Haunted Britain

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Stationed at the castle was another soldier called Timothy Lavery who bore an uncanny resemblance to Robert Rainey. Before Jennings died he was able to tell his brother what had happened, although he insisted that Lavery had been his assailant. The heavy footsteps of an invisible man have been heard plodding their way through the house at night. The fragrant aroma of rose petals and lavender has been known hang in the air. Occasionally there are reported sightings of a Victorian lady, described as being "contained within a puff of steam," flitting about the darker recesses of the premises, and people have felt an invisible presence "pass through them" in the vicinity of the pub's staircase.But the management are at pains to point out that customers have nothing to fear from Grace, and describe her as a friendly and welcome wraith. But then, around June 1483, they mysteriously vanished, and were never seen alive again. It was always assumed, that they had been murdered on Richard’s instructions and their bodies buried, somewhere within the grounds of The Tower.

But then, in October 1969, a group of actors staying at the arts centre decided to hold a séance for a joke and the disturbances began again. Furthermore they seemed to have raised the spirits of two nuns, who would appear before startled witnesses in the gallery of the centre. There can be little doubt, however, that people came here to venerate the deity Baal, the great Sun God and ruler of nature. These celebrations were always carried out on a hilltop so as to ensure a view of the rising sun at the exact moment that it began its climb into the firmament. Tradition holds that the principle ceremonies were held on June 21st, on which day the lawgivers lit sacred fires at the centre of the circle that symbolised the sun, whilst the surrounding stones depicted the stars. Having ascended the winding stone stairway from the reception, you step into the Oak Room, which sits at the heart of the medieval castle where above the fireplace is a 16th century Flemish carving depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. Grace Neill ran the inn for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. She was a characterful lady who kept a commodious establishment and liked to keep a watchful eye on proceedings whilst enjoying an indulgent puff on her clay pipe.Pendle Hill is certainly an area that is shrouded in mystery and speculation, attracting visitors from far and wide and even ghost-hunters - particularly on Halloween. During the 17th century in England there was mounting hysteria surrounding the practicing of witchcraft - and if someone was ill or passed away suddenly, witchcraft was often blamed. Thereafter she often accompanied her father on his voyages, learning his cunning, studying his ways and, ultimately, inheriting his leadership qualities.

Granuaile stepped in to lead the O'Flaherties out of crisis and, by sheer force of personality, effectively made herself their chief, winning their loyalty and superseding her husband’s authority. Many people, walking down the staircase where the tragedy occurred, have frequently felt the cold draught of her invisible presence as she brushes past them, whilst others have seen her phantom form, skipping playfully in front of them. Richard Parsons had founded an Irish branch of this club in 1735 and they are said to have held their sinister assemblies, in a hunting lodge, the ruins of which can still be seen on Montpelier Hill behind the centre. Annoying as this spectral prank might be, it pales in comparison to the more disturbing phenomena that occurs in the vicinity of the ghost room. It may well be her "cheap perfume" that impregnates the air around the entrance to St John’s Chapel, and which has caused many a Guard to retch upon inhaling its pungent aroma.When the Queen offered to make Granuaile an English Countess her guest sneered dismissively "I don’t want your titles, aren’t we both equals? If there be any good in the thing I may as well make you one as you me." And when the bemused Elizabeth defended herself against her visitor’s accusation of idleness claiming "I have the care of this great country on my shoulders" she received short shrift. "There’s many a poor creature in Mayo, who has only the care of a barley field, has more industry about them than you seem to have Queen of the English." As Lir’s resentment festered, fate dealt him a tragic blow, for his beloved wife died from a mysterious illness, leaving him inconsolable at the loss.

In 1630 one of their line, William O’Carroll, built a new fortress, which was confiscated by the English. No sooner had the unfortunate guests sat down to dinner, than he massacred everyone one of them. Inter-clan bloodshed was a common occurrence and members of the tribe, attended family get togethers or re-unions at their peril! It has the lived-in look of a ragged old rou who has gambled and drunk his way to a raddled old age and is happy to have done so. It is the pub that time forgot, a deliciously eccentric establishment, the walls covered with yellowed newspapers and faded photographs. In some places paint peels from the walls; in others the walls peel from the paint! It has a melancholic air, complemented by the portrait of a sad-looking lady that gazes down from one of the room's whitewashed walls.Its soaring ramparts and shattered turrets, punctured by the eyeless slits of hollow windows, look down upon pebbled pathways that snake their way into roofless rooms behind whose lichen covered walls, thousands of memories must be sealed.

Thereafter, the castle would be indelibly linked with her legend, and she would live here on an almost continuous basis until her death in 1603. But, in the dark vaults beneath the church, you will find one of the creepiest and most unique haunted locations in the whole of Ireland. The air, however, is strangely warm and fresh, not in the least like the cold and clammy atmosphere you would expect to find in such a place. A muddy climb along a rough path brings you to the exposed summit of Tops Hill where stands the truly enchanting stone circle of Beltany, a name derived from ‘Baal Tinne,’ the Fire of Baal, which suggests that the pagan practice of sun worship was once carried out at this lovely spot. But, unbeknown to Rainey, Betsy was also involved with the brother of his commanding officer, a Colonel Jennings.I must confess that I had never heard of Moore Hall, but following a little research I was delighted to find that, ghosts aside, the building itself was the childhood home of the novelist George Moore, a man who nobody seems to have liked very much! Slow, ponderous footsteps have been heard crossing the upstairs floors, chilling the blood of many a tippler in the bar below. When he also began to suppress her ability to live by the sea, Granuaile decided that her only hope lay in going over his head and, thus it was that in 1593, she petitioned Queen Elizabeth 1st, outlining her grievances.