IRELAND IS A country steeped in myth and mystery. You can’t turn around without someone telling you that this particular plot of land is haunted by some tortured soul or other.

Whether you actually believe in the supernatural or not, we all love a good spooky story, and these are just about the best in the land.

Loftus Hall, Co Wexford

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The story of the house guest with a cloven foot is now legendary in Ireland -young Anne Tottenham was so traumatised by her meeting with what she believed to be the devil that she hid herself in her bedroom until she died in 1775.

Though the old building was demolished and rebuilt in 1871, there are still reported sightings of the ghost of a young girl walking down the stairs.

Ballygally Castle Hotel, Co Antrim

This hotel’s resident ghost is Lady Isobel Shaw, who fell to her death from the window of a room after her husband ‘punished’ her for not giving birth to a boy. Her room is known as the Ghost Room, and no longer used for guests.

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Lady Isobel’s ghost has a habit of knocking on doors, and guests have reported hearing phantom children laughing and playing in their rooms.

Charles Fort, Kinsale, Co Cork

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Charles Fort is haunted by the White Lady of Kinsale, who threw herself off the walls of the fort on her wedding day after her soldier husband was shot for falling asleep on duty.

After the tragedies, soldiers recounted seeing a lady in white at the fort, while others told of being pushed down the stairs by an unseen person.

Now the White Lady is still believed to wander the walls of the ruined fort in her wedding dress.

Renvyle House Hotel, Co Galway

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WB Yeats famously held a séance to try and contact the spirit of the hotel, which reportedly had the appearance of a red-haired teenage boy.

Today, though it was destroyed and rebuilt in the 1930s, the house remains ‘atmospheric’ – many female guests have complained of a man looking over their shoulders as they put on makeup in the mirror.

Charleville Forest Castle, Tullamore, Co Offaly

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Charleville Forest Castle is believed to be haunted by a little girl called Harriet, the daughter of the Earl of Charleville, who died tragically on the main staircase in 1861.

People claim to have heard singing in the middle of the night, shadows, and odd mists around the staircase. Some say they saw a little girl in a blue and white dress with golden curls. *shiver*

Dobbins Inn Hotel, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim

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This hotel is rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of the original owner’s wife, who was killed by her husband after he discovered her affair with a soldier.

According to the hotel’s website, several guests have been woken up by the ‘light touch of a ghostly hand caressing their faces’. Possibly the worst thing we’ve ever heard.

Leap Castle

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Leap Castle has a particularly bloody history – as well as decades of murders and killings and betrayals, in 1922 an oubliette (or dungeon) containing hundreds of skeletal remains was discovered under the chapel.

It’s also said to be haunted by a supernatural entity called an Elemental, or nature spirit. This particular Elemental is known as ‘It’, and is said to take the shape of a gruesome zombie.

Right. Who wants to come on a haunted road trip around Ireland? Share your favourite spooky spots in the comments.

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