Leap Castle

Since yesterday was Leap Day, and we only get those every four years, I thought I’d take advantage of it and talk about Leap Castle.

According to theirishroadtrip.com, Leap Castle is the most haunted castle in Ireland – and that’s saying a lot!

Leap Castle is one of the longest continually inhabited castles in Ireland, and when you hear the stories about the hauntings, you’re going to wonder why anyone would want to live there!

But, before the hauntings, let’s talk about the name. Leap Castle has nothing to do with Leap Year – sadly. It has something to do with stupid boy games. The name of the castle was “Leim Ui Bhanian,” which translates to “Leap of the O’Bannons.” And we’re not talking leapfrog here.

According to legend (and The Irish Road Trip website), two of the O’Bannon brothers were contesting who should be the leader of their clan. It was decided (probably after several large pints of an alcoholic beverage) that the only way to settle the disagreement was by a show of stupidity – I mean bravery. Both brothers were to jump off the rocky outcrop where Leap Castle was set to be constructed. And the man who survived the jump would win the right to be chieftain of the clan. (You would think the clan could have picked a wiser leader.)

Surprisingly, the hauntings of the castle don’t include the leapers. According to Leapcastle.net, the castle is said to have been built on a druidic initiation site. Leap Castle is actually situated over the crossing of two Ley Lines, and the druids felt it was dense in spiritual energy.

One of the spirits haunting the castle is simply called “The Elemental.” Mildred Darby, the mistress of the castle in the late 1800s, actually had an encounter with the elemental. Mildred was said to have been fascinated with the occult and would have seances and practiced automatic writing.

She knocked, and something answered.

This is an account of her encounter from Leap Castle.net that was originally published in “The Occult Review”:

“Kilman Castle, The House of Horror.

Suddenly, two hands were laid on my shoulders. I turned round sharply and saw, as clearly as I see you now- a grey ‘Thing’, standing a couple of feet from me, with it’s bent arms raised as if it were cursing me. I cannot describe in words how utterly aweful the ‘Thing’ was, it’s very undefinableness rendering the horrible shadow more gruesome. Human in shape, a little shorter than I am, I could just make out the shape of big black holes like great eyes and sharp features, but the whole figure-head, face, hands and all-was grey-unclean, blueish grey, something of the colour and appearance of common cotton wool. But, oh! so sinister, repulsive and devilish. My friends who are clever about occult things say it is what they call an “Elemental”.

The thing was about the size of a sheep, thin, gaunt and shadowy in parts. It’s face was human, or to be more accurate, inhuman, in it’s vileness, with large holes of blackness for eyes, loose slobbery lips, and a thick saliva-dripping jaw, sloping back suddenly into its neck! Nose it had none, only spreading, cancerous cavities, the whole face being a uniform tint of grey. This too, was the colour of the dark coarse hair covering its head, neck and body. It’s forearms were thickly coated with the same hair, so were its paws, large, loose and hand-shaped; and it sat on it’s hind legs, one hand or paw was raised, and a claw-like finger was extended ready to scratch the paint.  It’s lustreless eyes, which seemed half decomposed, and looked incredibly foul, stared into mine, and the horrible smell which had before offended my nostrils, only a hundred times intensified, came up to my face, filling me with a deadly nausea. I noticed the lower half of the creature was indefinite and seemed semi-transparent-at least, I could see the framework of the door that led into the gallery through its body.”

Well, so that’s lovely.

There are several more encounters with the elemental written up on their website, and I encourage you to check them out.

But that’s not all because, you know, smelly, gruesome, half-decomposed creatures wouldn’t make it the most haunted castle in Ireland; there had to be more.

My vote for perhaps top billing at Leap Castle is the oubliette. It sounds so pretty and French, doesn’t it – oubliette. And actually, the French word oublier means “to forget.” And what would we be forgetting?

Oh, that’s right, the prisoners.

Yes, an oubliette is a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling. The O’Carrolls (the chieftains of the castle) would toss prisoners down into the small dungeon and forget about them. 

How many prisoners, you might ask?

When the chamber was discovered in the early 1900s, those tending to the castle said that it was filled with hundreds of skeletons.

That’s a lot of forgetting!

The next ghost story is about the Red Lady. She is a ghost who has been seen by a number of people over the years. The Irish Road Trip site states, “According to legend, she was captured by a member of the O’Carroll clan and held prisoner.

It’s said that she was assaulted by a number of the O’Carrolls and gave birth to one of their children. This displeased the O’Carrolls, who said that they couldn’t afford to feed another mouth.

It’s believed that one of the clan murdered the child with a dagger. The mother was, understandably, distraught and is said to have grabbed the dagger and used it to end her own life.

She has been described as a tall woman dressed in red. It’s said that she moves through Leap Castle carrying the dagger that was used to take her child from her.”

The final ghost story that I’m going to share – although certainly not the final ghost story attached to the castle – is the haunting of the Bloody Chapel. First, you might be interested in knowing that the cute little oubliette was located in one of the corners of the Bloody Chapel, so one checkmark for creepy places.

So, if it wasn’t apparent to you before this story, it seems that the O’Carrolls definitely had anger issues.

Here’s the story from the Leap Castle website: “One of the most well-known ghosts is referred to as the O’Carroll priest. After the death of Mulrooney O’Carroll in 1532, a fierce power struggle developed within the remaining O’Carroll family. Brother fought against brother to gain Chieftainship. Legend has it that an O’Carroll murdered his brother, a priest, whilst performing a mass in the upper hall of the Castle. It is believed that the priest started the mass before the arrival of his brother, and this was considered to be a great insult. The angered O’Carroll then flew into a rage and slaughtered his brother where he stood.

The Priest has been seen on many occasions in the Bloody Chapel. This spirit has also been seen lurking on the stairway below and also leaving the chapel via the western door to the bartizan and down the northern stairs.”

I can see why this place is known as Ireland’s Most Haunted Castle. It’s certainly not someplace I would like to be on a dark and stormy night – especially on Leap Day!

Happy Friday!!!