Pretty Castle But Tough to Sleep
The first Kinnitty Castle once housed Druids and Bards and was knocked down in 1209 and rebuilt in 1213 by the Normans. Whilst the Normans were in control of the castle, an Augustinian Abbey was established near the castle. The High Cross and Abbey Wall still remain on the estate today. In 1630 William O Carroll built a new castle in close proximity to the old abbey, but this was confiscated in 1641 by English forces. In 1664, the castle and estate were given to Thomas Winter as a reward for military service.
The castle stayed in the Winter family for 100 years, when it was sold to the Bernard family. In 1811 Catherine Hutchinson commissioned the Pain brothers to extend the castle into what it is today. Unfortunately, in 1922 the castle was burned by Republican forces, but it was rebuilt in 1928. In 1994, the castle was turned into a luxury hotel which still stands today.
Its turbulent history is reportedly the home of many ghosts.The most famous ghost at the castle is referred to as the Phantom Monk of Kinnitty, who is probably one of the most communicative ghosts there is – he has been known to communicate with staff members and visitors from time to time and often appears as a solid form. Some people mistake him as a real, living person, whilst others see him as a shadowy phantom. There are also two haunted bedrooms at the hotel, the Geraldine room and the Elizabeth room. Numerous other nooks and crannies at the hotel are also reported to be home to various eerie presences that are seen and sensed by staff and visitors alike.
These unfortunate guests too soon discovered the Kinnitty Castle was haunted:
“Worst Hotel and Haunted!”
“We went to bed and when the lights went out, the room was black dark… then we heard breathing coming from the corner of the room. I never slept a wink all night. My boyfriend then told me he saw a shadow in the room at 3am! We left very early the next morning.”
“Haunted but pretty castle-tough to sleep”
“Beautiful grounds and castle but it is definitely haunted!! The staff at this hotel are lovely but although I never believed in hauntings before my stay here-I do now! Try to stay in the new part of the property since when I stayed in the De la pore suite-it was haunted for sure!!!! At first I could not get a good picture of the suite because of all the orbs in the pictures- but I did not know what they were till I got home. We were awoke several times by a ringing phone when I called the front desk to complain –they said it was not possible that our phone rang three separate times from 11-4am without them patching it through? They assured me that they had not transferred a call but that-“maybe I should disconnect the phone so I would not be awoken anymore.” I then noticed that the clock radio was disconnected and we heard voices of children running and talking. They said no one was in the rooms around us but it was weird that we heard breathing in our room around 4am and my husband woke me and wanted to leave immediately. He is a fireman 6″2 and 250 lbs who runs into burning buildings for a living but he wanted to get the hell out of there and forego the prepaid breakfast! He told me of hearing voices and how the tv had changed channels several times earlier. Neat place but stay in the new construction part of the building then you might get some sleep- it might be less haunted!!!”
If you are looking for a spooky adventure, this will be an experience like not other, but if you are looking for a good night sleep perhaps this is not the kind of weekend getaway for you.