27 October 1908, when 47-year-old Antonio Azzopardi, better known as ‘Ninu Xkora’, was executed by hanging at Corradino Prison. He had been found guilty of murdering Giuseppe Camenzuli, known locally as ‘Żabbatu’, in Ħamrun the previous December.

But Ninu’s story didn’t end at the gallows. In fact, some claimed it was only beginning.

Not long after the execution, whispers began to spread through Valletta’s streets and beyond. In 1909, local newspapers including Riforma, Il-Risorgimento, and In-Naħla reported sensational claims that Ninu Xkora had not actually died on the gallows, and that he had been buried alive inside the prison grounds.

The allegations caused an uproar. Dr Giuseppe Caruana Scicluna, the physician who had attended the execution, took the editors of Il-Risorgimento (Peter Paul Agius) and In-Naħla (Agostino Levanzin) to court for libel.

In October 1908, both editors were declared not guilty, and the claims were eventually retracted. But the damage had been done – the legend of Ninu Xkora had already taken root in the Maltese imagination.

Over the following years, reports persisted that Ninu Xkora’s ghost was seen wandering the corridors of Corradino Prison. Prison guards and visitors claimed to have heard strange noises and even caught glimpses of a shadowy figure resembling the condemned man.

The rumours grew so widespread that the authorities were compelled to investigate. A detailed report dated September 1917, now preserved at the National Archives, documents an official inquiry into these ghostly sightings within the prison walls.

Later that same year, the religious journal Iċ-Ċimiteru (The Cemetery) published the chilling account of a woman who claimed to have seen Ninu Xkora’s ghost after visiting his grave – a story that only added fuel to the haunting legend.

More than a century later, the tale of Ninu Xkora remains one of Malta’s most enduring ghost stories, and a chilling reminder that some souls may never rest in peace…

Brave enough to investigate this one?