Haunted Laois towns: reported ghosts and hauntings across the county

Halloween is finally here, and what better way to enjoy the spooky holiday than reading about ghost sightings in your town.

See what happened in your locality- there might be a story on your road, or even on your house.

We sourced an array of ghost stories from UCD's Dúchas database, which contains local stories written by primary school children between 1937 and 1938.

These students interviewed the elderly in their area and recorded a vast amount of ghost stories throughout Laois. These stories have been relayed in their own words.

Portlaoise
The White lady of Capoley
It has been many years now, since the white lady of Capoley was last seen; but she was seen even in this century. About sixty years ago a young visitor from England who was staying with friends in Portlaoise, went off for a spin on his bicycle, one Summer's evening. He went out full of health and vigour, and returned a few hours later a physical
wreck, trembling and shaking like an aspen. His rather incoherent story was that he had met on the road between Lamberton and Capoley, in the broad day-light, a lady dressed all in white who carried her head under her arm. The young man was very ill and returned to England soon after. However, it appears that the White Lady was a frequent visitor on this road in the old days; her favourite haunt was the area between Lamberton and Capoley, but why she wanders about in such an unorthodox fashion with her head under her arm, I can't say, and no reason for her visitations has ever been given.

Portarlington
A tale is told of a spirit that was said to wander around Corrig Wood which is situated half a mile outside the town of Portarlington. This spirit appeared at night and so frightened the horses that they ran away overturned cars and killed people. Finally no one dared to venture near the Corrig after dark. A holy priest who heard of all these happenings banished him to the sunny side of Corrig Hill. That is he must face whatever side of the Hill the sun shines on. From this time he was never seen again in the neighbourhood.

Pictured: Corrig Woods, Portarlington. Pic: Con Murphy.

Mountmellick
One night Joe Dickinson was going to a neighbour's house to play cards in Derryguile, Mountmellick, Laoighis. On his way he had to pass an old ruined house. Some of the men used to gather there and play cards till early morning. There was nobody in the house that night, but just as he was passing the gate, he heard a voice calling him. He looked in and saw a man standing at the gate. He thought he knew the man, and he went over to talk to him.
The man asked him to play cards with him. Joe went in and both sat down at an old table. They lit a candle and began playing. After some time Joe lost all his money and he said he would go on further.
They blew out the candle and departed. When Joe arrived at the neighbours house he saw the same man sitting in the corner. He did not tell his neighbours what he saw, but sat down by the fire.
The next night a number of men went to play cards in the old house.They lit the snuff of a candle and started to play. They kept on playing for several hours, but still the candle did not go out. The candle burned all night and when they were leaving, they blew out the candle. The next night they could not light the candle.They sent to town for one, but they could not light that either.
They left the house, and went home. When they went home, Joe told them his story, and since then they never played cards in that house. It is said that a person going by that house late at night, can see a man leaning over the gate.

Rathdowney
Mrs Mary Dalton, Whiteswall who had an only son, her three daughters having died young. One night the son was in Rathdowney and news reached the mother that he was arrested. Immediately she left for town and when she reached her destination she sat on the footpath outside Mr. Perry's house the Square after some time she heard noise coming from the Protestant Church. On looking up she saw a coach drawn by horses without heads. When the coach passed what appeared to be a driver came to the back and raised his hand and the spectre vanished in clouds of flames.

Pictured: Sackville square and the Church of Ireland, Rathdowney.

Wolfhill
One night a man was passing by Wolfhill graveyard and he heard the noise of rattling chains. He thought it was a ghost and was going to turn back, but what leaped over the wall, but a big dog with his tail caught in a rap-trap.

Ballylinan
A very long time ago a man was being buried in Rathaspic. It was getting very dark and one of the men who dug the grave said "Put him down to the devil out of that". When he was coming home his boot opened and as he bent down to tie it, he heard a voice say "Come back and bury me, saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost". The man then went back and buried him again.

Stradbally
The road between Maryboro & Stradbally was always unlucky until Fr. Callagan of Stradbally settled it. "Something" used to trouble that road. Accidents fatal or nearly fatal, run-a -ways and the like were of constant occurrence. Not a week passed without some ugly accident happening.
In the year 1867 or 68 a fever broke out in Athy. Until then the mail had been taken from Stradbally to Athy. Then the route was changed to Maryboro. Fr. Callagan gave the money to a man named Flanagan to purchase a pony and cart to carry the mail. Flanagan hadn't been three weeks on the road when the pony, car and himself were pitched headlong in the ditch at Bloomfield. After that Fr. Callagan walked the road from Stradbally to Maryboro wearing his stole and reading prayers every inch of the way. From that day to this no fatal accidents have happened.

Mountrath
In Killenure are the remains of a rath, and also a burial ground which is said to be the first consecrated cemetery in Leix. Regarding this place there is a very strange tradition. Many years ago a corpse was interred in it, and when night came the earth cast up the body. It was again interned, and again ejected. On the third time of its interment an old, strange, and venerable man appeared, and ordered those who were interring the corpse to plant a hawthorn over the grave. Instantly he disappeared. The party obeyed, and the remains like beneath the hawthorn.

Ballyroan
Many years ago a white woman used to appear every evening at Pallas. It was thought she was a queen who lived in Pallas castle and was killed. Many people in Pallas district have seen her at various times but she never did any harm.

Abbeyleix
The Headless Coach is so called because the horses are headless. It generally appears at midnight. It has been seen by several people on different nights.
The people say they feel terrified when they hear the furious driving of the horses, and all animals shiver and run off the road. The figure of the man on the driver's seat can be plainly seen, and he uses his whip. He is dressed in black with a tall hat and the horses and coach are jet black.
The coach starts on its journey from Blackhill avenue and on down the Balladine Road, up the town and on to the Ballyroan road as far as "Oatlands" avenue. Here it disappears When Sir Admiral Poe was dying it was seen for the first time outside his own house. One of the servants says that he was seen in it, and when they went to his room he was found dead.

Pictured: A death coach (Dullahan). A headless horseman riding a carriage, in many accounts the horses are also headless. Pic: Celtic MKE

Coolrain
Once there was a man, He lived in Coolrain. The people called him the old pensioner. He was always in the public house. One night he was drunk. There were other men there and they were also drunk. They made a coffin out of a big box and they put this man into it. Before they put the lid on the man asked for a half gallon of beer. One of the men said hammer on the lid he spoke too late. They then brought him across the fields to Anatrim graveyard. They buried him there. His grave is still to be seen. His ghost was seen in that public house one night by a man that is still alive.

Ballyfin
There was a man living in a Castle in Ballyfin named Colonel Parker Hutchinson. There was a Sergeant living nearby and was over a band of soldiers near Ballyfin. When the Sergeant grew old he went to Colonel Parker Hutchinson and begged the Colonel to let him be buried on part of his (Hutchinson's) land. The man said he would not allow Sergeant Ireton to be buried on his estate. Then when the Sergeant died he was buried in the place he had wished in a grove beside Parker Hutchinson's house. One night after Parker Hutchinson's death a girl was waiting for a car which was coming from the town. She was waiting on the lawn in front of Hutchinson's house. She was out for a long time and then her people went out to look for her. They found her dead beside the lawn with the lantern which she took out in her hand some distance away from her quenched.
One man was going for the priest but he got afraid and another man went with him. They brought the priest with them. When they were going up the lawn they were stopped by the ghost of the old Sergeant. The priest said some words and took a whip in his hand and banished the ghost of the Sergeant into a lake which can still be seen in Ballyfin. The ghost of Sergeant was seen in the form of a man with no head in the lake several times since the priest put him into the lake.

Pictured: Ballyfin Lake

Durrow
One night James Butler a native of Durrow was coming home from Cullahill. He saw a man walking on the footpath beside him. James Butler had an ass and car and asked the man to get up.
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the man turned into a dog and jumped on the ass's back. The dog snapped the reins out of James' hands, turned the ass back and begun to spit at him.
James Neill was coming from Rathdowney and he heard the screams when he reached Belmount. He wakened a man named Mahon, got some holy water and went down the road.
When they reached James Butler they could not see anything but himself and the ass and car. James told them where the dog was and they sprinkled the holy water around him. The dog went away and James went home. However the fright was too much for him and he died soon afterwards.

Timahoe

About twenty-five years ago at half past eight at night an enchanted funeral came from the top of Cullenagh mountain to Mr McHugh's rath in Garry-glass. It came right across the top of the Moineenard hill and down across Curraduff. There were horses and chariots and people there. It went into a rath and it was never seen after. There are two of the men alive still who saw it: Edward Whelan, Garryglass, Timahoe, Lein and James Scully, Kiradbally, Lein.

Camross

There is a Rath near Coolrain and one night a man was going home after rambling and he went near this place. The first thing he heard was music. Then he looked in and he saw two teams of hurlers marching out into a field. Then he saw the referee and a great crowd of people. After a while the match started and he said it was the best game he