Ghost Map

EN PL

Country

Ireland

cases
16
years
450–2026

Disputed: 3 Legend: 9 Explained: 4

  1. 5th century

    1. c. 450–present Forests, islands and abandoned places · Legend Tlachtga, the hill where the fires of Samhain were lit Hill of Ward (Tlachtga), near Athboy, County Meath Tradition says the druids lit a fire on Tlachtga on Samhain eve, and that every hearth in Ireland was rekindled from it.

  2. 9th century

    1. c. 900–present Forests, islands and abandoned places · Legend Oweynagat, the “Cave of the Cats” and gateway to the Otherworld Oweynagat Cave, Rathcroghan, near Tulsk, County Roscommon A narrow cleft in a Roscommon field was said to be the entrance to the Otherworld, from which ghosts and the Morrígan emerged on Samhain night.

  3. 14th century

    1. 1324 Witches and witch trials · Explained Alice Kyteler and Ireland’s first witch trial Kilkenny – Kyteler’s House, St Kieran’s Street A wealthy Kilkenny widow was accused of sacrificing cocks to a demon and poisoning her husbands. She fled; her maid Petronilla went to the stake.

  4. 16th century

    1. c. 1532–present Haunted castles · Legend Leap Castle and the “Bloody Chapel” Leap Castle near Roscrea, County Offaly The O'Carroll stronghold, where one brother is said to have killed his priest brother at the altar, bills itself as “the world's most haunted castle.”
    2. c. 1540–present Haunted castles · Legend Puck the jester of Malahide Castle Malahide Castle, Malahide, County Dublin The Talbots’ court jester fell in love with a noblewoman held at the castle, was found stabbed beneath the walls and swore he would haunt it.

  5. 17th century

    1. c. 1650 Spectral creatures and night demons · Disputed The banshee at Lady Honor O’Brien’s window Lady Honor O’Brien’s house in County Clare (possibly Bunratty) The English noblewoman Ann Fanshawe described a woman in white who cried out three times at her window – and by dawn someone in the house was dead.
    2. c. 1654 Spectral creatures and night demons · Legend Poulaphouca, the “púca’s hole” on the Liffey Poulaphouca waterfall on the River Liffey, County Wicklow A Liffey waterfall was named the “púca’s hole” after a mischievous spirit said to spit on the blackberries after Samhain and carry off night travellers.
    3. 1661 Witches and witch trials · Explained Florence Newton, the witch of Youghal Youghal, County Cork An old woman refused a piece of beef by a servant girl stood trial in Cork in 1661, accused of bewitching her and of killing a jailer.
    4. 1686 Cemeteries, crypts and ossuaries · Explained The mummies in the crypts of St Michan’s Church St Michan’s Church, Church Street, Dublin In the vaults of a Dublin church the bodies turned into mummies of their own accord. Visitors shook “the Crusader’s” hand for luck – until his head was stolen in 2019.
    5. c. 1700–present White ladies · Legend The White Lady of Charles Fort Charles Fort near Kinsale, County Cork On her wedding night the commander’s daughter lost her husband, shot on sentry duty, and threw herself from the walls. She still walks the ramparts in her bridal gown.

  6. 18th century

    1. c. 1735–present Forests, islands and abandoned places · Legend The Hellfire Club on Montpelier Hill Montpelier Hill, Dublin Mountains, South Dublin A hunting lodge built from the stones of a prehistoric tomb, where the aristocrats of the Hellfire Club are said to have played cards with the Devil.
    2. c. 1766–present Haunted houses and manors · Legend Loftus Hall and the Devil at the card table Loftus Hall, Hook Peninsula, County Wexford On a stormy night a stranger played cards with Anne Tottenham until she spotted a cloven hoof under the table. He vanished through the ceiling in a ball of fire.

  7. 19th century

    1. 1895 Possessions and exorcisms · Explained Bridget Cleary: “Are you a witch, or are you a fairy?” Ballyvadlea near Cloneen, County Tipperary In 1895 Michael Cleary burned his wife to death, convinced the fairies had taken the real Bridget and left a changeling in her place. The case shocked Ireland.

  8. 1900–1909

    1. 1907 Spectral creatures and night demons · Disputed The foxes that keep vigil for the dying Lords Gormanston Gormanston Castle (now Franciscan College), County Meath When the head of the Preston family lay dying, the foxes of Meath were said to gather at the castle and cry beneath the windows. In 1907 witnesses’ statements were taken.

  9. 1960–1969

    1. c. 1960–present Prisons, hospitals and asylums · Legend Kilmainham Gaol and the lights in the prison chapel Kilmainham Gaol, Inchicore Road, Dublin Volunteers rescuing the derelict jail told of lights switching on in the empty chapel and of a blast of air that threw a painter against a wall.

  10. 1990–1999

    1. 1999–present Forests, islands and abandoned places · Disputed The Latoon fairy bush that stopped a motorway Latoon near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare In 1999 the storyteller Eddie Lenihan warned that felling a lone hawthorn for the Ennis bypass would anger the fairies. The bush was spared – and still grows today.