County Cork Ghosts, Folklore and Paranormal Places
Old Fashioned Woman
Location: Cobh - Pier behind Heritage Centre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1994
Further Comments: A young woman was seen wearing a red cape as she walked through closed gates. The apparition was said to be floating off the ground.
Presence
Location: Cobh - Pillars Bar
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A presence in this bar is said to be responsible for moving items, creating footsteps and bangs, creating strange dragging noises and cracking mirrors.
White Woman
Location: Cobh - Spike Island
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A white female form is reputedly one of the phantoms which haunts the island. A phantom soldier is also reputed to haunt the area, with two black holes instead of eyes.
Black Hound
Location: Cobh - St Colman's Cathedral
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom dog is said to hide around the base of the building.
Child Throwing
Location: Cork - 18 Hollywood Estate
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Early 2010
Further Comments: A family fled their home after claiming that they had been harassed by forces which removed pictures from walls, blocked sinks, and threw their five year old son out of bed. Neighbours also reported hearing screams coming from the property when no one was at home. After the family had left, Shaman Paul O'Halloran visited the site and said he had removed hundreds of trapped spirits.
Mass
Location: Cork - Blackamoor Lane Friary
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: April 1838
Further Comments: This building was home to a phantom monk who finally left after Father Theobald Mathew, founder of the Total Abstinence Society, served Mass with him.
Black Cheeks
Location: Cork - Church of the Resurrection, Farranree
Type: Other
Date / Time: 13 September, 1985
Further Comments: Three children watched the BVM move in this church, almost falling on top of them. One child's mother said that the eyes of the statue turned red, while its cheeks and feet became black.
Crying Baby
Location: Cork - Commodore hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local myth says the upper part of the hotel is haunted by the cries of a young baby, the body of which was once discovered in a cupboard.
But not on Video
Location: Cork - Deerpark CBS
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2017
Further Comments: A couple of unconvincing poltergeist videos were released, showing activity in the school. However, the headmaster did say that there had been previous strange activity in the school, including The Last Call being heard played on trumpet by a lone worker on the site.
Quakers
Location: Cork - Former guest house, Sunday's Well
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A student left his new guest house after one night after encountering three Quakers which entered his bedroom at night. The witness described the figures as having blue glassy eyes which stared at him in sadness. After a while, the three men walking away, passing through a wall. The scene replayed again before dawn broke.
Dragging Footsteps
Location: Cork - Franciscan Well Bar
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: A local priest was called in to give this location a blessing after the owner reported hearing dragging footsteps and objects which would smash without reason in the bathroom.
Flooded Well
Location: Cork - Lake in Cork Lough Park
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Lake still present
Further Comments: A legend says that this area was once owned by a king. A water well used by the local population was placed out of bounds, the king stating only his daughter could use it. However, one evening as the princess drew water for a royal party, the waters of the well flooded over, drowning the family and covering their castle. Some nights the party can still be heard continuing under the lough.
Amelia
Location: Cork - River Lee
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: Amelia was murdered by her mistress on the banks of the Dee after being caught breaking into a cupboard full of expensive clothing. For several years after her death, Amelia was seen along the river on nights of the full moon, wearing black clothing and looking frightened.
Bird Fight
Location: Cork - Skies over the city
Type: Other
Date / Time: 07 October - 14 October 1621
Further Comments: Over a period of four or five days, two massive flocks of starlings gathered over the city, one in the east and one in the west. On the 12 October, the two flocks took to the air, engaging in combat - covering the city ground with dead and wounded birds. Just before nightfall, both bird armies left the area, but returned for another major engagement and final battle on 14 October.
Trumpets
Location: Cork - St Fin Barre's Cathedral
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Trumpets still present
Further Comments: Two golden trumpets are held by a figure affectingly known as 'Goldie Angel' on top of the cathedral. Local folklore says when the trumpets are heard being blown the end of the world is nigh, alerting the people of Cork that they shall be the first to enter heaven.
Nun
Location: Cork - St Finbarr's Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards
Further Comments: The ghost of a nun was said to have been spotted by several members of staff as she walks down the corridors. The style of clothing is from the 1940s.
Daddy
Location: Cork - The old Cork Gaol
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: Shortly after opening to the public in 1993, a member of staff heard a child's voice repeating the word 'daddy'. Believing it to come from a lost child, the staff member investigated, only to come across a woman wearing green who walked through a wall.
Mary Pike
Location: Cork - Vernon Mount House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This site was rumoured to be haunted by Mary Pike, kidnapped for her dowry and driven insane by her abductor. A fire in July 2016 left the building little more than a shell.
Leprechaun
Location: Crookstown - Fort in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This little fellow wore a red cap, a black jacket, long grey stockings and narrow shoes with turned up toes. His home was in a row of bushes which grew close to the fort. Most people knew not to go near the bushes, but Mr Sullivan decided that they needed a trim. After a few minutes cutting away, he severed the top of his finger, so quit the task.
Thrown from Currabinny
Location: Crosshaven - Boulder on foreshore
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The boulder which can be found here has a granite plinth nearby, stating the rock was thrown into position by the giant of Currabinny.
Black Coach
Location: Doneraile - Area outside Doneraile Court
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: August 1887
Further Comments: A farmer returning home encountered a coach pulled by four headless horses, which pulled away from the Court's driveway at breakneck speed. The man later learned that Viscount Doneraile died just before his encounter. The ghost of Lady Casteltown has been reported within the building, as has her husband.
Braon Sinnsear
Location: Drimoleague - Castle Donovan
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The constant drip of water from the ceiling of the lower chamber is said to be the tears of Dorothy Forde. She was hanged by the O'Donovan clan who were unwilling to pay back a debt to her family.
St Olan's Cap
Location: Dromatimore - Close to St Olan's Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This healing stone would cure headaches, if balanced on the head, and would also deal with any problems during pregnancy. If removed from the site, the stone would teleport back, although it is not sure where it currently is located.
Enchanted Eel
Location: Dunkettle - Lake close to small graveyard
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This eel must have been of great size, as it terrorised the neighbourhood, eating sheep and cattle. A man tending the graveyard encountered the creature one morning and severed its tail with a hook. Enraged, the creature attacked but the man managed to run away. What happened to the creature after that is undocumented, but the man in question died a few days later, and one of the headstones in the graveyard is said to be decorated with a hook and an eel.
Pooka
Location: Dunmanway - Ballynacarriga Castle (aka Ballinacarriga Castle)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This fairy/ghostly entity lurks down a depression known as 'Moll the Pooka's Hole'.
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