The stative passive
In German, the stative passive (Zustandspassiv) is used to describe the state or condition of a person or thing after an action has been completed. Rather than describing the action itself, it describes the result.
To talk about these states in the past—perfect for describing an eerie, abandoned castle—you use the simple past tense of sein (to be) combined with the past participle of the main verb.
Using war and waren
For singular subjects, use war (was). The conjugated verb takes the second position, and the past participle goes at the very end of the clause.
| It was eerie, and the large gate was bolted. | Es war unheimlich, und das große Tor war verriegelt. |
| The whole castle was overgrown with moss. | Das ganze Schloss war mit Moos überwuchert. |
For plural subjects, simply use waren (were).
| The cobwebs were hidden, and the castle was overgrown. | Die Spinnennetze waren versteckt, und die Burg war überwuchert. |
Adding details
Any extra details, such as adjectives or prepositions describing what something was covered or overgrown with, go in the middle of the sentence. The past participle stays firmly anchored at the end.
| The corridor was dark, eerie and covered with cobwebs. | Der Gang war dunkel, unheimlich und mit Spinnennetzen bedeckt. |
| The old bed was also covered with dust and moss. | Auch das alte Bett war mit Staub und Moos bedeckt. |
Subordinate clauses
When you use the stative passive in a subordinate clause—such as after conjunctions like dass (that) or weil (because)—the word order changes. The conjugated verb (war or waren) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence, landing right after the past participle.
| The old farmer said that the castle was cursed. | Der alte Bauer hat gesagt, dass das Schloss verflucht war. |
| We hurried because the village was cursed. | Wir haben uns beeilt, weil das Dorf verflucht war. |