Welcome back to The Raven, and this is the 25th post. Honestly, it doesn't feel like it has been that long. Anyway, I wanted to do a unique story for this post, something extra spooky.
But first, I went mushroom hunting over the weekend and it was successful. My dad and I found about 20 Morel mushrooms and I can't wait to fry them up.
Thus I give you Charleville Forest Castle, one of the most haunted places in the world in County Offaly, Ireland. Though the majority of my research was done online, I did include information from an episode on Most Haunted and highly recommend checking it out. Overly dramatic paranormal shows are just the best. It's like its creepy as hell, but the investigators are over the top dramatic, making it comedic. In other words, I don't feel like I need to sage and sleep with the lights on. Let's go. The first structure on the property was built in 1641 by Thomas Moore, and construction continued throughout the 1800s. From 1800-1812 the castle went through the most alterations. The place is now gorgeous- a gothic-style castle nestled in a forest. Like yes, please.
(Source: Charleville.com) This is when all the creepy stuff starts to happen. Rumor has it that the builder during the 1800s, Charles William Burry was a Satanist. Burry chose this location for his castle because it once was a Druid cemetery dating back to the 6th century. The forest in this area is made up of Oak trees, which, if you are familiar with Druids, you would know the importance of the oak tree. The oak tree is known as a "sacred Tree" to the Druid community. While researching this story, I found that this forest had an "Oak King," an ancient tree that is the center point for magic. Every owner of the property has taken care of the tree, and it seems many still believe the old stories. The tree was struck by lightning in 1963, but fear not, it survived.
(Source: Pinterest)(For some reason, during editing, I decided to see what's up with the Oak King and holy shit. This is by far the coolest tree I have ever seen in my life.)
Druids are a path within the pagan community that originated in Ireland. It's a nature-centered path and involves fairy magic and communicating with the oldest of beings. Though I don't follow that path myself, I have always found it fascinating. The castle was designed by Burry's close friend, Francis Johnson, who utilized sacred geometry to construct the castle. For example, the towers make an eight-pointed star. The castle was also built on electromagnetic ley lines, so this place is packed full of energies. These ley lines refer to the Earth's energies that were discovered thousands of years ago. With that being said, thousands of year's worth of rituals have been performed on this property. For example, Burry and Johnson were Grandmasters in the Freemasons of Ireland. Alright, on to the hauntings. The most famous spirit at the castle is that of an eight-year-old girl named Harriet. She was the youngest of the Earl of Charleville. She had been playing on the railing and fell down the stairs to her death in April of 1861. She has been seen on the stairs several times and often helps people down the stairs. Other times she can be heard screaming as though she is reenacting the accident. Sometimes she's singing in the middle of the night- is she reacting moments before her deadly fall?
(Source: Pinterest)
When Harriet manifests, she is seen in a blue and white dress with blue ribbons in her curly, golden hair.
Though many have encountered Harriet, one story stood out to me the most. In the 1990s, a family moved into the castle- apparently just as you do in Ireland. One day the eight-year-old son goes missing and being familiar with the history of their home, the family thought about what happened to Harriet. They raced to the staircase, and there he was. He told his parents not to worry because "the little girl held my hand."
That's insane. I'm just saying, if your house is going to be haunted, this would be a chill ghost. Who knows, maybe you could find out why she just randomly starts screaming.
Other spooky things.
The location is known to have a lot of ghostly noises and a few apparitions. Most Haunted, they mentioned that noise-hauntings are more common.
There's a lot of door slamming and lights turning on and off. Also, the sound of a clock chiming, but there isn't a clock.
The attic use to be the nursery in the 1800s, and the sounds of crying children can be heard.
During one of the investigations that I watched, they mentioned an area where the "elemental" dwelled. This refers to the collection of all of the spirits in an area (all of their energies), which is neither good or bad but definitely intense.
A few of the apparitions, other than Harriet that have been seen are the spirits of hooded Druid priests. That's unsettling because of the cloaks; cloaked figures are always creepy. In every horror movie, they symbolize "Run!"
Alright, on to the information I got from Most Haunted, which you can find on Amazon Prime for free.
They performed a seance on the show, which wasn't really successful. One investigator said something touched his hair, but that was it.
I did learn something interesting. Apparently, back in the 1800s, Mediums would use a red bowl to create red light while they communed with the other side. This is still practiced today, however, unlike the 1800s who just thought it was cool, present-day Mediums have found use in it. Red light is the only light in which ectoplasm, a secretion of spirits, can be seen. So yeah, I thought that was worth sharing.
The Medium on the show also said there was a lot of activity in the dungeons. Like any dungeon, several people died there, and some of their spirits remain trapped. This area also has this pitch-black chamber in which something attacked two investigators only moments after stepping inside.
(Source: Ghoststories.uk) With these shows, you have to remember that it could all be a hoax, but it was the other information that I found on the castle that makes me believe it is haunted. I have to mention one thing. On Most Haunted, the Medium said there was a spirit of a man on the staircase that took Harriet's life. I found that strange since Harriet is known to be a strong spirit, and he didn't pick up on her at all. That about wraps it up. I recommend the Most haunted episode for those looking for a more in-depth look at the castle. This location has also been featured on Ghost Hunters International and Scariest Places On Earth. Lastly, the castle was used in the movies Becoming Jane and Northanger Abbey, just in case you want to experience the castle in a different light. Until next time, -Tye
Always Cite Those Sources:
Most Haunted Season 1
“Charleville Castle.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleville_Castle.
“Home Report Paranormal Activity Paranormal Guide.” Ghost, www.ghost-story.co.uk/index.php/haunted-buildings/most-haunted/191-charleville-castle-tullamore-ireland.
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