Every country has their ghost tales and legends. They also have their haunted places, or so they say. Some countries take their haunted places much more seriously than others, Ireland is one of those places. If we were to look over all of the so called haunted places in Ireland, we would have quite a list of places to check. Ireland has its shares of castles and there is nothing like a nice castle to provide a place to LIVE for a lonely ghost. Please pardon the pun. As we all know, castles are not the only places that claim to be haunted, but they seem to provide the perfect background for a haunting or ghost story. Just think about it, wouldn't it be great to get a photo of a spirit with a castle in the background, on a night when there was a full moon? This is the stuff that horror movies are made of, well the good ones anyway.

Leap Castle
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If we were to go into Southern Ireland, we would eventually come across the Bloody Chapel in Leap Castle. Now as I bet you can guess, Bloody Chapel is not called that for no reason. Who would say, I think that I will name the chapel in my castle Bloody Chapel? That isn't even the real name, but you knew that didn't you? It was nicknamed Bloody Chapel because of a murder that took place in it. It all had to do with power, much as it does today. The chief of the O'Carrol family died and two brothers fought each other for control of the clan. Here is the thing, one of the brothers was a priest and therefore shouldn't have cared about power, but in the middle ages people that had money, but weren't royalty, would buy their way into a fancy position in the church, so the fact that one may have been a priest really means nothing. The brother that was the priest, was holding a mass for the O'Carrols in the chapel and right in the middle of the service, his brother burst in and ran him through with a sword, in front of everyone in the family. Now if you want to create a situation for a good haunting, breaking into a church and killing the priest in the middle of a mass is bad enough, but when that priest was you own brother, that tops everything. To make matters even worse, there was a room near the chapel, that had a floor that would drop out. Prisoners were sent into this room and then the floor dropped. They would fall about eight feet onto spikes. If this didn't kill them, they would just lay there impaled until they starved to death. When workmen were hired in the 1840s, there was such a pile of bones that they filled over three carts. People in the area are so scared of Leap castle, that it is said that they won't go near it at night. The castle was boarded up for over 70 years and the gates to it locked, yet lights were seen in the windows that flickered and then disappeared. The castle is now owned by Sean Ryan who is restoring it. It is said that so many people were killed there, that many ghosts haunt it. It was built around 800 A.D. by the O'Bannons, but they were under the O'Carrols. So people think that this castle is full of ghosts, but some also think that there are things called elementals there also. An elemental is a force of nature.

There are quite a few web cams in Ireland that are watching,what is purported to be, ghost locations. One camera is set up in a storage room, in a linen mill. It claims that the spirit of a woman who worked there appears as a phantom. If you want to view the page just go to http://www.irelandseye.com/ghost/webcam/iugeur3ig.shtm.

Dunluce Castle
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Dunluce castle is just a ruin of a medieval castle. It is located in Northern Ireland. A bridge must be crossed to even get to it. It was built on the remains of an even earlier Irish fort. Even though it is located in Ireland, this castle was once the home of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg from Scotland. A Spanish ship from the great armada crashed on the shore near the castle and its cannons were put on the castle for defense. The castle's kitchen fell off and plunged into the sea, since the castle was built atop steep cliffs. It is said that only one kitchen boy survived. He was saved because he was in the corner of the kitchen and that remained intact. The castle is said to be haunted. Throughout the many years of its existence, specters have been reported roaming the grounds. Not only were there tales of ghosts roaming the castle grounds after it was abandoned by 1690, but there were also claims that giants and dwarfs were seen along with many different mythological creatures, including the good ole Irish banshees. Some even say that the souls of the dead Spanish sailors from the Armada, who washed up on the shore near the castle, are still walking around the ground.

As I said before, not all haunted buildings in Ireland are castles. In Kildare there is a college called Clongowes Wood College. Stories about hauntings here abound. It seems that there is a road near the college, where many drivers have been forced to swerve so that they didn't run over a girl who was in the road. The girl, it is said, was trying to cross the road and was unaware of the vehicles around her. Could this be because she was already dead? Every time a car has gotten near her, which has happened often, she disappears into thin air. The people in the college have also seen strange things on that road. There have been quite a few sightings, over the years, of a coach being pulled by four horse. Even in the building itself, spirits of the dead have been seen roaming the halls. A family used to live here before it became a college. The parents died and left one boy and his two sisters. One day the boy went into the army to fight in a war. He returned to the home and his two sisters got up to greet him, but he walked out and disappeared. Two weeks later they found out that he had been killed in the war and had never returned home. Ouch, don't you hate when that happens?

There is a place in Ireland that is haunted and isn't even a structure, it is a forest. Stories are told everyday about the ghosts that live in Ballyboley Forest. Ballyboley is the former site of the Druids, an ancient mystical people. You can see markings of their former presence all around. For hundreds of years, local inhabitants would disappear, never to be found again. Strange noises have been heard by many people, who state that they were not like any noises that they ever heard before. The woods were declared a park, but not many people go there. I guess it is too creepy. When events were conducted in the park, some very strange things happened. One time people saw a large cloud of black smoke gathering, but there was no fire and screaming could be heard. Another time four men were walking through the forest and heard a strange flapping sound. They disregarded it and continued to walk on the path. Then they heard a woman scream and ran toward the sound. They came upon an area where all the trees were covered with blood. No woman was there. They then heard screaming again, but this time they decided to get the heck out of there. As they ran, one looked back and four human shapes appeared and starred at them, motionlessly. The local paper reported this event. Some people swear that a gateway exists in the park that will take someone to another world. O.K., guess I will stay out of this place.

What way would be better to finish this article than to talk about a haunted Irish pub? One of the most famous ones is Fiddler's Green Irish Pub. The story goes that the postmaster, William S. Turnbull, who served from 1898 to 1919, was having an affair with a certain young lady. He decided to break it off and in despair she climbed up to the clock tower on that building and was found dead, dangling from the rafters. Some say it was suicide, but others state that she was murdered and it was probably under the orders of Turnbull, who would have been ruined if the story got out. The third floor of the pub was named after the girl and is called Emily's Attic Dance Club. Many paranormal events take place in this building. The staff has witnessed many of them, such as bottles flying off the shelves and going across the entire room. Chairs have bounced across the floor and lights have dimmed on their own. Even the water taps have turned themselves on and off. Much of this has been caught on security cameras. There is a heavy door that is closed by the staff and an alarm set and yet the door keeps opening and no one is there. The clock tower windows have all been screwed down and yet they keep unscrewing and opening. It is said that Turnbull is also haunting the place and this was found out during a Ouija Board session.

Yes Ireland has more than its share of ghosts.