A Beginners Guide: The Irish Way🍀🇮🇪

27: irish haunted places

You're never too old for a scare
We all know the Irish tales; The Children of Lir, Cú Chullain and his magic hurl, The Salmon of Knowledge. All tales filled with magic and mystic.
But what about the darker side of Ireland? The ones they don't put in the children's books...
Ireland has a heap of haunted places that are guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Check out this list of some of the spookiest and see if you could brave a visit...

1) Loftus Hall, Wexford

Loftus Hall is supposedly haunted by both the devil and the ghost of a woman. Lovely.
The story goes that the Tottenham family who lived there took in a stranger one night after arriving at Slade Harbour. While playing cards together, Anne (one of the daughters) dropped a card but when she went under the table to pick it up, she saw that the visitor had a hoof as a foot - he was The Devil. (Fair play to them, they allowed him to play cards with them. Great craic)
The Devil then left immediately but Anne never recovered, leading her to be locked in The Tapestry Room until she died. It's said that her ghost still haunts the house, and there have been several reports of ghost-like activity. ( any chance i could pop up there next week and a have some tea?)

2) Charles Fort, Kinsale

One of Ireland's most famous haunted women lives here, in Charles Fort. The White Lady, as she is called, was married to a local soldier.
Unfortunately, her husband was shot as he fell asleep on duty. In despair, The White Lady threw herself from one of the fort's walls. ( wow, some couple) Although the fort is no longer in military use, ( ya, just use tescos car park) there are still reports of her wandering through the area. You've been warned.

3) Hellfire Club, Dublin

This popular walking destination has a murky and haunted history. Built on an ancient Stone Age burial site, (why is it that nearly anything haunted is built on an burial ground? Wow, great location) said that the Hellfire Club used the site for both human and animal sacrifices, particularly cats.
People have reported their necklaces being pulled at, and broken, (clearly a chocking hazard) by spirits. The screams of a woman who was brutally murdered at the club can also be heard. If that's not enough, there's also the Black Cat of Kilkee, a dog-sized spirit.
Also, The Devil has been linked to this site, as he used to frequent the club before it was mysteriously burned down... (wonder how that happened. Thats sarcasm btw)

4) Leamaneh Castle, Clare

The home of famous Maire Rua, whose red-haired ghost is said to still haunt the castle today. (How can you see her hair if ghosts are like, white? Not trying to be racist) She is believed to have had over 25 husbands, with each one mysteriously dying and Maire keeping her fortunes each time. (well, thats nice)
After her last husband died, she was apparently sealed into a hollow tree and left there to starve and die.