Eerie in Ireland: Scary places, Scary Stories

It's my first night in Belfast and as I crawl into bed and switch off the bedside lamp, I try not to think about the ghost stories I've heard on my first day in Northern Ireland. My love for castles and history has led me to some pretty grizzly tales, besides magnificent castles. My first stop is Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim. Situated on the northern shore of Belfast Lough, this Norman castle, which was once besieged by the Scots, Irish, English and French, now holds displays and canons from the 17th to the 19th century. It is said to be haunted by 'Buttoncap', a young soldier, who carries his head underneath his arm as he walks the battlements. While some stories say he was executed for having an affair with his Captain's wife, others say it was with his Captain's brother's wife. His lover, it is believed, haunts the nearby Dobbins Inn.

The fifteenth-century, family-run Dobbins inn, was converted into a hotel in 1946 and apparently one of the Dobbins brothers stabbed his wife, Elizabeth, on learning of her affair with a solider stationed at Carrickfergus Castle. The spirit of Elizabeth—or Maude, as she became known—lingers on; several guests have been awakened by the light touch of a ghostly hand caressing their faces. I'm also told that one night, a waiter was struck on the back of the leg by a coin, but when he turned around he found the room empty. “Maude likes a nice single man on his own,” the receptionist tells us. So if you're alone in Room 21, don't be surprised if you get cuddled in the middle of the night.

Carrickfergus Castle. Image by Avril-Ann Braganza

It's already growing dark by the time we reach Crumlin Road Gaol, a prison with a 150-year history of imprisonment, conflict and executions. We've been scheduled for a 4 pm tour and it's empty. I can listen to ghost stories during the day, but when I remember them at night, I freak out! So I'm not quite sure how I feel when our guide informs us that the prison is haunted. Just before we enter the tunnel that leads to the old Courthouse from the Gaol, our guide tells us about the ghost of a nine-year-old Victorian child Isobel, who plays with the hair of young women and tugs on their trousers. Women have also experienced icy fingers and people have heard giggling and footsteps walking up and down the tunnel. She's about 4 feet tall and has been caught in photos along the B-Wing and the tunnel, in a long dress, with hair around her shoulders. Once inside, I can barely concentrate on what our guide is saying; I constantly think 'don't want to feel a tug, don't want to feel a tug'—and then it comes. I'm still for a minute. Turns out, it's only my Northern Ireland guide playing a prank. He offers to click a picture of me, but I promptly say 'No'. What if my camera captures someone else with whom I didn't pose?

Execution room of Crumlin Road Gaol with the original ropes. Image by Avril-Ann Braganza

As we walk down corridors past several cells, we're regaled with more stories. There's the ghost of a prison warden whom you can hear jingling keys and walking around in heavy boots. Prisoners and officers have heard, seen felt, smelt and occasionally even tasted a strange presence in these rooms. We walk into the execution room, where 17 men were executed–the first five publicly, and once the law changed, the other 12 within the prison walls. When capital punishment ended, the chamber was partially blocked and two cells were created. One night in 1976, the C wing's prison officers heard screams from one of the cells, which used to be part of the chamber. The two prisoners held there pounded on the door pleading to be let out. When the officers opened it, the prisoners bolted out; one of them had to be restrained. The officers noticed a strange mist floating over the prisoners' heads, which disappeared down the wing. The prisoners, who were in a terrible condition, kept repeating that they'd seen a young Victorian girl in the cell. One prisoner had to be placed in a padded cell for fear that he would harm himself. He bit his way out through the padding and rubber, right down to the wood and was eventually taken to the Purdysburn psychiatric hospital, but took his life there just a few weeks after the incident. There are stories of flogged prisoners too, who would return as ghosts to touch women for comfort. I flee before they reach out for me.