On the hills where the last wolves in Ireland roamed, ghosts have been spotted on Feltrim Hill, always moving towards the sacred spring that were said to have healing powers.
Rising quietly over Malahide, Feltrim Hill holds a shadowed place in Ireland’s ancient past. Long before houses dotted the landscape, this was wild country, where wolves roamed freely and whispers of the Otherworld clung to every stone in what was once known as The Hill of the Wolves. The air here feels older, heavier, as though it remembers what the living have long forgotten.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland
It is also reported that Feltrim was the last place in Ireland that wolves were to be found with the last of the species killed here in the 18th century. Hidden among the rolling fields lies a holy well, once dedicated to a Saxon princess said to possess healing powers, although today, most legends are of the haunted kind.
Feltrim Hill Quarry and Well
Once, there used to be a historic village called Feltrim Hill. Close to it, it was a sacred spring that they turned into a well and deemed holy. Because of quarrying of the limestone since the 1880s, both the spring and half the hill is gone, but the legends about the place remain.
As mentioned, there was a Saxon princess who ruled these parts around 689 C.E, and that the well was dedicated to. In ancient times, there used to be 14 beech trees in a line that guided pilgrims to the well where they attended mass. And although the well itself is believed to have been destroyed, the water is still there. In 1947 an archaeological excavation was conducted atop Feltrim Hill uncovering over 500 artifacts including Roman coins and tinned bronze from the 4th century C.E.
The remains of Fagan’s Castle can also be found on Feltrim Hill. Built in 1427 by the Fagan family, a once powerful Catholic family whose power waned significantly after the Battle of the Boyne and where only small pieces of ruins are still visible. After 1560 Richard Fagan built a manor house at feltrim. His descendants were known as the Fagans of Feltrim.Today, this also lies in ruins, overgrown by woodland.
Some say that the well is still there though, although sealed off from the public by the Feltrim Quarry who owns the land.
The Hellhound of Feltram Hill
The people of Malahide speak of a hellhound that stalks the slopes after nightfall. Its eyes are said to glow a deep, unnatural red, like embers burning in the dark. Those unfortunate enough to meet its gaze are struck with an overwhelming dread, their hearts pounding as the creature watches silently from the shadows. Some say it is a guardian of the hill, others believe it is a cursed soul condemned to roam for eternity. Its howl, low and mournful, has been heard on stormy nights, echoing across the fields like a warning to stay away.
But the hellhound is not alone. A phantom horse, pale as fog, is said to gallop across the summit, its hooves making no sound upon the earth. Riders have tried to follow it, only for the apparition to vanish into thin air as it nears the holy well.
And near that same well, when the mist settles thick upon the ground, the figure of an old woman has been seen struggling up the hill, a heavy bundle on her back. Her face is hidden, her steps slow and deliberate, as she makes her way toward the sacred spring before fading like smoke in the morning light.
Feltrim Hill is a place where the veil between worlds wears thin and where Irish history lurks right behind the fenced off areas. The healing waters may still bless those who come with pure hearts, but the hill also guards darker secrets and Feltrim Hills seemingly looks like one of the most haunted hills around.
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References:
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