Ukategorisert
The Black Church: Where the Devil Waits in Dublin
A church with the sinister name The Black Church in Dublin has a legend that claims if you follow the ritual, you will be able to summon the devil.
A church with the sinister name The Black Church in Dublin has a legend that claims if you follow the ritual, you will be able to summon the devil.
In the quiet streets of Dublin 7, where old stone and shadow mingle, there stands a building that has said to hold the power to summon the devil. Surprising enough, it is a former church and chapel.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland
St Mary’s Chapel of Ease, better known as The Black Church, is built of dark calp limestone that seems to drink in the light. When it rains the limestone takes on a dark hue when getting wet, hence the name it was given. Once a place of worship, it now serves as offices, yet few locals can walk past it after dark without glancing over their shoulder. The reason is simple: the devil is said to dwell here.
The Church of Shadows
Built in 1830, protestant chapel, The Black Church was designed to serve parishioners who lived too far from St Mary’s on Marlborough Street. It even has a mention in James Joyce’s Ulysses. Over the years, however, its eerie appearance earned it a far darker reputation. The rough, blackened stone gave the building a funereal air, and as the decades passed, stories began to grow about strange whispers, cold drafts, and the feeling of being watched even in daylight.
When the church was deconsecrated in the 1960s, many claimed it was not just falling attendance that led to its closure, but something more sinister. Some even said that during its final service, the candles flickered violently and the air turned ice cold as if something within the walls had awoken.
Summoning the Devil
Every haunting has its ritual, and The Black Church has three. Locals whisper that there are only three ways to summon the devil himself.
- One version says you must run around the church three times at midnight, your footsteps echoing on the empty street.
- Another insists you must walk around it in reverse exactly thirteen times without looking away from the building.
- The final, and perhaps most blasphemous, claims that if you stand before its door and recite the Our Father backwards, the devil will appear before you.
No one admits to trying all three. Some say a student once dared to, only to vanish without a trace, his friends finding his shoes by the entrance the next morning.
A Warning in Stone
Though time has softened its purpose, The Black Church remains one of Dublin’s most enduring legends. Whether or not the devil ever walked its grounds, its stones hold a strange gravity that draws the curious and the foolish alike.
If you ever find yourself near St Mary’s Place on a still night, take care. You may feel tempted to test the legend, to run around its walls or whisper a forbidden prayer. But remember the warnings of the locals and those who call upon the darkness at The Black Church may find that it answers.
Newest Posts
- The Hauntings of Gamle Aker Church Over a Dragon’s Den
Could it be that the oldest church in Oslo also has the oldest haunting? From legends about a dragon’s den underneath the structure and the ghostly silhouette haunting, the Gamle Aker Church perhaps has more activity than what meets the naked eye. - The Janissaries Vampires in Veliko TarnovoDuring a time when Bulgaria was under the Ottoman Empire, there was talk about a vampire haunting the streets of Veliko Tarnovo. The rumours got so bad, that the Islamic rulers had to turn to pagan belief to rid themselves of the bloodthirsty creatures.
- The Legend of the White Lady of Utstein MonasteryIn the windswept landscape of Norway’s west coast lies the Utstein Monastery, a site steeped in history and haunting tales. Known as Norway’s best-preserved medieval monastery, its ancient stone walls and iconic Gothic windows whisper stories of faith, love, and loss as well as the ghost of a Lady in White.
- The Lord Edward Pub: The Rebel’s Restless SpiritAfter dying for the cause of Irish Independence, it is said the ghost of Lord Edward is haunting the pub he is buried close to and bears his name.
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral: The Restless Spirit of Jonathan SwiftIn the ancient St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, there are said to be restless spirits still lingering. One of the more well known is said to be the ghost of Jonathan Swift, perhaps best known as the author of Gulliver’s Travels.
- The Hauntings of Stortorvet Gjestgiveri RestaurantIn one of the city’s oldest buildings, the freshest food is served in the ancient locale. For years though, there have been talks about Stortorvet Gjestgiveri restaurant being haunted, and even made it as one of the most haunted clips in the national ghost hunting show.
- The Headless Ghost of Buck Jones: Dublin’s Restless SheriffHaunting Jone’s Road in Dublin, a headless horseman is said to roam after his life turned dark after scheming peers. And the former Dublin Sheriff, Buck Jones has become one of Ireland’s most well known headless horseman ghosts.
- John Kavanagh’s ‘The Gravediggers’: A Pint with the DeadNext to the Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, there is a pub called John Kavanagh’s ‘The Gravediggers’, where they went to have a pint after working at the cemetery. Rumor has it that the pub is haunted by those buried next door.
- The Armenian Vampire Dakhanavar of the ValleysSaid to be a protector of the Valleys in Armenia, the Dakhanavar vampire hides in the caves in the mountains, waiting for intruders to quench his thirst.
- Connolly Station: The Soldier Who Waits for a Train That Never ComesCould the Connolly Station in Dublin be haunted? Some claim that the ghosts of the victims from the Dublin Bombing in world war two could still be lingering near the tracks.
- The Headless Undead in the Ruffinihaus CourtyardOnce a place for executions, the place the Ruffinihaus in Munich, Germany is built upon is said to be haunted. It is said that in the dead of night, the undead rises from their graves, still carrying their heads the executioners took.
- The Ghost of Könizwald, Bern: The Ghost of General Robert Scipio von LentulusWhere the former country estate Campagne Mon Repos in Bern once was, the ghostly council of the military leader from General Robert Scipio von Lentulus was given in times of unrest. Is he still haunting the Könizwald woods, even after his estate is gone?
References:
St Mary’s, Dublin (chapel of ease) – Wikipedia
15 scary and most haunted places in Dublin that you won’t want to visit this Halloween
