Ghost-hunters in Kilkenny could be in line for a genuine Halloween scare, after the medieval city was declared one of the top five most haunted places in Europe.
The Marble City, the site of this country’s first-ever witch trial in 1324, was ranked the spookiest spot in Ireland by top US publication ‘Tavel + Leisure’ (stet).
The popular New York-based travel guide states: “If you’re on the hunt for some ghostly figures, you’ll want to explore Kilkenny, Ireland. This Irish city has a storied past, filled with tragic. events that allegedly left behind spirits that visitors still witness today.”
Aside from the city’s obvious historic landmarks like Kilkenny Castle, ghost enthusiasts are advised that the most chilling tragedy occurred in 1763 when 16 people died after a bridge collapsed and was washed away in a flood.
The guide adds: “Today, people report seeing creepy figures in the River Nore that rise above the mist in the early morning.”
Intrepid tourists hoping for a genuine supernatural scare are also advised to check out Poveglia island, just off Venice in Italy.
The guide notes that the abandoned outpost was once a home for people dying from the bubonic plague, and that it later housed a mental asylum where doctors were rumoured to have performed experiments on hapless patients.
Creepy French castle Chateua de Brissac - “where Charlotte of France was murdered after her husband found her cheating with one of her friends” is also referenced, although guests are warned to be on their guard for the spectre of young Charlotte wandering through the castle.
Unsurprisingly, the eerie Tower of London, which was used as a prison and execution site after it was built in the Eleventh Century, makes the list.
But a less well-known haunted destination is Akerhus Festning, a remote medieval castle in Norway which was the site of a prison up until its closure in 1950.
The travel guilde adds: “Prison sentences at the castle often involved hard physical labour, and it was known for using irons and chains as a way to discipline prisoners. Rumours persist of whispers
and scratching heard along the hallways, and guards have reported weird sensations, like being pushed by someone who wasn’t there while working.”
