Hunt out a haunting in Ireland, the home of Halloween
by Shrutee K/INS
8th September 2016, Ireland’s celebration of Halloween stretches back 2,000 years to the ancient festival of Samhain, when it was believed that on 31 October the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead was at its thinnest.
Bonfires were lit to guide the spirits, masks were worn to scare evil away, and tales of hauntings abounded.
The world’s familiar Halloween rituals stem from those early days, and across the island the modern-day spook fest is naturally celebrated with gusto with some of the greatest festivals around.
The Spirits of Meath Festival is one of the big ones, as is Derry/Londonderry’s Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival from 27th to 31st October, the biggest Halloween party in Europe which this year marks the festival’s 30th birthday, while Dublin celebrates its famous son, Dracula author, Bram Stoker Festival from 28th to 31st October, a three-day festival of the undead.
But to really get into the ‘spirit’ of things why not hunt out a haunting? Wherever you go in Ireland you’ll find ghostly tales of apparitions, so there are plenty to choose from.
Visiting Limerick? Head for the doubly haunted Abbey of the Black Hag where you might catch a glimpse of the ghost of the prioress and hear the screams of the Countess of Desmond who was buried alive in the medieval convent Or go south to Cork where the tortured echoes of ghostly inmates have been heard and even recorded in the abandoned Cork District Lunatic Asylum.
Do you dare stay in Ballygally Castle Hotel on the beautiful Causeway Coastal Route? This seventeenth-century castle has been haunted for 400 years and even has a bedroom set aside for the resident ghost, which you can visit Or don’t miss a trip to Glenullin in County Londonderry where Abhartach, star of the first vampire legend in the world, is buried, and is said to rise from time to time to drink the blood of the locals.
For a haunting with more ‘aww’ than ‘aarrgh’ the place to go is the grave of Captain Boyd in St Patrick‘s Cathedral, Dublin.There you might see the ghost of a black Newfoundland dog, who so loved his master that he would not leave his grave, and starved to death.
Take yourself and the family Out of this World as the city’s streets and cultural venues host a world class programme of food, markets, music, theatre, children’s events, street animation, costume making, storytelling, tours and trails & all together spooky happenings!
The atmosphere builds throughout the weekend as locals across the city decorate their homes, businesses and venues. A mass metamorphosis sees locals and visitors alike shapeshift with weird and wonderful costume creations to take to the streets on All Hallow’s Eve!
Link to download high res images: http://mbf.me/d9mJYb
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