Chapter 1. Voice from the past
Ireland, October 31, 2024
I was standing close to O'Carroll Castle and trying to get a signal on my phone.
Should I move further away maybe? At the same time, the picture would be better with ancient beauty behind me.
Finally, the phone showed a good signal. Looking at my reflection in the screen, I adjusted my unruly long black hair, and I started a live broadcast.
"Hi guys! Kat is back again! Bridie and I continue to travel around the mysterious places of Ireland, and today we are broadcasting from County Donegal and its coastal town of Ardara. Behind me, you can see the reason we are here", – I raised the tripod up a little so that the entire castle could be captured by the phone camera. – "We are in O'Carroll Castle! Well, more precisely, Bridie is already there, preparing everything necessary for the investigation. In the meantime, I decided to show you the castle and its territory while it is still not dark and tell you a little of its history.
O'Carroll Castle got its name from the clan that built it around the 1400s – 1500s. During the English attempt to rule Ireland, the castle came into the possession of an English lord who did not rule for long because he was killed by the natives in an uprising for independence. After that, the castle came into the possession of one of the leaders of the uprising, whose descendants own the castle to this day. However, they do not live there, and the castle is now used as a museum where many strange things happen.
That's it! I won't bore you with the history any longer. Let's go inside and talk to the castle manager, who has kindly agreed to spend the night with us".
I walked slowly towards the castle, trying to film this dark two-story building in all its glory, gloomily towering on the hill. Two floors of an ancient castle are not like the two floors of a modern residential building. Back then, floors were just gigantic! One such floor would do for three of ours!
I noticed that the connection on my phone began to disappear as I got closer to the castle.
"Guys, the connection is getting lost. And in the castle it is even worse. Most likely, we will be able to go online only at the top, in the Bloody Chapel, where, oh, how many interesting things await you! So, stay tuned! And of course, as usual, we will post the episode with the most striking moments on our website! So, I'm disconnecting for now – see you at the castle!" – I turned off the online broadcast but continued to film the video on the camera. Approaching the massive door, which was twice as tall as me, I knocked on it with a ring with a hammer, which replaced the bell in the past.
A minute later, a handsome young man with brown eyes, about thirty years old, with long black hair, opened the door for me.
"And here is the manager of the castle I told you about", – I continued my reportage. – "Our knight, who could not leave us, two young ladies, alone at night in this haunted place. This castle is considered one of the most haunted castles in Ireland. Isn't that right, Mr. O'Connell?"
"Certainly, Miss Katherine. I am sure that tonight you and your viewers will see that your visit here was not in vain", – the manager smiled. It seemed like there was a note of sadness in his voice… Did I imagine it?..
He closed the huge door and we walked into the main hall with a large fireplace, next to which stood a huge wooden dining table. We sat down near it, closer to the crackling fire, and continued our conversation.
"Tell me, how long have you been working here?" – I began a short interview, while Bridie was upstairs setting up equipment in the chapel, from which we decided to start right away.
"Almost eight years already", – the manager answered. – "At first we thought about making a hotel here, but in the end, we agreed on a museum, because these walls have a lot to tell. The renovation took us over a year, and we constantly continue to do something here, as funding comes in from the owner. Three years ago, we decided to go paranormal and open the castle to ghost hunters".
"And, in fact, that's why we are here, guys! We heard that many mysterious phenomena occur within the walls of this castle. Mr. O'Connell, please tell us about the most common ones. And about those that you have encountered personally".
"Well, for example, here, where you and I are now, footsteps and knocks are often heard. Other groups of paranormal investigators have caught strange sounds and even voices on their recorders that were not heard on the camera", – I looked around nervously… Of course, it was not completely dark yet, but the twilight was already creepy.
"And one of the groups", – O'Connell continued, ignoring my nervous look. – "Claims that they saw a black shadow behind this window".
He pointed with his hand at a small window behind my left shoulder. Naturally, after that I slowly turned in its direction, expecting to see a shadow looking at me there.
"But personally, I have never seen anyone there", – the manager continued. And to my relief, neither have I.
"And what is the most haunted place in the castle?"– I asked.
"Of course, the Bloody Chapel".
"Somehow these two words don't go together… Where did such a creepy name come from?"
"At first it was an ordinary chapel. In the O'Carroll clan, the first owners of this castle, there were two brothers, one of whom was a priest. And he held his masses in this chapel. But during the time of the English ownership of this castle, something went wrong… The chronicles mention several deaths that occurred in this chapel, after which it was nicknamed Bloody. Residents say that some rituals were even held there…".
"Yeah… Now I absolutely understand where such a name comes from. And what unusual phenomena were most often noticed there?"
"Usually, footsteps and various kinds of knocks. But later they were debunked mainly by the behavior of the birds that nest in this chapel. The windows there have no glass, and they can fly there freely. Surprisingly, for many years now only black ravens have been nesting there. We take this as some kind of special sign and do not drive them away. And they do not bother us much, and even exterminate local mice".
"Or maybe these are fairies in the guise of ravens?"
"I doubt it… More likely their familiars. The fairies might live in our backyard, where the ancient trees grow. Just in case, we don't cut them down, so as not to anger the representatives of the magic folk".
The Irish are truly amazing people! They passionately believe that their lands are inhabited by fairies. And they can even change the trajectory of the construction of a highway if a lone hawthorn tree stands in its way. Because under no circumstances should you cut it down! Otherwise, you will incur the wrath of these magical creatures, who were deprived of their portal to the world of humans.
