Top ten real life ghost sightings in Ireland - Halloween tales to make your hair stand on end

Chilling tales of recent spirit sightings around the country

Ireland has a rich history of sightings of ghosts and spirits all around the country. From specters to strange appearances, here are ten of some of the more recent encounters just in time for Halloween.

Are you a believer or a skeptic?

1. Virgin and Child on stump, Rathkeale

Legend has it that a female spectre which haunted the churchyard in Rathkeale, Limerick was so terrifying that all who looked upon her died soon after. A local man banished the ghost by slicing off her arm with his sword and praying for the rest of the night. In an odd coincidence in 2009, the Limerick Newsire reported that a tree stump in the churchyard contains the image of the Virgin Mary and Child, and that hundreds of visitors had come to the area to pray.

2. Short Green Men, Galway

Perhaps a leprechaun sighting? In 1992, a fifteen year old boy spied two figures, just over a meter tall, sea fishing on the Aran Islands in Galway. The figures were each reportedly dressed in green and wearing brown shoes, and were speaking to each other in Irish before they disappeared. One of the small figures left behind a pipe which the 15 year old witness took possession of, although it curiously disappeared later despite being “safely” locked away.

3. Waiting Lady at Ardgillan Castle, Dublin

In a location known as The Lady’s Stairs at Ardgillan Castle in Dublin, there have been reports of a reccurring apparition of lady, known as the Waiting Lady. The phantom woman is said to be waiting for her husband, who had drowned one night, to return, leaving his wife waiting on the bridge for him. One version of the story says that whoever sees the Lady on Halloween night will be picked up and thrown into the ocean.

4. Lilac Balls of Light, Dublin

Reports are split as to what these apparent Balls of Light spotted in Glenasmole, Bohernabreena Dublin, actually are. Some locals believe that their lilac color lends themselves to be fairies, while others believe the lights are the manifestation of a lady who lost her way in a snowstorm in the middle ages and died. It’s said that she now manifests herself in these balls of light to guide others home safely.

5. Headless Horseman, Dublin

Roper’s Rest, off Blackpitts Road in Dublin, was the home of Thomas Roper who became Viscount Baltinglass. Local residents have accounted for a headless horseman riding by after nightfall. Although no specific connection has been established between Roper’s Rest and the horseman, it is rumored to be associated with a gruesome incident in which a member of the Roper family died and was unattended to for several days before burial.

6. Screams of Spanish Soldiers at Dun an Oir, County Kerry

Over eight hundred Spanish soldiers landed in the area of Dun an Oir in 580, overrunning an English garrison. Spanish reinforcements failed to come, however, and their victory was short lived when more English troops arrived forcing the Spaniards to surrender and meet their deaths. Their death throes echo around the area on October 1st, the anniversary of their defeat.

7. Robed Figure at Kilbeggan Distillery, Kerry

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