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Irish Paranormal Haunts

by Kim O'Shea

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Living With Spirits

Do you ever wonder if there are spirits around you? Do you ever shiver and think "someone's walked over my grave"? How would you know if you were sharing your life with unseen visitors?

There are a few telltale signs that there might suggest that there is some paranormal energy around you:

• Hearing unexplained noises
• Finding that things are not in their usual place
• Your pets seem to follow someone or something unseen around the room
• Feelings of being touched

Noises

Always remember that houses can creak and groan due to natural events such as wind, temperature and pressure changes. Also, if you are alone especially at night, noises always sound louder and creepier leading to the assumption that they are paranormal. 

However, noises that can not be attributed to natural sources can be assumed to be paranormal. For example, I often hear someone shuffling through papers in the dining room but when I go to investigate there is nothing out of place and both my dog and cat are asleep in the sitting room.

I once heard a very loud bang beside my chair as if a heavy object like a piece of furniture had fallen over but there was nothing to fall over. Both my dog and cat jumped and I had to calm them down as they were very unsettled by it. 

Misplaced Items

We can all make mistakes and sometimes we do. There are times however, when we know that we are not imagining that the item in question had indeed moved. Even at these times we can doubt ourselves and pass it off as imagination but if it happens often enough we see a pattern and recognize that something strange is actually going on. 

For weeks I kept finding the back door key in the lock even though I am very careful to remove it and place it in a safe place every time I use it. This happened so often that I began to think I was losing my mind. I finally realized that something strange was going on when I accidentally grazed my finger as I put the key back in its hiding place. A few minutes later the key was back in the lock but my grazed finger proved that I had removed it.

I used to keep a bucket for food waste on the floor beside the cooker in the kitchen. Several times I almost tripped over it as it was moved out of its place and into the middle of the floor. I thought my cat was somehow moving it and just kept replacing it to its normal spot. Then, one evening I left the kitchen, the bucket was in its proper place. I closed and bolted the kitchen door so that my cat couldn't get into the kitchen and then remembered that I had left my coffee on the kitchen counter. I opened the door and found my way blocked by the bucket.

Pets

A lot of people believe that pets can sense paranormal presences. We have to remind ourselves that pets have much better defined senses than most humans. My dog often wakes up and barks at a spider running up a wall. Did he hear it? Or did he just wake up and see it? I have no idea but I do know that my cat hears mice underground and can see a bird high up in a tree even when it is half hidden by leaves. 

There are times however when there is little doubt that they are seeing something that I can't see. 

Often they will both sit up and follow something unseen moving about the room. Sometimes my dog wags his tail and quite often my cat gets up and follows something - I can see that her eyes are focused on whatever it is she is following. 

At other times she goes and sits beside my unlit stove on her own in the other room. I didn't take much notice until I realized that years ago when I bought the house the furniture had been left behind by the previous owner who was a cat lover and there had been an armchair right beside where my cat now sits. When the stove is not lit it is not the warmest part of the room and my cat loves heat so I can only assume that something draws her to that spot. 

Touches

People sometimes feel a creeping feeling on their skin or even a feeling that someone has touched them even though they may be on their own at the time. Our skin is a remarkable organ and is very sensitive. An unseen current of cold air can produce feelings of creeping and a slight muscle spasm can feel like a light touch. 

Most of the paranormal activity in my home takes place in the kitchen which is surprising as this used to be the site of an old shed rather than the house itself. 

Quite often I stand looking out of my kitchen window and feel a light slap on the back of my head. I assume that I am standing in the way of the long gone entrance to the shed so I simply move. 

Other Signs

There are other things that indicate that you may be sharing your home with spirits these are just some of the ways that I have noticed over the years. 

Feel free to comment any interactions that you may have had as the more we share, the more we can learn from one another.

Related Articles

A Private House

Mediums - Real or Fake?

Becoming a Ghost Hunter FAQ

Do Ghosts Only Haunt at Night?

Most ghost hunting takes place at night for a variety of reasons.

• Most people work during the day and it is more convenient to hunt at night.
• The night time tends to be quieter as there are usually fewer people around to contaminate the scene.
• The ghost hunter's senses may be heightened by the darkness.
• Indoor locations may be open to the public during the day - pubs, shops, offices etc. and it may suit the owners to allow access only at night.

Ask any person who feels they are being haunted and they will tell you that they have the same feelings during the day as they do at night. Perhaps at night, imaginations tend to run away with themselves and every sound and every shadow is seen as sinister. However, many people report paranormal events taking place during the hours of daylight. 

Many years ago I saw a full bodied apparition of a woman suddenly appear beside me, weeping silently as she looked at of the window. It was early afternoon on a bright sunny day.

If ghosts are, as I believe, the energy of dead people, then it follows that they could have the same characteristics and personalities as they had when they were alive. 

• Shy or introverted
• Bold and confident
• Gentle and kind
• Rough and uncaring

There are many other combinations too numerous to mention but they illustrate that each ghost can be very different form the next. 

Perhaps some ghosts prefer the darkness or shadows and only try to interact when they are sure that they will remain hidden. Others perhaps, like to come out of the shadows to announce themselves in a grandiose fashion.

None of these mean that ghosts only appear at night. Even shy, introverted people come out of the shadows if they need help so why not ghosts?

Quite often during the day when I am at home I will hear shuffling and movement in the other room. Sometimes my dog and cat both follow the progress of an unseen energy moving about the house. They sit up side by side and follow something with their eyes. 

In answer to my question, do ghosts only haunt at night? I can emphatically say, No! Ghosts can be seen, heard or felt at any time not just at night.

For further tales of the paranormal things I've sensed and seen please refer to my books Irish Paranormal Haunts and True Stories from the Darkside

A selection of useful books for would be Ghost Hunters:

Hunting Ghosts: A Paranormal Investigator's Guide
Ghost Hunting: A Survivor's Guide
Ghost Hunting Guide

Other articles from this blog
Becoming a Ghost Hunter FAQ

Back to the Hunting Lodge

Ballinacarriga Castle Investigation

Final Magdalene Laundry Investigation

Resources for Ghosthunters

Destinations - Search your local area for possible locations. Ask questions - Local knowledge can be a rich resource.

Local libraries can have some great information. Talk to the librarian to get the most from this valuable resource.

Google search and Google maps are both invaluable. Check out some of these sites:

US

Travel Channel

Roadtrippers

Haunted Places

Ireland

Irish Central

Paranormal Database Ireland

UK

Haunted Rooms

Visit England

There are many more fantastic sites for haunted locations throughout the world - feel free to add your favorite in the comments.

Books are another great resource. Here are a few of my favorites - again, feel free to add yours in the comments.

Canadas Most Haunted: Paranormal Encounters In The Great White North

Haunted: 50 Terrifying Locations in the United States 

True Ghost Stories: Haunted Houses, Creepy Paranormal Accounts And Scary True Ghost Stories That Will Chill You To The Bone - Real True Ghost Stories (True ... And Hauntings,True Paranormal Hauntings) 

Haunted Asylums: Chilling Cases Of Deserted Psych Wards, Haunted Asylums, Spooky Graveyards And True Ghost Stories (Haunted Asylums Series) 

Haunted: A Guide to Paranormal Ireland 

Haunted Places: Chilling Paranormal and Supernatural Ghost Stories from Around the World

When you have your locations sorted the next thing you need to do is get out there and start investigating!

Back to The Hunting Lodge! November 6th 2015

On listening to the evps from last week's investigation, we all agreed that someone was asking us for help.

Listen here

We were all upset and wondering what we could do. The former occupiers of the Lodge contacted us and said that they were feeling as distressed as we were.

They invited us to go back and use our equipment while they attempted to help this trapped soul.

I had never attended an event like this and was eager to both help trapped souls if possible and also to further my education and knowledge on this subject.

I was unsure of my feelings about the process but to my surprise I honestly believe that we achieved what we set out to do.

I will write up a full report when I have had time to study the information collected on the night.

It was a very eventful and deeply satisfying experience and one I would be happy to repeat if required, in the future.

Other Related Articles

EVPs from the Hunting Lodge

The Original Hunting Lodge Investigation

Another Private House Investigation

Evps from Private House Investigation October 30th

After our eventful investigation at the Hunting Lodge I reviewed the equipment to see if we had captured anything interesting. I have never come across a place with so much activity and can state conclusively that there is a lot of paranormal activity in this house.

If someone asks me the question, then I would have to say, Yes, I believe that this house is haunted.

Click here to listen to some of the many evps I recorded that night. Some of these are quite disturbing and very thought provoking.

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(Edmond Shuldham - former occupier of the Hunting Lodge)

Could Edmond be unable to rest in peace?

Click here to listen to the evps and you decide!

Private House Investigation October 30th

The investigation took place in an old hunting lodge. The original building is at the front while an extension has been built on the back.

The first room we entered was at the back in the newer part. I took a few pictures straight away.

(The kitchen area in the newer part of the house)

We began our investigation in the blue room - a downstairs bedroom in the newer part of the house. This room has a strange smell in it even though it is well aired. We heard a lot of knocks or raps while we were in this room. They seemed to be in response to our questions but it was hard to tell. 

(The blue room)

It was a windy night so we put a lot of the noises down to the wind outside.

While still in this room one of the people present heard breathing beside her and most of us heard movement in the hallway outside. 

We moved to the older part of the house - inside the front door. The first room had plaster moldings around the ceiling with initials on them. One of the people present had done her research well and was able to tell us who they all represented.

(The room with the moldings containing the initials of former occupants)

While in this room we all heard loud but deep thuds coming from somewhere in the house each time we called out asking for contact.

I was standing by the fireplace when I felt something touch my leg. This happened a few times and then one of the investigators pointed out that the energy seemed to be low on the ground, suggesting a child's energy perhaps, and that there were a few toys right behind me.

We moved into the next room just to have a look. This room had plaster moldings of faces all around the room and seemed to match up to the initials in the room beside it.

We moved upstairs next. The small bedroom had a creepy feel to it and when we began calling out, we again heard the loud deep thuds as if in reply. I used the names of the initials downstairs and called out first asking for Edmond to come upstairs as we were waiting for him. We heard definite movement on the stairs although not actual footsteps - more like shuffling.

(Noises were heard on the stairs)

I continued to call out using the names of people who were known to have stayed here in the distant past and each time we got some response - a bang, a knock or a noise on the stairs.

The room felt cold and temperature readings were taken throughout the investigation with nothing unusual to report.

After we left the room one of the investigators checked the temperature again and found that it had raised a few degrees as soon as we left.

(Possibly Harriet's room)

We moved into the second bedroom. The previous occupants had found an old picture of a lady dating from the 1800's. We thought this may have been Harriet but we did not receive any responses to our questions.

(The upstairs bedroom possibly Harriet's)

We went back down to the downstairs bedroom. Here we received a lot of possible responses to our questions and while sitting on the bed I felt something pushing against my back. This happened three times.

We each complained at times throughout the night that the air around us had turned very cold. Temperature reading showed that the air was actually hotter around the person in question. 

We decided to go outside. The hunting lodge had been built at a crossroads and legend has it that there was a hanging tree outside the front gate. This tree - an elm - had died over twenty years ago and had been replaced by a fir tree. 

(The site of the Hanging Tree)

The churchyard containing the graves of some of the former residents of the hunting lodge was a few hundred yards down the road. As we walked towards it one of the investigators suddenly became ill. She quickly moved away from the area and started to feel better. Later as we passed the same place, she suddenly gasped and announced that she had felt a blast of hot air.

(Investigator beginning to feel ill at the spot where the Watcher is said to appear)

Legend also has it that a watcher has been seen at the same spot as if guarding over someone or something.

(Graves of some of the former occupants of the Hunting Lodge)

When we went back to the hunting lodge we entered through the front door. I stood for a moment just inside the door waiting for the others. I noticed that I had difficulty keeping my balance and asked several of the others to stand on the same spot. We all noticed that there appeared to be something wrong with the floor although we could not see anything unusual. One of the people said she felt like she was trying to walk through a swamp there, several other reported feeling like they were on a boat.