Castles have been part of the European heritage for almost 1000 years. They are the very symbol of the medieval era and still arouse the curiosity of thousands of visitors because of their romantic and mysterious atmosphere and their history. Many of these castles are full of unexplained tales of lost souls wandering the corridors, chambers, dungeons, and oubliettes of these castles. Also, many of them have also witnessed bloody deeds, murders, and accidents that, in their own way, still resonate within the walls. Located in the center of Ireland, the partially abandoned Leap Castle is a prime example of a castle that holds many secrets and has a reputation as one of the most haunted castles in Ireland.
The early years
Among the sources consulted, there is some controversy as to the exact year the castle was built. However, there is archaeological evidence that there has been construction, perhaps of a ceremonial nature, at the same location, and that the site has been occupied consistently since the Iron Age (500 B.C.) and possibly since the Neolithic period (between 6000 and 2200 B.C.). Also, discoveries would have placed the construction of the keep around the 1250s. According to research, the castle was originally a tower house[1] and sections were added over the years. Because of its imposing structure and numerous added wings and buildings, Leap Castle was long considered impenetrable.
The original name of the castle was « Léim Uí Bhanáin » or Leap of the O’Bannons. The name was derived from the legend that two of the O’Bannon brothers jumped from a rock wall exactly where the castle was to be built. The survivor can rule the clan and build the castle. However, as mentioned above, there is a possibility that the castle was already built by this time.
The bloody reign of the O’Carrolls
The O’Bannons were a wealthy and prosperous clan and secondary leaders of the O’Carroll clan, which already had a long list of aggression and bloodshed. In 1513, the Earl of Kildare attempted to take the castle. This first attempt failed, but another one was successful a few years later. However, part of the castle was demolished in the process. In 1557, the O’Carroll[2] clan officially took possession of the castle, using it as their main fortress. However, according to some sources, the clan acquired the castle much earlier, in the late 1400s.
When the castle was taken over, there was already much tension within the O’Carroll clan. When the patriarch of the clan, Mulrooney O’Carroll, died, his two sons, Thaddeus and Teige, were engaged in a fierce battle for the title of clan leader.
This rivalry becomes one of the most famous stories in Leap Castle. While Thaddeus, who was a priest, was celebrating a mass for the family members, Teige, who had only one eye, burst into the chapel, flanked by two of his men. Thaddeus comes to meet him with open arms, wishing to put an end to their quarrel. Determined, Teige pierced his own brother with a fatal sword strike. The O’Carroll family watched Thaddeus die on the altar of the chapel. This chapel became known as « The Bloody Chapel. » We’ll talk about this later.
The bloody demonstrations of the O’Carroll clan are, alas, countless. In another event of unprecedented violence, Teige invites some of the clan’s rivals to a sumptuous banquet. Once everyone is seated, O’Carroll kills them all. Perhaps they ended their lives (as did many others) in the dungeons of the castle. In a corner of what became the Bloody Chapel is a dungeon called an oubliette, with a floor covered with sharp spikes. Victims are thrown through a trap door to agonize and die in excruciating pain. In addition, an underground network of tunnels and secret chambers would also house the remains of many victims.
Teige O’Carroll’s reign came to a rather abrupt end, as ten years after the murder of his own brother, the new head of the O’Carroll clan was killed by his nephew, Cahir (Charles) O’Carroll. After Teige’s death, the last of the O’Carroll brothers, Fearganainm, takes control of the clan. It is rumored that during this « reign », the O’Carrolls temporarily joined forces with the MacMahon clan to do battle with an enemy clan. After a crushing victory, the O’Carroll clan leader invites almost all of the MacMahon clan, none of whom will make it out alive… Some were poisoned, others murdered in their sleep, enough to make Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding look like a pleasant summer day!
Changing of the guard
These two events are only examples of the massacres, murders and atrocities that took place within the walls. The bloodshed continued until the castle passed into the hands of another family in 1659. An English officer, Captain Darby, married the « princess » Finola O’Carroll. This union put a definitive end to the O’Carrolls’ reign of terror.
Over the next few years, many changes were made to the structure of the castle itself. Gothic architectural elements were added and the gardens around the property were expanded. The goal of the new owner was to transform this Irish tower house into a true English manor.
Around 1881, the castle passed to Jonathan Darby. After his marriage to Mildred Dill, the couple moved into the centuries-old house. No doubt inspired by the gloomy atmosphere and the heavy past of the castle, Mildred began to write novels in the gothic style, like Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe, who was very popular at the time. Under the pen name Andrew Perry, the author reports unexplained encounters, including one with the most popular « inhabitant » of the castle, nicknamed « The Elemental » or « The Thing, » which we will discuss later.
In early 1922, Jonathan finds himself in conflict with his tenants, who refuse to pay their rent and launch a boycott against the Darbys.
Unfortunately, this simple tenant-landlord dispute escalated to the point where shots were fired through the windows. The beautiful gardens surrounding Leap Castle were destroyed by an unknown group in April and May of 1922. As a result, the Darbys were forced to flee the property, taking only their clothes with them, and leaving all valuables behind.
A mysterious fire
Early in the morning of July 30, 1922, an unidentified group of eleven people broke into the castle. At the time, only Richard Dawkins, the castle’s caretaker, his wife, and their baby lived in the castle. While the group poured gasoline into every room, they kept the family outside and watched the central and northern part of the castle go up in smoke. The inhabitants found refuge in the pavilion near the gate. In the morning, the southern part of the castle, still intact, was burned. Richard Dawkins and his wife salvaged some furniture and moved to Birr. According to the story, witnesses came to watch the castle in flames, without assisting the Dawkins… The group that set the castle on fire has never been identified. Some sources claim it was the IRA (Irish Republican Army), others a group of locals surrounding the castle. To this day, the mystery remains.
After this devastating fire, the castle was left abandoned for several decades, quickly falling into ruin. In 1974, a distant ancestor of the first family to live in the castle, the O’Bannons, Peter Bartlett, purchased the castle and undertook a painstaking restoration to bring the house back to its former glory. However, before he could complete his work, Peter Bartlett died in 1989.
In 1991, the current owner, Sean Ryan, purchased Leap and continued to work hard to restore the magnificent castle.
Hauntings and spooks at the castle
The international interest in Leap Castle is more about the stories of hauntings, supernatural creatures and spirits that forever haunt the castle’s corridors. In recent years, the place has become a must-see for paranormal investigators, adventurers, but also, thrill seekers and horror stories. There are many « inhabitants » at Leap Castle, such as « The Governess » or « The Captain ». Let me introduce you to some of them.
The Priest’s Ghost
The most visited room is undoubtedly « The Bloody Chapel », the very place where Teige O’Carroll killed his own brother in the mid-1500s. During the night, several guards report seeing candlelight through the chapel’s windows, accompanied by murmurs of prayers recited during mass. When they enter the room to surprise the intruder(s), they find the room silent and empty. Rumor has it that Thaddeus O’Carroll could never leave the place of his violent death, so his spirit would be condemned to watch over his followers for eternity. Some visitors who spent the night in the part of the castle called « the priest’s house » were reportedly unable to sleep.
They reportedly saw a faceless hooded figure, which vanished as quickly as it appeared. Other visitors would have been suffocated by an invisible presence until they ran out of air.
Decades become centuries and it becomes clear that Thaddeus O’Carroll is not the only presence haunting Leap Castle. For many paranormal investigators, the troubled and bloody past and the many murders that took place there would condemn the victims of unpunished acts to wander the walls that witnessed their last breath.
The woman in the red cape
Apart from the spirit of the priest, there would also be a woman with a red cloak who would have been seen many times. Witnesses say that she would appear even in total darkness, as if a glow emanated from her red cape. They described her face as pleasant but distorted with rage and anger. She would also brandish a dagger above her head. When seen, she would advance towards the person, threatening him with her knife, screaming in his face before disappearing. Legend has it that this woman, who lived near the castle centuries ago during the time of the O’Carrolls, was brought to the castle and assaulted by several members of the clan. She became pregnant as a result of the assaults and sought help from the clansmen but was unable to get it. The O’Carroll men allegedly stabbed her and her baby to death and left their bodies outside the castle to intimidate anyone who would provoke them.
The two sisters
There are also two sightings of young girls who have been seen in the castle. These were two sisters, Emily and Charlotte, who died in the castle. Emily is said to have died at the age of 11; she fell from the castle walls in a fatal fall. Witnesses reportedly saw her spirit fall from the ramparts several times. Her body was never found, despite numerous searches. His younger sister Charlotte would have been seen in several rooms. She would be recognizable by a malformation on her leg. The child would stop visitors to ask them where her sister was. On other occasions, she would be seen crying and sobbing in the corner of a room, only to disappear immediately.
The Elemental
One of the most frightening « characters » that is said to inhabit Leap Castle is called the « Elemental ». The creature in question is said to be about the size of a sheep, to have arms and legs, and to give off a constant, strong odor of rotting flesh. Its presence was first noticed by Mildred Darby, around the beginning of the 20th century.
She describes the creature as humanoid and it would move by crawling, having no difficulty even climbing up walls. It would be thin and gaunt, with gray, mottled skin with patches of black fur, and would have two black holes for eyes. During this first encounter with the creature, Mildred would have watched it for a few moments before its outlines began to disappear. The creature would have appeared to Mrs. Darby several times.
In 1915, while Jonathan Darby was away on a trip, Mildred Darby allowed two servants to invite some soldiers on leave to the castle. The group spent some time in the part of the castle called « The Priest’s House » before being struck by a stench. They then spotted the creature on the ceiling, hanging from a beam, watching them. The two servants reportedly resigned the next day.
There are many theories as to the presence of the elemental in the castle. The first explanation is that the creature predates the construction of the castle, that it was conjured by druids to protect the castle site. Another theory is that the creature was created by the 8th Earl of Kildare, Gerald Fitzgerald, during a siege when he was trying to regain control of the castle from the O’Carrolls in 1513. Fitzgerald is also rumored to have been an occultist and sorcerer, who made a pact with the forces of evil in order to gain more power.
The dungeons
Many attribute the supernatural forces inhabiting Leap Castle to the many massacres that occurred within the walls. After the massacre of forty members of the MacMahon clan, the O’Carroll clan buried the bodies throughout the property. However, there is evidence that more people breathed their last at Leap Castle.
When Leap Castle burned in 1922, much of the castle was destroyed. When reconstruction work was undertaken several decades later, the workers discovered a well (the famous forgotten one) located in a corner of the chapel. The well is several meters deep and leads directly to a hole filled with long wooden spikes, in which the bodies of many victims were still impaled.
It is estimated that the remains of about 150 people were pulled out of this dungeon. It would have taken three heavily laden carts to remove all of the remains that lay in the dungeon. Based on the analysis of objects found on the victims, including a watch, it would have been established that people were thrown into this pit until the 1800s.
What remains today?
Today, Leap Castle has been largely restored, but many parts of it have not been rebuilt and are therefore off limits to the public. Many visitors, curious people and paranormal investigators walk through the castle in search of thrills, tangible proof of the existence of the many spirits that are believed to live there, but also to learn more about the history of the castle. Many paranormal investigation shows, including Ghost Adventures, have reportedly filmed there. However, since the castle is now privately owned, a reservation is required to visit the castle.
Although many tragic events have taken place within its walls, Leap Castle continues to fascinate with its medieval appearance, mystery and bloody stories and will undoubtedly continue to do so for centuries to come.
Would you dare to enter?
Web sources
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Leap
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_Castle
http://leapcastle.net/?page_id=29
https://www.visitoffaly.ie/Things-to-do/Culture-Heritage/Leap-Castle-Ireland-s-most-haunted-Castle/
https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/a-look-inside-leap-castle-irelands-most-haunted-house/
https://the-line-up.com/leap-castle
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/leap-castle-ghost-story
https://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-castles/medieval-castle-parts/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_houses_in_Britain_and_Ireland
https://adelaidehauntedhorizons.com.au/haunted-leap-castle-ghost-hunt/
https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/most-haunted-places-in-the-world
https://adelaidehauntedhorizons.com.au/haunted-leap-castle-ghost-hunt/
https://amyscrypt.com/leap-castle-ireland-ghosts/
Video sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_19fwmlqxLE&ab_channel=BedtimeStoriesBedtimeStoriesValid%C3%A9
Bibliography
MAHNKE, Aaron, The World of Lore : Dreadful Places, Éditions Del Rey, New York, 2018, 329 pages.
[1] A tower house was very popular in Scotland and Ireland. They served as both a home and a fortification. According to historians, there is very little distinction between a castle and a tower house.
[2] The name O’Carroll is derived from the Gaelic word caerbh, which means « to chop » or « to slash ».
Sanctuaire - Blogue de Véronique Lessard 