A Haunted Irish Story

by Lisa Killary Swenhaugen
(Mesa Arizona USA)

In 2006, A couple of my girlfriends and I, met up with my cousin for a weeks holiday in County Clare. We rented out the self catering Ballynagowen castle for the 4 of us.

It was awesome...like out of a fairytale! Just as any proper princess would, it wasn't long before I found myself at the top of a long winding staircase claiming the tower bedroom. I just jumped up and down on the bed laughing out loud like a little kid. I was in Ireland, in an ancient strong home with views of the entire country side! Heaven!

The next few days were amazing of course! Every morning I would get up at the crack of dawn, tip toe down the stairs and cook us all a hearty irish breakfast as I watched the sun coming up over the green hills...believe it or not there was this white horse that came up to the window each morning to say "hello." I called him the "unicorn." It was at this time, by myself in the kitchen, coffee brewing bacon frying, that I could really feel the antiquity of this place...and a presence... I couldn't put my finger on what or whom, but it was there and I quietly enjoyed it.

We spend our last night in Doolin at the music festival. We got back to Ballynagowen very late and a little worse for the wear laughing and talking about the charactors we had met that evening. We were sitting around the large old table in the great room when our chatting trailed off to a moment of quiet...out of no where and everywhere, around, above our heads, a woman's voice called out completely shattering the silence!!! We were dumb founded to say the least! We just sat there frozen, starring at eachother. Incidently, we all crammed ourselves into one room that last night and honestly, nobody slept much.

We all live in different states today but still keep in touch and from time to time one of us brings that night up and we still don't know what to make of it!

Lisa Killary-Swenhaugen