Moon Mausoleum
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In the Naul outside of Dublin, the Westown House was for a long time abandoned and left to ruins. Now the work of restoring the building has started, but the question is, how about the ghosts said to linger there? Are they still haunting their ruins?
In the Naul outside of Dublin, the Westown House was for a long time abandoned and left to ruins. Now the work of restoring the building has started, but the question is, how about the ghosts said to linger there? Are they still haunting their ruins?
Hidden among the quiet fields of Naul, the ruins of Westown House stood like a memory half-buried in ivy and stone after it was abandoned in the 1920s. Once an elegant 18th-century mansion and seat for the Hussey family, the grand home has long since fallen to ruin. Its crumbling walls and overgrown grounds whisper of days of wealth and laughter now long gone.
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Today, the house is being restored to its former glory, and works have been going on since 2015,, but there are those who say that some of its former inhabitants never left. Among them is the ghost of a man who met a violent end, and whose presence still chills the air around the ruins.
Local legend tells of a poacher who once prowled the woods and fields surrounding Westown House. He knew the land as well as his own breath, moving silently beneath the cover of darkness, hunting the game that belonged to the estate’s owners. One night, his luck ran out. Caught in the act, he was shot dead where he stood. His body was said to have been left where it fell until dawn, the mist rising around him like a shroud. Now, his spirit is said to haunt the grounds, restless and unseen, but never far away.
Those who walk the paths near the ruins after dark often speak of a presence at their back, a faint sound of twigs snapping under unseen feet. The air grows thick, and a heavy breath can be felt on the neck or heard just beside the ear, close enough to make the heart stop. Some claim to hear the low rustle of a man’s coat or the sound of labored breathing echoing between the trees. When they turn to look, there is nothing but the empty ruin and the sighing wind through the grass.
The Westown House has more than one ghost story lingering over the estate. On the third floor, there used to be several bedrooms for guests. Once upon a time, when the house had its lights on and people came for visits, its said that one of the guests had an unfortunate end.
According to the story, one of the guests staying at the house fell out from one of the windows and was found dead the next morning. Ever since then, people have talked about a ghost roaming the area, and many stories have come from students camping and people taking a walk on the grounds, and where they have experienced paranormal activity. Was it the ghost of the poacher they met, or perhaps the guest who met an unfortunate end?
The restoration may bring new life to Westown House, but it seems unlikely that the poacher’s ghost will ever move on. His final breath lingers in the air, caught between worlds, bound forever to the land he once hunted and the house that became his grave.
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