ireland

The Whispering Mummies of St Michan’s Church, Dublin

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In 2010 I took my mother on a visit to an unusual and macabre attraction in Dublin: the mummies of St Michan’s church. Located near Dublin’s Four Courts, St Michan’s church is Dublin’s oldest parish church north of the River Liffey. Founded in 1095 and named after a Danish Bishop and built on the site of an ancient oak grove, the present church dates from 1685. Until the 16th century monks from Christchurch Cathedral the church congregation and from 1547 it was part of Christchurch Cathedral parish. Restored in 1998, St. Michan’s now belongs to the Protestant Church of Ireland. The church retains many of its original features such as the galleried interior and organ. The organ dates from 1724 and is one of the oldest in Ireland that is still in use. It is claimed that Handel practised for the first performance of ‘Messiah’ on this very organ.

Beneath the church lay the vaults, which are the main attraction to the church. Here many of Dublin’s most influential families from the 17th-19th centuries were interred. The Shears brothers, who were executed by the British following the Rising of 1798 and a copy of the execution warrant is also on display in the crypt, where it instructs the condemned men to be hung, drawn and quartered. Also interred in the vault are the Earl’s of Leitrim who lay in highly decorated coffins. Many of the bodies deposited in the vault are in such an excellent state of preservation that their features are discernible and they bones and skin intact. The conditions for mummification are caused by a combination of the dry atmosphere of the vaults, methane gas emanating from the ground and the limestone walls which are resistant to moisture acting together to dry out the bodies. The most famous mummies in the vault are those of the alleged crusader, the thief and the nun. The crusader, mummy believed to have been a soldier returned from the Crusades, has had his legs broken and crossed, in order for it to fit the coffin. He lies with one of his hands is lifted slightly in the air and legend has it that those who touch his finger will have good fortune. The mummy known as the thief has had his feet cut off and his right forearm is missing, some say as punishment for his crime. Recent scientific and historical research however, has disputed the validity of the stories surrounding the crusader and the thief.

Our visit to the church was on a wet and dismal day in June. After looking around the church our tour guide and 6 other people entered the underground vaults through a metal door and clambered down some very wet steps. There was a passage in front of us and in the dim light, alcove areas could be seen which contained the ornate coffins of the well to do departed. The tour guide explained who the coffins belonged to, what the family names and crests were and then we moved on toward the end of the passage, where we saw the open coffins and the mummified bodies. Towards the end of the tour my mother wandered to the end of the passage where there was a part that had not been excavated. She told me that while she was peering into this area she became aware of voices around her, “a sort of whispering, murmuring noise” and felt it was rather oppressive in the passage. She said she began to sense that there were many people around her, pressing close, which was not the case. She remembers “I did not feel frightened, just aware of this whispering and I could not make out any words, but I felt as if I was in a press of people. There was no wind entering the passage the metal door had been firmly shut behind us and I could not account for the noises.”

It is interesting to note that there have been previous reports of strange whisperings and voices heard within the vaults, as well as reports of being touched by unseen hands. Could it be that the vaults contain the restless spirits of the dead, or is it more likely that visitors to the vaults experience movements and sounds caused by ‘infrasound’? Infrasound refers to extreme bass waves or vibrations with a frequency below the audibility range of the human ear. Although these waves cannot be heard by the human ear, they can be felt and have been shown to produce a range of effects in some people including anxiety, extreme sorrow, and chills. Perhaps this would account for my mother’s feeling of oppressiveness in the passageway, the feeling of being in a press of people and hearing ghostly whispers.

Haunted vaults or not, my mother is undeterred: “I very much enjoyed it. I would not mind going again, but I certainly would not want to be there on my own….”

Visitor Information

Address: Church Street, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Public transport: Bus: 134 from Abbey St.

Tours: Mon-Fri 10-12:45, 2-4:45, Sat 10-12:45

Admission Prices:
Adults €4.00
Children €3.00
Students and Seniors €3.50
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) €12.00

References

2009-2014 Ghost Catcher UK & Ireland© All rights reserved. All my posts are copyright and if you do wish to refer to them or use anything from them on your site, please credit this site.

Ross Castle Investigation November 2010

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This investigation followed the regular format of walk arounds and vigils in individual rooms. However, this investigation was different in that the focus was on experimenting on a séance in the lower tower room.  The purpose was to communicate with spirits and a planchette and alphabet cards laid out on the table were used.

One concern of individuals taking part in this séance was that of safety. Therefore the member of the team; who had tried some controlled experiences or instructions in what it feels for spirits to come close; was chosen to lead the proceedings. The member of the team who has had experience of working in spiritual development circles explained that, just as with living people, not all spirits are friendly. Also, if the spirit in contact was murdered this may create strong unpleasant feelings among those who have not had such experiences with communicating with in the past. Therefore, those who were prepared to be ‘touched by spirit’ were chosen to take part in the séance.

Here it was attempted to make direct communication with spirit through the participants’ psyches or ‘higher selves’. Instead of deciphering feelings from spirit, questions were asked.  A protection ritual was led by the team leader, which sought to protect the participants with a white light. This meditation was used more to get the participants into the correct mindset for connecting with spirit, though it also sought to create a psychic protection barrier.

The participants were asked to keep an open stance, with legs uncrossed, feet on the floor and a finger always on the planchette. This was done in order to keep spirit energy flowing and to align chakras. Crossing legs or arms would create interference and disrupt energy flow.

According to the leader of the séance, spirit does not move the planchette, but communicates with the participants’ psyche or energy field to make them move the planchette where it wants it to go. Here spirit works with the participants’ spirits in order to physically move the planchette, as the spirit communicating has no physicality in order to do this itself.

The séance leader called for any spirit to come to the table. This could have been any spirit whatsoever, not necessarily a spirit attached to the location. It could have been a spirit connected to an individual in the room or any spirit that wished to communicate. Those spirits who did not wish to communicate were not forced to.

The details of the séance will be kept confidential at this time in order to allow further unbiased investigation. However, one event of interest occurred while speaking to a mischievous spirit. Here one member of the group had chosen to remain in the living room below. However, the mischievous spirit announced that it wished to play a game with this member of the group. A loud bang was heard from downstairs and upon checking it was found that a change in air pressure in the living room, due to the heat from the log fire, had caused a door to slam loudly on its own. Could this have been due to a mischievous spirit playing a prank on the individual in the room, or merely natural causes?

Those individuals who participated in the séance had minimal experience of using a planchette and were sceptical of such methods. It was clear that quietly all individuals at the table had been conducting their own experiments to catch out fakery. However, all individuals came away from the séance saying that if someone was controlling the planchette it was very cleverly done as it was almost impossible to push the planchette in a controlled way. Seemingly the planchette moved where the spirit in communication desired it. All in all it was a very interesting experience, worthy of further experimentation and research.

 

2009-2014 Ghost Catcher UK & Ireland© All rights reserved. All my posts are copyright and if you do wish to refer to them or use anything from them on your site, please ask permission first

‘First Irish case’ of death by spontaneous combustion

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Photo by Du01b0u01a1ng Nhu00e2n on Pexels.com

A man who burned to death in his home died as a result of spontaneous combustion, an Irish coroner has ruled.

Michael Faherty, 76, died at his home in Galway on 22 December 2010.

Deaths attributed by some to “spontaneous combustion” occur when a living human body is burned without an apparent external source of ignition.

See here for the full story:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15032614

West Cork Angel?

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On 1st May 2010 Steve was driving towards Goleen from Bantry with Susan and another passenger. It was around 5am in the morning and the road was clear. Steve was driving past Kilheangul Burial Ground at around 40 miles per hour and noticed in his peripheral vision that the gravestones appeared to be ‘glowing’. He saw a large looming, glowing white shape that he took to be a very tall Celtic cross, also glowing. Steve felt eerie and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, although the other passengers did not notice the cemetery. The moon was almost full so Steve puts this experience perhaps down to the moon reflecting off the gravestones.

On 6th May 2010 Susan drove me to Kilheangul Burial Ground at around 11pm to take photos of the location in order to find a possible explanation for the ‘glowing gravestones’. Susan stayed in the car while I got out to take photos. While Susan was backing up the car into a nearby lay-by she turned her head towards the cemetery and saw what she believed to be a very tall glowing white statue of a man or angel. She thought nothing of it at the time, as this is the kind of sight expected in a cemetery. Susan describes the figure as that of a tall, solid looking man with curly hair. The figure was glowing white, which she took to be moonlight reflecting off granite. However it was a cloudy night with no moonlight. The figure appeared to be turned towards the direction of myself taking photos.  Meanwhile I took several photos and saw no such figure amongst the stones. I did however notice a quick flash of light amongst the gravestones which I put down to being a reflection from the car headlights.

Upon returning home Susan asked me if I had taken a picture of the ‘statue’. When I reviewed the photos taken there was no such figure and I had not seen any figure with my naked eye. Susan felt rather emotional following the experience. The next day they returned to the burial ground in the hours of daylight in order to find the ‘statue’ that Susan had seen. However there was no such statue. Susan does not believe it was the nearby tree or the white Celtic cross. She believes it was taller and in a different position to these. Upon reviewing the photos Steve also believes the thing he saw was much taller than the Celtic crosses present and in the same area as Susan’s sighting.

Both Steve and Susan would like to pass off what they saw as having natural origins such as tricks of the light. However, it is unusual that what they saw seems to be similar: a large figure of some kind glowing white. Steve, Susan and I also do not have any knowledge of Gaelic, but upon researching the name of the Gaelic name of the cemetery found that ‘Aingeal’ means ‘angel’. Could this have been an angel or guardian spirit watching over the burial ground?

Ghost Catcher Ireland Becomes Bumpz In The Nite Member

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I am pleased to say that after following BumpzInTheNite on several investigations and applying to be their newest trainee paranormal investigator I have now been invited to join their team. I am very much looking forward to working with them from now on.

Bumpzinthenite was established in 2008. There are now five members in the group, with myself and another member joining recently.

We are dedicated to investigating the paranormal with the utmost respect for both the locations and the people involved. We try to carry out our research based upon both spiritual and scientific experiments.

Humans have been experiencing things they cannot explain for thousands of years, so the concept of a spiritual world should not be so shocking.  We feel that a scientific standpoint is necessary in paranormal investigation, as new technology helps to separate documented facts from rumour and myth.

We must always take in to consideration other factors that might lead people to believing that a place is haunted.  These can be anything from squeaky floor boards to draughts from ill fitted windows.  We also have to look at the history of the places we investigate, a building that has seen many deaths or violent crimes can be deemed haunted because of its history.  Unfortunately not all ghostly activity’s accompanied with the human shaped white mist that floats down the hall way, wanting to be photographed.  So we must document all our findings scientifically so the data will at least be taken seriously.  Just because we are studying extraordinary activity, that doesn’t mean we should abandon all logic and reason.  So using equipment to validate findings is sometimes essential.

And above all it’s fun…..

Check out the Bumpz In the Nite Website for more information on upcoming investigations and investigations open to the public:

http://www.bumpzinthenite.com/

Find us on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=62507486437&ref=ts

Celebrating joining the team

Haunted History Tour with Hidden Dublin Walks

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I recently had the pleasure to attend Hidden Dublin Walks ‘Haunted History Tour. Although this tour was aimed more towards history and legend, rather than paranormal investigation, it was a throughly enjoyable tour which gave me an overview of some of the well-known sightings of ghosts in the city.

Our guide took us on a tour through the older parts of the city covering places such as Dublin Castle, the site of the Eagle Tavern where the skeleton of a dwarf sacrificed by the Hellfire Club was reputed to have been found, Christchurch Cathedral where a military man was supposedly eaten by rats in the crypt and ending up at the eerie St. Audoens church where the ghost of Darky Kelly wanders and the gates to the catacombs known as ‘Hell’ due to its whorehouses and drug dens.

From a paranormal investigator’s perspective I found the location of St Audoens church very interesting. It is a highly atmospheric and eerie location. I had visited this place previously on another tour, but had not experienced anything particularly notable. However, on entering the grassy area to the side of the church, the guide locking the gates behind us, I felt an eerie presence. It felt very much as if we were being watched.

The guide here told us of some of his personal experiences, where he had heard strange noises and had noticed piles of stones appearing randomly on the path, moving from day-to-day.

Upon leaving this area the guide was alarmed to find the gate unlocked. He seemed sincere in that he believed he had locked it and he stated that this had happened before, hinting at a ghostly lock pick. This of course may have all been an act, part of the tour.After this we proceeded down the 40 steps to the gate of ‘Hell’. I took plenty of photos here as I was aware that Darky Kelly is reputed to haunt the steps. At the bottom of the steps we all complained of feeling watched from the area above, where we had just left, and became startled when we all heard a loud noise or movement coming from that area.

Upon analysing my photos from the tour I found a very unusual shape in one of the photos taken on the 40 steps. I brightened this to see more detail and the shape seems see through. I initially thought it to be a shadow, as it is transparent, but the colour and positioning seems odd. It was also taken with no flash in very little light. Although I cannot say this is a ghost, it is still a very interesting photo indeed and I welcome any ideas of what may have caused it naturally.

The unusual photo

All in all I had a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience on the Haunted History Tour and I would recommend it to anyone interested in history, ghosts and the paranormal. I hope to attend a few more Hidden Dublin Walks in future.

If you are interested in attending a Hidden Dublin Walk please visit: https://www.hiddendublintours.com/

Dublin ParaCon, 7th November 2009

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The 2nd Dublin Paranormal Convention took place on the 7th November 2009 in the Radisson Hotel, Dublin near St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

This year we Ciaran O’Keeffe (of LivingTv’s Most Haunted), Barry FitzGerald (of Sci-Fi Channel’s GHI), Steven Parsons, Richard Jones and Damien and Dave of Blather.net were present as guest speakers.

A number of Investigation Groups from around Ireland and the UK were present including the PIGs, PRAI, Leinster Paranormal, Bumpz in the Nite, IPIC, Paranormal Ulster and SpiritFinders Scotland.

I attended the Paranormal Convention in order to meet others working in the paranormal field and to learn more about the paranormal and investigation methods from the free talks by guest speakers.

The PIGs had a very impressive stall including a psychic (Zenner) card test. The BumpzInTheNite crew were also close at hand with their stall highlighting their activities and past investigations.

I was able to attend two of the free talks. The first I attended was by Richard Jones,  author of the best-selling books Walking Haunted London; Haunted Britain and Ireland; Myths and Legends of Britain and Ireland; Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland; Walking Dickensian London; Haunted Inns of Britain and Ireland; Haunted London; Haunted Houses of Britain and Ireland; Mystical Britain and Ireland; Uncovering Jack the Ripper’s London; and Jack the Ripper:- The Casebook. I had met Richard Jones before when I attended one of his excellent London Ghost Walks. Although I missed the first half of his talk I was able to catch the second half where he spoke about theories regarding ‘Jack the Ripper’.

The second talk I attended was given by Ciaran O’Keeffe, parapsychologist of Most Haunted, and Steve Parsons, one of the UK’s foremost Psychical Researchers and Investigators. The talk was titled ‘How Not to Investigate the Paranormal’ and highlighted many mistakes inexperienced, and sometimes experienced, paranormal investigators make and how to limit these.

All in all the Dublin Paranormal Convention was an excellent event which had clearly been meticulously planned to provide satisfaction and interest to its visitors. Roll on Dublin ParaCon 2010!