Disturbing Immortals Haunt The Emerald Isle
A country deeply rooted in mythology and storytelling, Ireland has a long list of dark tales. Irish folklore portrays some of the most disturbing immortals that lurk in the grassy hills, depicting why the island is the way it is. Here we share the evil from Ireland's most crooked characters, from envious witches to blood-thirsty ghosts.
1. The Dearg Due
This is a tale of a tragic love story filled with greed and blood. After falling in love with a peasant, the woman’s father forces her to marry a wealthy chieftain who locks her up so she can’t escape. She takes her own life but her spirit rises from the grave to seek revenge, sucking the blood from the cruel men like a vampire. It’s said that Miss Dearg Due (“blood-sucker”) uses her beauty to seduce male victims and drink their blood once a year when her restless spirit is thirsty.
2. The Demon Bride
If you thought you knew a Bridezilla, think again. In Errigal-Truagh graveyard, the ghost of a bride in white haunts funerals, hoping for a young man to linger behind after other mourners leave. She persuades men to kiss her, trading his soul for her lips. She vanishes, leaving them crazed and bewildered until they eventually die of insanity.
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3. The Banshee
The Banshee is Ireland’s most famous ghostly monster who is described as a female entity who lets out a spine-tingling shriek as she wails into the night. You don’t want to hear her scream–– she is known as an omen of death and to hear her painful cry means a family member will die soon. Some believe every family has their own Banshee.
4. The Dullahan
The Dullahan means “dark man” and he is dark indeed. He’s Ireland's version of the headless horseman who roams the country with his decapitated head under one arm. He either rides horseback on a black stallion with flaming eyes or he takes his black carriage pulled by six horses. When he stops, someone must die. People say that when the shriek of the Banshee is heard, the Dullahan is near, ready to collect new souls.
5. Aoife, The Wife Of King Lir
In the ancient tale of The Children of Lir, Aoife is a king’s jealous second wife who possesses magical powers. She envies his four children since he spends all of his time with them. Fueled by jealousy, Aoife takes the children to a lake where she casts a spell on them, turning them into swans. She knew if she killed them they would haunt her so instead she forced them to live as swans for 900 years. After nine long centuries, they returned to human form but shortly died of old age.
6. The Puca
The Puca is a ghost capable of assuming the form of furry creatures that haunt remote parts of rural Ireland. It’s said that witnessing this mischievous critter can be a sign of good or bad luck. One tale suggests that the Puca transformed itself into a horse to trick a drunken patron outside a pub. The evil horse wildly carried him into the hills and dumped him there alone and confused.
7. Wolf Men Of Tipperary
There are many violent tales to tell of the Wolf Men of Tipperary. These harsh men were shapeshifters, transforming into wolf-like creatures in preparation for battle. They would fight for kings and chieftains willing to pay a steep price, soaking the land in their victims’ blood after vicious attacks.
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8. Balor
In Celtic folklore, Balor is a giant and the demonic god of death. A glance from his one gigantic eye will kill you. He ruled the evil creatures known as Fomorians that lurk in the depths of Irish lakes, feeding them innocent people for dinner. Now that he is dead after his son killed him with a slingshot, the Fomorians must fend for themselves and search for prey on their own.
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9. The Hag Of Beara
The Hag of Beara is the witch of the winter who brings the frosty season to Ireland every year. Locals fear her as she controls the harsh climate, devastating farms and livestock with icy temperatures and wicked storms. The most southerly point of the famous Cliffs of Moher is called Hag’s Head, named after this cold-blooded witch.
10. The Sluagh
The Sluagh are a gruesome group of dead sinners who have taken the form of malevolent spirits. They soar through the sky from the west in packs, searching for homes with dying habitants whose spirits they intend to steal. Irish believers keep their west-facing windows locked to prevent the evil ghosts from entering their houses.
11. Evil Leprechauns
To many, the leprechauns are jolly little lads who live at the end of rainbows with their pots of gold. Don’t be fooled by their charming red beards and silly Irish banter, some of them are evil. Their practical jokes are no laughing matter as they torment and irritate their victims to insanity.
12. Carman
With the essence of a witch, the Celtic goddess named Carman is a force of destruction and evil magic. With her three sons by her side, she destroys everything in her path as she travels across the land. The trio of brothers Dub (darkness), Dother (evil), and Dain (violence) were banished from Ireland after their mother was defeated by the magical people known as the Tuatha De Danann.
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13. Lady Of The Lake
In an abandoned haunted manor in Limerick roams a ghostly lady. Instead of Christmas lights, the legend claims that every Christmas Eve, this disturbing woman lights up the lake by the house with her burning figure. She hovers over the lake with her body in flames, terrifying those who catch her fire in their eyes.
14. The Kelpie
In Irish folklore, the Kelpie is no ordinary pony–– she is the ghost of a sea monster in disguise. The dark creature uses its pony form to trick vulnerable children into going for a fatal horseback ride into the sea. A telling sign of the Kelpie is its drenched mane dripping with salty water.
15. Aos Si
Aos Si means “people of the mound”, referring to a species of fairies that appear in many Irish myths. These spiteful fairies are protective of their territories and are quick to seek revenge on humans who offend them or trespass on their land. They destroy lives with their spells, kidnap their victim’s children, and ruin family land with their curses.
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16. The Abhartach
With an appearance like a vampire, the Abhartach was an evil dwarf who tormented villages with his powerful dark magic. Legend has it that the Abhartach was slain and buried by a village chieftain multiple times as he continuously rose from his grave, never accepting death. Turns out he needed to be buried face down for him to stay put underground.
17. The Clurichaun
The Clurichaun is a close cousin to a leprechaun, or so he wants you to believe. With an identical appearance to a traditional leprechaun, the Clurichaun creeps in the cellars of pubs and homes, getting drunk off their booze. If he was treated badly by the owner, he would wreak havoc by destroying the stock and begrudgingly lurking in their homes forever.
18. Caorthannach
As the legend goes, Caorthannach was a demon who managed to escape St. Patrick, an Irish saint who banished all snakes and demons from the island. She was St. Patrick’s one remaining conquest and is said to be the mother of the devil who spit fire and poisoned water wells. Eventually, the saint was able to drown her in the sea which created a swell known today as Hawk’s Well.
19. Changelings
Changelings could be described as elderly bug-eyed fairies with a twisted dream to be young again. They were shapeshifting immortals who kidnapped children and then took their appearances. This creepy act was their way of experiencing life as a baby human.
20. Leanan Sidhe
Leanan appeared to be a pretty fairy on the outside but her true self was a demonic muse. With her bewitching beauty, she seduced Ireland’s greatest poets and musicians and left them devastated with broken hearts until they eventually died. The disturbed fairy would take the bodies of her deceased lovers back to her lair where she drained their blood into a giant red cauldron.
