Haunted Irish Castle!
An Eerie Greeter!
A haunted medieval castle?
In the Irish countryside?
And we can stay there as guests for the night?
How could we resist??
Foulksrath Castle
We found Foulksrath Castle listed in HostelWorld as the oldest hostel in Ireland, located just 8 miles from the town of Kilkenny. Pictures of the 16th century Norman House Tower in the gloom and green of Ireland’s fields had us hooked.
Learning that a BBC television team of British Ghost hunters visited the hostel and sent back a report to say that “their machines recorded the best ghostly sounds of any place they visited in Ireland” was a bonus! We booked in for two nights.
On our arrival, we approached the silent castle grounds searching for signs of life. Timid knocks on the wooden fortress walls only echoed in the foggy mist. If the cab we’d ridden in hadn’t already headed back to town (without even a good-bye glance), we might have turned around right there.
Medieval Walls
Soon the door opened and our caretaker led us to the studio where we were offered a room in the High Tower if we wished, or the already occupied dorm on the lower floor (and closer to escape).
The Studio
The Tower Room
Climbing the narrow steps, we could feel the dampness and chill breathing from the cold stones under our feet. Our room looked out over fields of rainbows and it was hard to imagine unkind spirits sharing this space.
Rainbows!
Dinner was by candlelight downstairs in a space where we expected to be joined by Knights of the Round Table at any moment. Stories of the area and its haunts filled the room and more than one traveler left the room with wide eyes.
Dining Room
Our stay?
Well, we were told by a frequent castle visitor, “The spirits here won’t bother you if you are a good soul. And only good souls or souls that are lost are drawn here to Foulksrath.”
We must have made the cut!
TweetTags: castle, Foulksrath, Ghosts, haunted, Ireland
Ghosts, Ireland, Kilkenny | whatboundaries October 21, 2009
5 Comments to “Haunted Irish Castle!”
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By Corey T, October 21, 2009 @ 10:17 am
Sounds like a lot of fun! Any eerie sightings to report… other than the cat with glowing eyes?
By whatboundaries, October 21, 2009 @ 10:32 am
Just lots of “unexplained” cold drafts and candles flickering…we heard stories of the Black Death and the history of Irish crosses, so very little sleep was had either night! But it was a GREAT place to stay (and the cat turned out to be quite friendly!)
By Looking back, June 26, 2010 @ 4:53 am
For the record, I actually lived (as a hostel manager) in this castle for a year and am considered to be a pretty rationale and level-headed person … but I can’t deny to myself that I saw shadowy figures on the spiral staircase and heard bumping and dragging noises from the floors above when there was no-one else staying in Foulksrath – so much so that in the end I was very glad to leave.
Strange to think back on it now, but true …
By Paul, July 9, 2012 @ 3:44 pm
Hi Guys
I was wondering if you could retell some of the ghost stories you heard about Foulksrath on here:
I know that there are many stories associated with the place but it is hard to find some of them.
Did you know that Jonathan Swift of Gulliver’s Travels fame lived at Swift’s Heath which at the time included Foulksrath?
Foulksrath was owned by the Swift family until 1948.
By Johnny k, July 12, 2012 @ 5:26 pm
I stayed here so many times and you would not believe the things I have seen and heard, there is much mire to the caste and grounds than meets the eye. I love this place so much