Dublin Ghost Stories – Tis the season!
Dublin is a city full of history and legends, a city of artists and story tellers, a city of myths and folklore. Add in our Irish sense of morbid curiosity and you’ve got a city full of ghosts, ghouls and demons. Every building, street and park has a history and a story to tell. Here are just a few creepy tales from around Dublin.
The Black Church
Built in 1830, St Mary’s Chapel of Ease is one of Dublin’s eeriest buildings. It is commonly referred to as The Black Church because of the dark calp stones used in its construction. Although deconsecrated in 1962 and now used as office space, people still report shadowy figures lurking in hallways, footsteps in empty rooms and the sounds of a church organ echoing throughout the building. Perhaps the most famous stories about the Black Church are its connection with the Devil. It is said that if you hop around the church 13 times backwards, run around the church 3 times at midnight or recite the ‘Our Father’ backwards, the Devil himself will appear.
Connolly Station
You may think the scariest thing about a train station was missing your train or someone walking in on you in the toilet stall because the locks always seem to be broken. But Connelly station can provide you with something altogether scarier. Security guards have reported seeing figures on CCTV, dressed in military attire walking around the station late at night who then vanish upon inspection. Some people believe these may be the ghosts of soldiers who lost their lives in the 1941 North Strand Bombing which happened nearby. Many other reports of spectral figures disappearing into thin air, unnerving footsteps and doors opening and closing by themselves have been reported by travellers and staff members at the station.
The Brazen Head
We’ve all seen things that we can’t explain after a few pints, so it will come as no surprise that Dublin’s oldest pub is supposably haunted. Visitors to the pub have described seeing glasses moving on their own, sudden drops in temperature, cold drafts blowing throughout the bar, eerie whispers and flickering lights. There have been many sightings of an elderly man dressed in tweed, who orders a pint at the bar and then completely vanishes. But the most interesting visitors at the Brazen Head are the ghosts of Robert Emmet and his executioner. The rebel leader was a regular at the pub where he held meetings and planned his rebellion. He now appears occasionally in his favourite corner to keep an eye out for his enemies. Emmet was executed nearby on Thomas Street and it is said that his blood ran all the way to the front door of the pub. Although lesser seen, his executioner stops by occasionally to search for him.
Trinity College
There are a number of ghosts that wander the grounds of Irelands most famous university. The Old Library is haunted by the Phantom Librarian, who despite being long deceased still carries out his librarian duties. The ghost of mathematician and Fellow Thomas Meredith can be seen floating across the grass outside the Provost’s House. Outside FitzGerald Laboratory students have said they get an eerie feeling, as if someone is watching them as well as feeling cold gusts and sudden drops in temperature. Could this be the ghost of physicist George Francis FitzGerald? The most famous of all the Trinity ghosts is Edward Ford. An unpopular lecturer who was shot and killed by a group of students in 1734 after a prank went badly wrong. His ghost can be seen wearing a wig, knee breeches and a gown. He meanders at the side of the Rubrics, the oldest building in the university.
Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol has a particularly grim history. Around 150,000 people were interned there between 1796 and 1924 with executions a regular occurrence. Paranormal events really started to happen during renovations in the 1950s. Workers described lights switching on and off, footsteps approaching them in empty corridors and the sound of soldiers marching in the distance. One worker in particular got the scare of his life whilst painting in the dungeons. Despite being alone he was thrown across the room and pinned to the wall by an unseen force. Luckily, he escaped unharmed and unsurprisingly he refused to return to the dungeon again. Now one of Dublin’s best tourist attractions, the Gaol still continues to scare tourists and staff alike with continued stories of cold spots, slamming doors, loud footsteps, disembodied voices, guests being pushed and some visitors even suggest they have seen prisoners in their cells.
Saint Michan’s Church
Founded in 1095 and refurbished in 1686, this church in Dublin 7 has a very rich history. Built originally for the Viking community in Ireland, it is the resting place to many notable historical figures including the Sheares brothers and it is rumoured that Robert Emmet is also buried there. Handel practised his Messiah in the church before its debut performance and Bram Stoker’s writing was influenced by its history and gothic architecture. But it is actually what lies beneath the church that will send a shiver down your spine. The crypts of St Michan’s Church contained mummified remains that were over 800 years old. The four mummies, known as ‘the Crusader’, ‘the Nun’, ‘the Thief’ and ‘the Unknown’, were incredibly well preserved and on full display due to the condition of their coffins. Visitors have said that they were touched by unseen hands and heard disembodied voices and whispers while in the crypt. Unfortunately, the mummies were destroyed in a fire in 2024 but their stories and legends will continue to haunt us.
Jones’s Road
Jones’s Road in Drumcondra has its own local legend. Frederick ‘Buck’ Jones was a theatre manager who died in a debtor’s prison. But since his death he has been spotted several times. Witnesses have described him as a headless figure, riding a white horse around the road near Croke Park.
Glasnevin Cemetery
Surprise, surprise, Ireland’s largest burial site is haunted. Ghostly figures are regularly reported in the cemetery along with loud footsteps on empty footpaths, eerie whispers, cold spots and scratching sounds coming from crypts. The Phantom Procession is a common sighting with many people reported to have seen a group of ghastly funeral goers wandering around before quickly vanishing. The O’Connell Tower Crypt seems to be a real hotspot for paranormal activity with visitors experiencing a real sense of dread and oppression while in the underground crypt. But without doubt the most famous (and cutest) resident ghost is that of a black newfoundland dog. When Captain John McNeill Boyd was laid to rest in Glasnevin, his loyal companion refused to leave his graveside and is said to now haunt the grounds, still refusing to leave his master’s grave.
John Kavanagh’s The Gravediggers
The pub is located right next to Glasnevin Cemetery, obviously it is going to be haunted. John Kavanagh’s has had a long association with the graveyard and even gets its nickname ‘the Gravediggers’ because the workers would stop in for a pint after a long day digging graves. Sightings of ghostly figures including a little girl in a nightdress and a gentleman dressed in tweed sipping on a pint, and unexplained sounds of jingling keys have become a regular occurrence. The family who run the pub have brought in ghost hunters, mediums and hosted seances to try and get to the bottom of all the paranormal happenings. But it is no wonder ghosts keep visiting, they do serve spirits after all.
Malahide Castle
Widely regarded as one of Irelands most haunted castles, Malahide Castle has a dark history full of betrayal, murder, skirmishes, mysterious deaths and plenty of ghost sightings. Puck the Jester was a watchman and jester from the 16th century. After falling in love with Lady Elenora Fitzgerald, a prisoner in the castle, he was found stabbed to death in mysterious circumstances. His ghost has been seen many times and has even been caught on camera. In the castles Great Hall hangs a painting of a beautiful woman. She is referred to simply as The White Lady and legend says that at night, she leaves the confines of her frame to wander the castle grounds. Miles Corbett was given the castle by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 but after the restoration of Charles II to the throne the castle was returned to its ancestral owners and Corbett soon met an untimely death. He now rambles through the castle in a full suit of armour that crumbles to the ground when he is spotted.
Jervis Street Shopping Centre
If you think Christmas shopping is the scariest thing about this shopping centre, you would be badly mistaken. It was built on the site of a former hospital which was in operation for nearly 200 years and some people believe that the souls of former patients and staff are still present today. There have been a lot of reports of figures walking straight through walls or vanishing altogether, sounds of crying, signing, coughing, loud breathing, wheezing and humming coming from empty rooms, and staff members getting weird, unsettling feelings in stock rooms and corridors with some even saying they saw shadowy figures lurking in quite hallways. One common sighting is that of a nurse in a grey uniform floating around where the old children’s ward was. They say that a child died in her care and now she visits the ward, despite it closing a long time ago, to keep watch over all the children.
Hendrick Street
People have often described Hendrick Street as having an eerie, creepy atmosphere and it is regarded as one of the most haunted streets in Dublin. Faces have been known to appear in the windows of empty buildings while many people have said the ghost of a little girl often appears and then vanishes without a trace. One family living here told a story about hearing something running up and down their stairs despite being alone and the doors being locked, while another family had to hold an exorcism to banish the spirit of a dead man who refused to leave their home.
The Shelbourne Hotel
This luxury 5-star hotel has played host to A-list celebrities, Hollywood’s elite and US presidents, as well as a few unwelcome guests. It is over 200 years old and, in that time, there have been a lot of reported cases of paranormal activity. The sound of giggling children, taps and showers turning themselves on, cold spots and poltergeist activity are a regular occurrence. In fact, it was so regular that at one point the hotel was receiving reports of unusual events 2-3 times a week from one room in particular. A cynical member of staff was asked to stay in the room overnight to prove that it wasn’t haunted. Assuming he wouldn’t see anything out of the ordinary he happily obliged but he emerged the following morning absolutely terrified after witnessing the bathroom taps turn themselves on. Many of the supernatural events here have been put down to the spirit of Mary Masters, a seven-year-old girl who died of cholera in 1791.
Marsh’s Library
Archbishop Narcissus Marsh founded the library in 1707 and according to some, his spirit never left. Legend says that his beloved niece Grace, whom he raised since she was little, ran away with a sea captain to get married. Knowing her uncle would never have approved of their marriage she left a note in one of the books explaining her reasons for leaving and asking for his forgiveness. He never found the note and his ghost still wanders the aisles searching for it. Visitors have said that they have seen him flicking through books and searching bookcases frantically. Reports of pages turning on their own, sudden temperature drops and the faint smell of pipe smoke (Marsh was a keen pipe smoker) have also been recorded.
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