Armed with her Child of Prague and gold rosary beads, Alanna Gallagher spends the night in a haunted castle
WITH THE OLD pagan festival of Samhain comes the blurring of boundaries between the real and spirit worlds. They say seeing is believing, but there's nothing like a dark and atmospheric environment to make things go bump in the night - and bring mere mortals out in goose pimples.
"Ross Castle is like a train station with anything and everything going through it," warns Mark Guerin of Paranormal Investigative Guys Society (Pigs), one of many paranormal groups that have gone ghostbusting there. And I am off to spend a night at the place.
A Norman keep built in 1536, Ross Castle is on the shores of Lough Sheelin, on the Cavan-Meath border, at the edge of what was once known as the Pale.
Having failed to convince my husband and any of my friends to accompany me to explore the dark side in what is reputed to be one of Ireland's most haunted sites, I'm still game to spend the night there alone - I've been told I'll be the only guest. But as I travel with Alan Betson, the Irish Times photographer, I begin to have second thoughts.
We leave Dublin at rush hour and chase the light all the way, arriving at the imposing stone structure as darkness falls. That in itself is atmospheric, but what is also a little creepy is that we are in the middle of nowhere, several kilometres from the nearest village.
My heart starts to pound, and I don't want to let Alan go. I consider hanging on to his leg like a dog, but my dignity gets the better of me.
So I'm immensely relieved when Benita Walker, one of the castle's caretakers, tells me that there will be a few other - living - guests in the castle tonight.
The entrance hall has Liscannor-stone flooring, several antler trophies on the wall and a zoo of stuffed mammals and birds. The space is warm and well lit, and the mood is inviting. No dark forces felt, at least not yet.
The property was extended in the 1960s by Sir David Nugent. This single-story structure houses the sitting room, kitchen quarters and three of the five bedrooms. The sitting and dining room is full of antique and auction finds. There are Victorian bookcases, dark heavy dining chairs that came from a Masonic lodge, a chaise longue and other occasional seating. Best of all, on this cold October night, is a roaring fire burning turf from the family's bog.
My room is in the castle tower. It is accessed via a creaking spiral staircase that is hidden from view by a cardinal-red velvet curtain. It's on the second floor and features a vaulted stone ceiling. This is the room Sabina, daughter of Richard Nugent, the Black Baron and 12th lord of Devlin, died in.
As a late teenager she fell in love with Orwin, son of the local chieftain of Breffney. Theirs was a love that could never be, so they decided to elope. One version of the story says they were crossing Lough Sheelin by boat when a squall overturned their craft, drowning him and eventually leaving her in a coma - so grave was her despair that she locked herself in the castle's tower, not eating or drinking, until she fell into a deep sleep from which she never woke. Sabrina is said to still roam the room, never having passed over.
There is at least one other ghost at Ross. It is Myles the Slasher O'Reilly, who slept in the castle the night before he was killed at the Battle of Finea, challenging Oliver Cromwell's army with only 100 men.
I keep my mind distracted from these spectres by talking to the caretakers Benita and Sam Walker. Benita's uncle Peter Schleifenbaum, who is based in Canada, owns the castle. The Walkers run the B&B business. Sam proffers the guest book, which I begin to read. One passage makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. A woman details her night in my room, where she encounters a presence who, she says, made love to her.
The other guests, Americans, have just arrived back. They tell me a couple of ghost stories from their home state. I retort with a tale of my grandparents' house and the ghost of Capt Bill. It's all very amiable. Ghosthunting, as I'm beginning to discover, is not a solo activity for the faint of heart. There's comfort in numbers.
But when the Americans finally retire, one by one, I suddenly feel very alone. My imagination begins to run riot, and, left with nothing but the dying fire to keep me company in the sitting room, I eventually muster up the courage to climb the creaking stairs to my room. Outside there isn't a sound to be heard. We are in the depths of the country.
I listen to the creaking and groaning of the castle, natural sounds of a property sighing and settling down for the night. Did I mention that I had packed a travel-size Child of Prague, given to my son by my mother-in-law? It now has pride of place on the bedside table. I'm also wearing my gold colonial rosary beads, which I bought in an antique shop in Montevideo, in Uruguay. At this point my a-la-carte Catholicism is hoping they belonged to some particularly holy nun.
I lie down, fully dressed, and fluff up the pillows. The sky outside is clear and full of stars, and I thank the gods that there isn't a full moon. I can't bring myself to switch off the lights. Other guests have documented feeling a presence sit down on the bed beside them. I try distracting myself from this fact by reading a trashy magazine. My heart is beating loudly and my ears are roaring. The idea of sleeping here alone becomes terrifying.
How do you politely decline sex with a spook? What is the etiquette if a ghost makes a pass at you?
I'd say I've lasted all of 15 minutes. Nearly paralysed with fear, I hurry quietly down the stairs and back into the relative security of the sitting room. Then I remember, of course, that this is where Slasher O'Reilly is said to appear. I decide to take my chances, eschewing ghostly sexploits for a possible encounter with a homicidal soldier.
I spend the rest of the interminable night too scared to sleep.
Having a resident ghost sends bookings skywards at Ross Castle, which is full almost every weekend and is ideal for groups. Just don't go solo. Bring someone to cling to. There's no fun in having your imagination frighten the living daylights out of you.
Hotels are increasingly welcoming the "haunted" tag as good for business; they also welcome groups such as Pigs, who ghosthunt with the aid of closed-circuit television, thermal-imaging equipment and electromagnetic-field detectors. Others use night-vision equipment that records activity in the pitch dark.
But don't be disappointed if your "haunted" hotel doesn't turn up a spectre. The paranormal isn't a big switch that you click on and off, explains Warren Coates of Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association. But bring a camera, so you can capture anything that might be there.
What happens if you see a spook? If you feel threatened, visualise yourself surrounded by brilliant white light, which will cleanse your aura and atmosphere, says Coates. "Everyone has a guardian angel, so speak to them. It's not like Hollywood movies. You won't get your head torn off, but it can be scary."
The only way you'll ever know for sure is to do what I did and try it out. 1 Charleville Castle
Co Offaly. Ideal if you fancy organising your own paranormal experience. The dungeons are said to have been used for torture from 1802 onwards, according to David Wenger of Dublin-based Paranormal Research Association of Ireland. "And a seven-year-old girl who died on the staircase can be heard giggling and laughing and running up and down the stairs." For overnight access - available to groups of between six and 15 people - you must fill out a castle membership form and sign an access-agreement form. "We usually charge a 'sleeping bag' contribution of €40 per person, which entitles them to sleep on an air mattress - you must bring your own sleeping bag - in one of the large rooms on the mezzanine floor," says castle volunteer Terri Dale. See www.praofi.org or e-mail david@praofi.org.
2 Richhill Castle
Co Armagh. This private property, halfway between Armagh and Portadown, belongs to Gordon and Helen Lyttle, who open their premises to Northern Ireland Paranormal Research Association, run by Warren Coates. The manor house was erected around 1665; since 1936 its original gates have adorned the entrance to Hillsborough Castle. Several ghosts are said to live here. "Previous attendees have felt the presence of a small boy and girl who like to play pranks on the visitors by pulling at their coats and/or hair," says Coates. "There's also the figure of a young woman in her late teens who's seen very often." The association has organised an overnight stay at the castle this bank-holiday Monday. "Bring sleeping bags, as you may end up on the floor," says Coates. See www.nipra.co.uk or e-mail warren@nipra.co.uk.
3 Blarney Castle Co Cork. The castle has for years been receiving packages from around the world containing stones that originally belonged to it. The senders describe where they misappropriated the stone and apologise for the theft. Each story mentions a string of bad luck that the senders attribute to the removal of the stone. "Because they're all anonymous I can't find out what [ the senders'] experiences have been," says Blarney Castle's John Fogarty. Blarney is to explore its dark past with a ghost hunt next Saturday, All Souls' Day, from 8pm until the small hours. Tickets cost €15 from John Fogarty on 021-4385252 or info@blarneycastle.ie. If you don't live locally you'll need to book accommodation. Try Blarney Woollen Mills Hotel, (www.blarneywoollenmillshotel.com, 021-4385011), where a double rooms costs €99 with breakfast, or Blarney Golf Resort (www.blarneygolfresort. com, 021-4384477), where a double room costs €90, also with breakfast.
4 Kinnitty Castle Co Offaly. The castle's best-known ghostly presence is a monk named Hugh, who is believed to have been attached to the abbey whose original walls are next to the banqueting hall. The hotel is holding a Most Haunted Ireland festival next weekend. It kicks off with Ghost Fest, next Friday, presented by Richard Felix, Sharon Neill and Steve Parsons, who appeared on Living TV's Most Haunted. The event features talks and consultations and maybe even the odd commune with the dead. Tickets cost €35. Then, at midnight, there's a mass seance at the property's stone circle. The hotel is hoping for more than 200 participants. This is followed, at two bells after the witching hour, with a ghost hunt (places are limited to 40; tickets cost €40). There is also a Halloween Ball on the Saturday night and a "paranormal tour" of the Slieve Blooms Mountains with Felix (tickets €20). A package of two nights' B&B plus entry to the Ghost Fest and Halloween Ball costs €377 per person sharing. All open to nonresidents. See www.kinnittycastle.com or call 057-9137318.
5
Glasnevin, Dublin.
With a family tradition that goes back six generations, this Dublin pub is said to be riddled with phantoms. Things happen in the bar; people see someone in the corner who turns out not to have been there, says Eugene Kavanagh, the landlord. "They usually don't make this discovery until they go home," he says. "I live over the pub and have always been aware of a presence. Late at night I often feel someone standing behind me." When Dublin's Paranormal Investigative Guys paid the pub an overnight visit, Kavanagh stayed up with them for a very different type of lock-in. "There were two mediums in the group, and we walked around the place in total darkness. They stopped to ask if there was anyone there at the exact spot I've felt a presence, and he identified himself to them by telling them about a sketch I have of him. It's a happy presence. It's my stepfather, John." Gravediggers, aka John Kavanagh, is at 1 Prospect Square, Dubin 9 (01-8307978).
6 Castle Leslie
Co Monaghan. Castle Leslie is is very proud of its ghosts. Room 14 used to be occupied by owner Sammy Leslie's Uncle Norman. He was killed in the first World War in 1914. A week before he died he was seen on the terrace of the castle, and a month after his death his ghost appeared to Sammy's grandmother, Marjorie, who woke one night to find him opening drawers and rummaging through bundles of letters. Leslie is no stranger to ghosts. "I've been seeing things since I was a child," she says. The hotel's Hammer House of Horrors Halloween Ball takes place next Saturday, November 1st. It's a costume ball, open to nonresidents, with prizes for the best outfits. Tickets cost €195 - or two nights' B&B, entry to the ball and Sunday brunch for from €430pps. Call 047-88100 or e-mail info@castleleslie.com.
" My room is in the castle tower, accessed via a creaking spiral staircase hidden by a red velvet curtain. This is the room Sabina, daughter of the Black Baron, died in
Ross Castle costs €55 per person sharing per night midweek off season. At weekends the castle is rented as one unit for €60 per person per night, with a minimum of 10 people required. Continental breakfasts included; full Irish €7 extra. Dinner can be arranged for an extra €22 per person. Call Benita Walker on 043-81286 or 086-8242206 or see www.ross-castle.com.