Castle Ghosts

Ireland is full of castles, many serve as accommodation for tourists. I thought it would be fun to stay in one so I found one called Ross Castle near where I thought we were going. It turned out to be in an entirely different location but after checking it out I decided to book it anyway. 

In 1533 construction began and the tower was completed a few years later. We spent the night in the tower. 

The tower has a room on each of  the 3 floors and we stayed in the lower room, although there is a tricky set of stairs even to reach our room. 

The stairs narrow significantly as you reach the top and if you rent that room I’d advise you only take what you need for the night!

Halfway between the 2nd and 3rd floors is the 9 3/4 Harry Potter room. It has a very low ceiling and is for kids. If you’ve read the books (I haven’t) you’ll understand this better. 

The room at the top is spectacular. 

Of course our room was nothing to sneeze at. To get there you first went through the sitting/eating area which is decorated with trophy heads such as the menacing buffalo in the corner. 

Then through a library with similar decor (kudu?). 

Our room was The O’Reilly Room named after The Slasher. 

But it is beautifully decorated and spacious with a modern en-suite that Myles likely didn’t have in 1644!

It also had its share of dead animals (see the fox pelt hanging in the corner) and a huge fireplace. 

The castle has other accommodation available but it turns out we were the only people staying. No one else was here (not even the owner) and with stories about the ghost of Sabrina, the daughter of the Black Baron, it was a different experience that’s for sure. Read about Sabina's fate here: https://ross-castle.com/history/ghosts

It was a stormy night and there was no shortage of unusual sounds but no ghosts were seen.