Moon Mausoleum
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
Have a look at some of the most haunted places in Dublin, from the mysteries of the Hellfire Club, churches where you can supposedly summon the devil and the dead lingering in the dusty libraries and colleges.
Have a look at some of the most haunted places in Dublin, from the mysteries of the Hellfire Club, churches where you can supposedly summon the devil and the dead lingering in the dusty libraries and colleges.
Ghosts of famed writers in dark pubs, still sipping their Guinness, secret societies in the mountains or the victims of the famine, wars, the most haunted places in Dublin range from the obvious old castles and battlefields to the more quaint streets and buildings.
Read more: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland
Although far from a complete list, let’s have a look at some of the more famous ghost stories and places that are said to be particularly haunted in the capital of the Emerald Island.
This mysterious ruin perched atop the Dublin Mountains has long been steeped in sinister legend. Built in 1725 as a hunting lodge for William Conolly, the site later became home to the Hellfire Club, a secret society of the rich and powerful said to dabble in the occult, black masses and unspeakable ceremonies. Among the most enduring tales is that the devil himself once appeared as a nobleman invited to play cards with the club’s members, revealing his cloven hooves when picked-up the fallen card from the floor. Besides those chilling legends the site is associated with ghostly figures, animal sacrifices and the uneasy notion that the lodge was built on top of an ancient grave or standing-stone cairn disturbed by the construction.
Read the whole story: The Mysterious Legends of Hellfire Club on Montpelier Hill
Built in 1796 and closed in 1924, Kilmainham Gaol housed not only ordinary criminals but many of Ireland’s most famous revolutionaries during the fight for independence. During its restoration in the 1960s workers reported numerous paranormal events like lights switching themselves on, footsteps echoing on empty corridors, and even violent episodes of unseen forces pinning people to walls.
Read the whole story: The Ghosts of Kilmainham Gaol
Throughout Dublin City, the many pubs and bars come with centuries of stories, some of them ghost stories. From plotting revolutionaries to somber writers, these pubs and bars are said to be a place where some of the patrons have been lingering for a long time. You don’t have to choose between checking out haunted locations and sitting down for a pint in Dublin as the number of haunted pubs and bars around the city will take you around a haunted pub crawl around the streets of Dublin all night.
Read the whole story: The Haunted Pub Crawl through Dublin
Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland’s largest burial ground, spanning over 124 acres with more than 1.5 million burials, and is home to both the nation’s heroes and its restless dead. Among its most famous legends is that of a Newfoundland dog who refused to abandon his master, Captain John McNeill Boyd, after the sailor’s death in 1861. The loyal creature is said to have starved to death by his grave, and even now, witnesses claim to see his ghost wandering the pathways or hear the soft padding of phantom paws in the dark. There are also said to be ghosts from the cemetery venturing into the neighboring pub for a cold one.
Read the whole story: Glasnevin Cemetery and the Faithful Ghost Dog still Waiting for his Master
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s oldest university founded in 1592, is steeped in history and haunted lore that stretches across its centuries-old campus. The most famous ghost story is Edward Ford, a stern Fellow murdered by drunken students in 1734, whose ghost is said to still wander the Rubrics at dusk in his powdered wig and gown. Other spectral figures include physicist George Francis Fitzgerald, mathematician Thomas Meredith, and even Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, who searches eternally for a lost note among his library’s books. The college’s dark past with body snatchers also lingers, as the ghosts of dissected corpses are believed to haunt the School of Medicine, where their remains were once found buried beneath the earth.
Read the whole story: Trinity College: The Ghostly Scholars Who Never Left
Dublin Castle is said to be haunted by the headless ghosts of prisoners executed centuries ago after attempting to storm its walls. Built on the site of a Viking fortress and serving as the seat of British rule in Ireland for more than 700 years, the castle has witnessed betrayal, bloodshed, and rebellion. The restless spirits of those who met their fate within its grounds are believed to wander the Upper Yard, once the heart of the medieval stronghold. Visitors have reported eerie sensations of being watched, fleeting shadowy figures, and the sound of footsteps echoing through the empty halls. Legends also tell of a grieving woman mourning her lost lover and of strange happenings reported by guards in more recent times, including lights flickering and phantom noises in the night.
Read the whole story: The Headless Ghosts Haunting Dublin Castle
Once home to the Guinness family and now the Department of Foreign Affairs, is said to be haunted by the spirit of a dying servant girl denied her last rites. According to legend, the young maid, a devout Catholic, begged for a priest as she lay dying, but her Protestant employers refused her plea. After her death, a glowing cross began to appear on her window every Holy Thursday, drawing crowds who prayed beneath it in awe. The mark was said to return even when the glass was scrubbed or replaced, as if the girl’s faith had imprinted itself upon the house forever. Some also link the haunting to Dermot O’Hurley, the Archbishop of Cashel, who was executed nearby in 1584.
Read the whole story: Iveagh House: The Dying Servant and the Cross in the Window
Connolly Station, one of Dublin’s busiest transport hubs, carries a darker history beneath its bustling platforms. Built in 1844, the station is said to be haunted by the spirit of a weary soldier who wanders the tracks, still waiting for a train that will never come. His apparition, seen by night guards and passengers alike, is linked by some to the tragic Dublin bombing of 1941, when four German bombs struck nearby, killing twenty-eight people. Even today, eerie reports persist of doors opening by themselves, ghostly footsteps echoing through empty halls, and spectral figures seen on security cameras. Other sightings include a Victorian woman near the stairs, a man in a grey suit on platform 5, and a mysterious woman in a sun hat haunting the bus area.
Read the whole story: Connolly Station: The Soldier Who Waits for a Train That Never Comes
The ghost of Buck Jones, Dublin’s infamous headless horseman, is said to haunt Jones’s Road, galloping through the night on a spectral white horse. Once Dublin’s respected City Sheriff, Frederick “Buck” Jones lived a life of privilege before his obsession with gambling led to financial ruin and disgrace. After years of downfall and imprisonment, he died destitute in 1834, cursing the men who betrayed him. Soon after, witnesses began reporting the thunder of ghostly hooves and the chilling sight of a headless rider racing toward Croke Park, clutching his severed head beneath one arm.
Read the whole story: The Headless Ghost of Buck Jones: Dublin’s Restless Sheriff
The ghost of Pat Doyle is said to haunt the site where Dublin’s Marshalsea Barracks once stood, a grim debtor’s prison in the Liberties where men and their families were confined for the sin of poverty. Desperate to escape, Doyle fell to his death one stormy night while attempting to flee across the roof. Ever since, witnesses have reported hearing footsteps along the vanished walls and seeing a flickering shadow pacing the spot where he fell. Though the prison was demolished in the 1970s, locals still claim that the air around its remains carries a strange chill and the uneasy feeling of being watched.
Read the whole story: The Ghost of Marshalsea Barracks: The Prison That Never Slept
Croppie’s Acre, a quiet green stretch beside the River Liffey near Kilmainham, is said to be one of Dublin’s most haunted places. Believed to be a mass grave for the rebels of the 1798 uprising, the field is thought to hold the restless spirits of the “Croppies” who were executed and buried without ceremony after their failed rebellion. Though no remains have ever been officially found, locals insist the ground itself feels uneasy, with tales of cold chills, shifting earth, and shadowy figures watching from the edges.
Read the whole story: The Haunted Fields of Croppie’s Acre: Dublin’s Restless Rebellion Ground
Once known as Dublin’s most haunted street, Hendrick Street in Smithfield carried a chilling reputation for generations even after the houses were demolished from the 1950s. The adjoining houses at numbers 7 and 8 were said to be home to at least six restless spirits that tormented tenants for decades. Strange knocks, footsteps, and icy drafts plagued those who dared to live there, and many fled after nights of terror. One haunting told of a woman’s ghost pacing the stairs until dawn, while another spoke of a bitter husband’s spirit that lingered by the fireplace to torment his widow.
Read the whole story: The Haunting of Hendrick Street: Dublin’s Most Cursed Corner
In Dublin 7, the dark stone walls of St Mary’s Chapel of Ease, better known as The Black Church, have long inspired fear and fascination. Built in 1830 from black calp limestone, the church’s ominous appearance gave rise to a legend that the devil himself can be summoned there. Locals say there are three rituals to call him forth: running around the church three times at midnight, circling it backward thirteen times, or reciting the Our Father in reverse at its door. Though it was deconsecrated in the 1960s and now serves as offices, eerie stories persist of cold drafts, flickering lights, and the feeling of unseen eyes watching.
Read the whole story: The Black Church: Where the Devil Waits in Dublin
In the heart of Dublin’s Liberties, the ghost of Darkey Kelly, known as The Green Lady, is said to haunt the 40 steps leading to St. Audoen’s Church. Once an 18th-century innkeeper and madam of the Maiden Tower brothel, Darkey Kelly became entangled with the Hellfire Club and its notorious member, Sheriff Simon Luttrell. Accused of witchcraft and murder after a bitter dispute, she was publicly burned at the stake in 1761. Her execution, one of Dublin’s most brutal, sparked centuries of rumor and legend of her hiding corpses beneath her brothel to tales of dark pacts and vengeance from beyond the grave. To this day, on misty nights, people report seeing her glowing green apparition gliding near St. Audoen’s.
Read the whole story: Darkey Kelly: The Green Lady of the Liberties
Once the Royal Barracks and now home to the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks in Dublin still echoes with its centuries of military history. Guards and visitors have reported the tread of unseen boots, the ring of distant gunfire, and ghostly figures in Napoleonic uniforms marching across the courtyards. The most famous spirit is that of a First World War Quartermaster who still patrols the east wing, while an old army tale from 1925 tells of ghostly British troops departing for “Blighty” after death. Some even claim to hear a woman’s mournful singing, believed to be the spirit of a young guest allegedly murdered by officers centuries ago.
Read the whole story: The Haunted National Museum of Ireland: Ghosts of Collins Barracks
Within the towering walls of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, whispers of the past still linger. Jonathan Swift, the famed author of Gulliver’s Travels and former Dean of the Cathedral, is believed to haunt the sacred halls he once presided over. Buried beside his beloved Stella, Swift’s peace was shattered when his remains were exhumed in the 1800s for scientific study. Since then, visitors and clergy have spoken of cold drafts, ghostly footsteps, and a tall shadow in clerical robes that drifts through the nave before vanishing into the dim light. Some believe the spirit still guards the cathedral, while others think he wanders between St. Patrick’s and Marsh’s Library, visiting Stella’s skull kept there after the dissection.
Read the whole story: St. Patrick’s Cathedral: The Restless Spirit of Jonathan Swift and The Haunting in Marsh’s Library in Dublin
For nearly two hundred years, this elegant landmark has welcomed kings, poets, and presidents, but one guest has never checked out, said to be Mary Masters, a little girl said to have died of cholera long before the hotel’s construction. The haunting became legend in 1965 when famed paranormal investigator Hans Holzer and psychic Sybil Leek conducted a séance in Room 526. Leek claimed to contact the spirit of a frightened seven-year-old girl who said she had lived and died on the site in the 18th century, searching still for her mother and sister. Since then, countless visitors have reported strange happenings like taps turning on by themselves, soft footsteps, whispers in the dark, and the feeling of a child climbing into bed beside them.
Read the whole story: The Haunted Shelbourne Hotel and the Ghost of Mary Masters
