Ghosts and gaols: Six of Cork's most haunted places
During the restoration of Cork City Gaol men's voices could be heard by workers.
Arguably the best known haunted spot in the city, Our Lady’s and St Kevin’s occupy an imposing site on the Lee Road, overlooking the Lee Fields.
The site has been home to psychiatric facilities since the 1800s when the Eglinton Lunatic Asylum opened. It later became known as Our Lady’s Psychiatric Hospital in the 1950s, and the red-bricked St Kevin's Hospital was built in the late 1890s.
Our Lady’s closed in 1992. St Kevin's Hospital closed in 2002 and was damaged by a major fire four years ago.
Many with an interest in paranormal activity have monitored the area - some have witnessed ghosts and recorded voices.
It is believed many of the asylum’s patients still walk the corridors and can be heard in the hospital’s empty wards.
This island prison has been home to murderers as well as being the site of murders. Convicts here were ill-treated in the 1850s, with a dedicated punishment block being built to unleash untold horror on inmates. Conditions on Spike Island led to several suicide attempts within its grim cells.
Mass, unmarked graves are scattered across the island as a result of foul conditions and overcrowding during the worst of the famine years.
Many paranormal groups have visited the island, with Ghost Hunter International visiting and doing a show in 2010 and subsequent visits from GhostEire and Cork Paranormal Investigators.
The former North Infirmary Hospital was built in 1720. The now-hotel is believed to be haunted by many, with some guests on Tripadvisor recording their experiences.
“I had a ghost cat in my room. Two or three other rooms had independent paranormal experiences. I am an engineer and do not believe in paranormal stuff, but this makes me question my beliefs for the first time. We all had our windows looking out to the cemetery,” one wrote.
Another said: “Window overlooked cemetery, we saw a ghost at the wardrobe, a lady the height of the wardrobe wearing a beige dress with flowers and felt as if we were being watched all night. As well as our door not opening as if it was locked from the inside.”
Guests have shared their spooky experiences in this hotel on Tripadvisor.
One wrote: “During the night I began to hear the sound of a child/toddler crying in the room next to us, and the more I focused on the crying, the louder it got until it reached a point where my ears began to ring violently, and I started to feel dizzy. The crying was extremely loud and sounded like it was coming from all angles. After being in touch with paranormal investigators, I have now discovered that I am not the only one to have experienced this. If you like a good night sleep, avoid the top floor.”
Another was delighted by their paranormal experience: “The day we checked out, my friend said she woke up several times with somebody walking in the room above with heavy shoes. It turned out that there was no room above us, and we learnt that a soldier had killed himself in the hotel. My husband and I were in a different room, and we both heard heavy things being moved around during the night. After talking to Pat, a tourist guide, it turned out that after the sinking of the Lusitania the hotel was turned into a hospital and morgue for the wounded and dead, so it could have been the spirits moving the beds around. I would definitely stay here again just for the ghostly experience.”
The White Lady was the young bride of a touring soldier who was mistakenly shot by her father, the Commander, on their wedding day. Realising his mistake, her father threw himself from the battlements. Coming upon the scene and finding both her father and her husband dead, the White Lady is said to have thrown herself into the sea in grief.
During its time as a barracks, generations of soldiers based in the Fort, outside Kinsale, heard dismal moans and saw a woman in white entering closed doors and disappearing through solid walls.
Another well-known haunted site, the 19th-century Cork City Gaol has been the setting for the World Ghost Convention, which was drawn to the prison and its resident ghosts.
Ghost sightings were reported by members of the audience and speakers since the first Ghost Convention was established in 2001.
During the restoration of the prison, men's voices could be heard by workers. Apparitions of women in long dresses have since been seen around the gaol by visitors and staff, including this one shared on Tripadvisor: "I even had a ghost encounter in one of the cells, and when I went back and told the man he informed me that yes a lot of people encounter the exact same thing in that particular cell."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
