Haunted Ross Castle: Ireland

Haunted Ross Castle: Ireland
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
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During my visit to Dublin Castle in Ireland, I went on the fairy walk-way, that leads to a cave like entrance underneath Dublin Castle. The tour guide said most people can’t walk all the way to the end, because they get a feeling of dread. I walked half-way in and felt a depressing thickness in the confines of this underground dwelling. One of the tourists named Evelyn went in with me and said…”feels creepy huh?” I said: “It sure does, I was hoping to run into a ghost or a fairy (chuckle).” Evelyn says, if you feel this is creepy, you should go to Ross Castle. Evelyn tells me that Ross Castle is a very haunted castle and if I want to see ghosts, Ross Castle is the place to be. Well, being on vacation, I was also on a budget, so I never made it to Ross Castle. Evelyn said she encountered Sabrina the ghost at Ross Castle. She saw this ghost wandering around the edge of the lake.

When I got home, I wanted to know more about Ross Castle and the paranormal activity that is active at this castle. This is what I found out.

Ross Castle was built in the latter half of the 15th century. A local ruling clan called the O’Donoghues Mór (Ross), took control of Ross Castle during the changing of the guard from the Second Desmond Rebellion, which occurred in the 1580s via the MacCarthy Mór. The castle then went to Sir Valentine Browne, who was the ancestor of the Earls of Kenmare. The castle was a stronghold and one of the last castles to surrender to Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads in what was called the Irish Confederate Wars, the used of artillery was a success in bringing down Ross Castle. The artillery was brought in by boat from the River Laune. Lord Muskerry (MacCarthy) held the castle against Edmund Ludlow who had an army of 4,000 foot-soldiers, along with 200 horses. Ludlow’s army didn’t get the credit for taking down Ross Castle, it was the boat with artillery that broke down the fortification. There was a prophesy that nothing will bring down Ross Castle, except for a warship and that is exactly what happened. The prophesy came true. One of the strangest legends about Ross castle is that O’Donoghue jumped out of a window from one of the high towers with his horse, table and library and now he lives in a great palace at the bottom of the lake.

Now to the ghosts of Ross Castle.

Ross Castle is a majestic fortress that overlooks Lough Sheelin, which is one of Ireland’s midland lakes. Ross Castle during its prime, was a fantastic strategic defense fortress. Ross Castle has seen its share of death, from various skirmishes that occurred at this location. A ghost that wanders the castle and surrounding land is Richard Nugent aka the Black Baron. The Black Baron had control of this castle in the year 1536. The Black Baron was known for his cruel mean streak. His mean streak could have an outcome of death for the people that lived on his land. Since the Black Baron had control of his land, he also had the right to take someone’s life if they broke a law. Case example: A lady baked a loaf of bread and placed it on her windowsill. A dog happened upon the loaf of bread and made off with it. The lady saw a beggar nearby and yelled “thief, thief!”, not knowing it was a stray dog that stole the bread. The Black Baron heard the lady yelling “thief, thief!” and apprehended the beggar immediately. The Black Baron had his men build a gallows on the spot and hung the beggar right there and then. The Black Baron was merciless, it didn’t matter that the beggar told him that he did not steal the bread. There were also witnesses who told the Baron that a dog stole the bread. The Black Baron didn’t care and hung the beggar anyway. That is why he was known as the Black Baron.

Evelyn says that there are many ghosts at the castle. There have been reports of shadow people. Full body apparitions of English soldiers walking towards the castle and then mysteriously disappearing. Glowing red eyes have been seen in the lake. When fishermen see the red eyes glowing underneath the waters of the lake, their boats start rocking and there have been a couple of times, when fisherman have fell off their boats. Some fishermen believe that the glowing red eyes in the lakes are “Red Eyed Lake Devils”. These Red Eyed Lake Devils main purpose is to drown their victims and take their souls. Evelyn has claimed to have seen the ghost of Sabrina. The story of Sabrina is that she was the daughter of the Black Baron, the English lord. Sabrina fell in love with Orwin, the son of an O’Reilly Chiefton. The Black Baron was sworn enemies with the O’Reilly Chiefton and his clan. Sabrina had to secretly go see her boyfriend Orwin. If Orwin was caught with Sabrina, he could be executed by the Black Baron. Sabrina and Orwin secretly carried on their affair and on one night, they would meet on a boat at the lake. During their time on the boat, a storm came in and Orwin fell off the boat and was swept away and eventually drowned. Sabrina was so upset, she locked herself in one of the high towers of the castle and died of starvation. To this day, Sabrina is seen wandering around by the lake, looking for her lost lover. Evelyn has seen Sabrina with her own eyes and knows that the ghost of Sabrina is very real.