Charleville Forest Castle

Reportedly one of the worlds most haunted castles. This is not a standard B&B, if you desire luxurious accommodations look elsewhere.

Well worth the trip, what you will find are gracious friendly hosts. This particular castle is in a perpetual state of renovation. If you understand that the accommodations are iffy, then you won't be disappointed.

The Castle was designed in 1798 by one of Ireland's leading architects of the day, Francis Johnston. This magnificent building was almost lost through vandalism while it stood vacant during a large part of the 20th century. The main rooms with their spectacular ceilings have for the most part survived the onslaught. The Castle is now occupied and the owners are lovingly attempting to preserve and restore it to its former glory.

Unlike many Gothic castles built later by the Victorians, Charleville Forest is quite compact rather than a rambling edifice. with many wings The Castle was designed in 1798 by one of Ireland's leading architects of the day, Francis Johnston. This magnificent building was almost lost through vandalism while it stood vacant during a large part of the 20th century. The main rooms with their spectacular ceilings have for the most part survived the onslaught. The Castle is now occupied and the owners are lovingly attempting to preserve and restore it to its former glory. Unlike many Gothic castles built later by the Victorians, Charleville Forest is quite compact rather than a rambling edifice with many wings.

True to its time, it is basically a large scale Georgian house with added castellations and towers. picture . True to its time, it is basically a large scale Georgian house with added castellations and towers. Arriving near dusk, we were fortunate to be able to make out the beautiful 500 year old Oak tree that graces the property. Directions had been sketchy and I must admit curiosity regarding the part of the directions that stated, "continue down the road just past the eagles". This ended up being stone pillars that border the driveway and happen to have statues of eagles perched atop them.

As we approached the castle I was able to snap this picture of the round tower, against the ever darkening sky. Little did we know as we gazed at the top of the turrets, that later in the night we would be walking across that very area. Arriving near dusk, we were fortunate to be able to make out the beautiful 500 year old Oak tree that graces the property.

Directions had been sketchy and I must admit curiosity regarding the part of the directions that stated, "continue down the road just past the eagles". This ended up being stone pillars that border the driveway and happen to have statues of eagles perched atop them. As we approached the castle I was able to snap this picture of the round tower, against the ever darkening sky. Little did we know as we gazed at the top of the turrets, that later in the night we would be walking across that very area. 

We were warmly greeted by Bonnie (Vance) and were told that Dudley (Stewart) would be joining us later, he sent his regrets that he was unable to meet us upon our arrival. In the meantime we were shown to our rooms which were located in the finished part of the castle. After unpacking the car and getting settled in, we inquired as to food establishments in the area for dining. To our surprise we were asked to join them for dinner, after all, they had plenty of shepards pie,.... squealing with delight at this good fortune we hit the road and headed back to a local grocer where we picked up a bottle (or 2) of libations. After all, we certainly couldn't come empty handed to the table.

Our rooms were located in the round tower. The first bedroom had once been an office, but had now been beautifully restored to a ladies bedroom. Unfortunately it is called the Red Room. This of course reminds all of the Americans of a horrid movie from the early 80's called The Shining. It was just for that reason (and that reason alone), that I refused to stay in that bedroom. Just upstairs, directly above the Red Room, was another lovely ladies boudoir. We put away our things and located portable heaters and extra blankets, for what was already proving to be a cold night.

Since we had traveled over to Ireland in the month of February, we were prepared for the weather to be slightly chilly. But we were in no way actually prepared for how cold the castle would be. If you have any lingering romantic notions of castles,... I suggest you discard them. The spring had shown little effect at warming the inside of the castle, as it maintained the chill from the winter.

The only room of the castle that had any warmth to it was the kitchen. What a lovely surprise this was. Joining us for dinner was Dudley Stewart, we quickly learned that Charleville is a longterm leasehold held by the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust. They are in the process of an extensive historically accurate renovation and restoration project. Dudley had been in Dublin that day on business relating to the fund. Our hosts had prepared a wonderful meal, along with the dinner conversation and extra companions, well it was a slice of Ireland at it's finest.

We were intrigued to find that some of our dinner companions were from America, a young man had come over to work at the Castle. We were informed, that if we ever wanted to come spend the summer and stay, we could have free room and board if we donated our helping hands to renovating tcastle.What a great way to spend a summer!

After dinner we were treated to a tour of Charleville, in the other wing of the castle, there were teenagers working on a project for the upcoming weekend. Apparently Charleville has been host to several music festivals and this upcoming weekend was no exception. Materials for floats, signs and paper mache littered the workroom. The activity was a happy one and Bonnie remarked that she hoped the castle could have life and happiness restored to it after all these years. Perhaps the souls who lingered there would have peace when the Castle had been brought back to life through music and art.

Coincidentally this area happened to connect to the entrance to the dungeon. Dudley and Bonnie told us stories of kids getting into the dungeon (to goof off and "party") and how they would have to chase them out for fear of them getting hurt. Dudley recalled how one night they heard voices in the dungeon and once again Dudley headed downstairs to tell whomever was there to leave,.... he kept winding through the tunnels, knowing that eventually they would come across the kids,... but corridor after corridor turned up nothing, still hearing the noises and voices, he continued into what was the last chamber and there,.... the noises stopped and he was standing alone in the chamber. EEEEEEgads. Well that was a lovely way to start the tour.

As we moved through the part of the castle that was currently undergoing renovation, we noticed the stairwell that graced the opposite wing. The staircase was long and oval, if you looked straight up you became dizzy. This climbed 4 stories and was somewhat imposing and eerie AND it has an equally eerie story that goes along with it.

The staircase is said to be haunted due to a tragic accident that occurred shortly after the Bury Family took up residence. In April of 1861 Charles Bury 's eight year old daughter Harriet was sent upstairs to wash her hands.

The nursery is situated on the top floor, and on the way down, she thought it might be a bit of fun to slide down the staircase,... this story does not end well. Unfortunately she fell to her death. After the tragedy the parents erected a gate reaching up above the banister, if you look closely you can see the notches every so many inches in the railing.

In the years that followed her death, stories have surfaced regarding Harriet haunting the stairwell and in a few accounts Harriet has been known to play with other children that have occupied the house.

At this point Bonnie told us that there had been a paranormal research crew scheduled to be occupy the castle with us that same evening. However, it seemed that shortly before our arrival, the crew had set up their equipment only to find that the batteries in the equipment were dead. Of course the interesting thing about this was that it had been the second time this had happened to the crew. Several weeks before this they had arrived to do research, only to find all the equipment was dead. Once again they left disappointed but promised to return at another time (for a 3rd attempt). EEEEEgads.

Several years before, one of the American TV networks hosted a show at Charleville, (which is what got our attention). It was called the Worlds Most Haunted Places. Chatting with the owners as we strolled through the Castle, Dudley told us of an experience that he and the producers of the show had while they were in a meeting in the office of the castle. While standing in a circle discussing the events for the upcoming taping, there had been a sudden drop of temperature in the room, they all felt a cold breeze suddenly pass between them. They all stood there with their mouths hanging open, finally someone acknowledged the moment with,.. "what was that".... (silence). Well when you ask for ghosts, sometimes you get ghosts. Oh, by the way, in case you were curious, this meeting had happened in the Red Room. Once again confirming that I definitely wasn't sleeping in there.

According to Dudley, the producers did a little work in the Castle beforehand, installing a moving wall,..etc. Of course this was shown to us first and explained later. Occasionally Bonnie or Dudley would slip away only reappear, usually in the midst of pulling a prank - like a wall coming at you in the dark,... thanks guys.

While we were chatting away on the tour, I noted a change in temp as Dudley was telling us to mind our step and take the torch (flashlight). It was then I noticed the night sky above me, at first I thought there was a hole in the ceiling - after all repairs were in progress. It was then, I realized we were out on the walkway that links the two round towers. We were moving from one end to the next. According to Dudley there was a spiral staircase that ascended to the highest part of the tower and we could go up if we liked. Several warnings were issued,.."mind the holes in the floor", "walk on the crossbeams".  In my mind I was thinking, OK,..got it, no problem. This was not the case with my companions. My daughter declined the invitation, my other friend started the ascent but backed out when Dudley made some pesky remark about the railing being a bit loose and maybe we shouldn't pull on it.  (Pause for this information to settle in,.....)  so,.... here we were stepping down the spiral staircase backwards. This reminded me of times at the local pool when some swimmer got a case of the hebbie jeebies and had to crawl back down the ladder,.... (rolling eyes).

With the tour winding down, Dudley and Bonnie showed us back to the room that connected to our tower rooms, a rather large sitting room, called the Music Room. This room connected at the back to the round towers that housed the bedrooms that we decided we wouldn't be sleeping in.

Back in the safety of our room, we sat visiting with our hosts in front of a fire, sipping a drink. They told us more tales of ghostly apparitions that they had encountered, even a story about druids visiting Bonnie's mother in the night as she slept in the Red Room. Again,.. not sleeping in there. Turns out, the couch we were sitting on was a sleeper bed.

It was then, we decided that it was warmer in front of the fire and that we would all make due right there for the night. Another bonus was that we had a portable heater in the room,.... even though the ceilings were 20 ft tall and the heater was a poor effort at trying to heat the room, we decided it was preferable to sleeping in the tower rooms. I don't know about you, but the last thing I need was to wake up with a green mist coming out of the walls and druids standing around the bed in a circle - this is what Bonnies Mother had proclaimed after her night there. Egads.

As our hosts prepared to retire, Dudley recalled an old Gaelic love song and remarked to Bonnie how he hadn't sung it in years. We begged that he treat us to a rendition of it and he obliged. I wish we'd have thought to tape that moment, but we were all too engrossed by it. The tall ceilings lent to the beauty of his voice, even in Gaelic, you knew that it was a tale of longing and tragic circumstance. It was over all too soon and we slowly settled back to this world, as we had been transported elsewhere for a few moments of sheer beauty. We thanked them for making us feel welcome and sharing their home and their stories with us.

We were given a couple of torches (flashlights) and some good advice about exploring the castle,.... we had free reign of it, "just be careful" was all he said.

With the day at an end, we found we had no desire to explore. We prepared for the night and reflected on the amazing surprise that this Castle and it's occupants had been. We had taken a trip off of the main road, this stop had been in no tourist guide, this wasn't in a travelogue. We encountered the real and genuine Ireland, met it's people and shared in it's history.

As for the rest of the night,.. well it was cold. At one point my daughter (who had been glaring at me) lay shivering under the blankets said, " look" she then proceeded to exhale a large breath into the air. OK, so we can see your breath in the air. Yes, it's cold in here. Occasionally I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head as I tried to sleep. It was a long night.

Around 3 am the generator shut off, apparently they have to give it a rest and turn it off every night for 4-6 hours. One never knows how much background noise there is, until one has no background noise at all. The silence was deafening. Nervous laughter, creaking floorboards, doors opening and closing. We assumed someone was up,... yeah, that's what that was. Sleep eventually found us and morning sunlight awakened us to rather ordinary surroundings. Gone was the magick and aura that had surrounded us only a few hours earlier.

We decided to explore the Castle in the daylight hours and were delighted to see The Great Room in all it's glory.

This room runs the length of the Castle. Along one wall is the great doorway and two lavishly carved fireplaces all originally grained wood. Above the fireplace is carved in Gaelic "A strong man may fumble but never fall.

The ceiling is of plaster fan vault seven bays long, with a row of gigantic pendatives sailing down the middle. This is known as Gothic Revivalist Architecture.

Once again out into the daylight, we explored the property that we missed by arriving so late the day before.

The Yew trees that surround the castle form a union jack. According to Celtic tree lore, Yew trees were used to keep the spirits of the dead inside the boundaries of cemeteries. I had to wonder if it had the same effect here and if the souls left behind were kept within the walls of the castle because of it. Perhaps fanciful thinking, but I prefer to remember what Bonnie said about the Castle returning to life with music and art and activity again. If it brings peace to whatever energy or spirit is there, so be it.

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