With Hallowe’en on the way the ‘Journal’ has compiled a list of Derry and Donegal’s most haunted spots with spine-chilling tales of ghosts, banshees and demonic manifestations.

The Ghosts of Boom Hall

"During the Siege of Derry Captain Robert Browning of The Mountjoy died of wounds received in the battle to relieve the city.

"It is said that his wife Jane watched from the shore, from the site of Charles Fort, believing that she would see her husband soon, but it was not to be.

Southway's Headless Coachman. According to Peter McCartney's wonderful 1993 compendium 'Parade of Phantoms' - "On Hallowe'en night, every third year, a ghostly black hearse drawn by six horses was said to appear on the old Coach Road."

placeholder image — Southway's Headless Coachman. According to Peter McCartney's wonderful 1993 compendium 'Parade of Phantoms' - "On Hallowe'en night, every third year, a ghostly black hearse drawn by six horses was said to appear on the old Coach Road."

“Could it be that it really is his ghost that is reputed to walk along the river on the land known as Gunsland in search of his wife, to fulfil a promise that he would return?

“There have been stories that on misty evenings sounds have echoed across the water and a tall man stands perfectly still, looking towards the river before moving in an erratic way along the riverbank."

This extract from 'Haunted Derry' as reproduced with permission in the 'Journal' in 2015.

Southway’s Headless Coachman

The devil and the blacksmith in Howard Street. Howard Street once linked St. Columb's Wells and the Long Tower. Peter McCartney's 'Parade of Phantoms' tells of a card game between the devil and a local blacksmith.

Southway used to be more commonly known as the Coach Road which led from the old fever hospital on Foyle Hill to the city cemetery and was once traversed by fever wagons and hearses.

The hospital was eventually demolished but some of the associations gave rise to creepy tales. According to Peter McCartney's wonderful 1993 compendium 'Parade of Phantoms' - "On Hallowe'en night, every third year, a ghostly black hearse drawn by six horses was said to appear on the old Coach Road. Atop the phantom carriage sat a headless coachman, lashing out madly with a whip. Swaying and creaking, the coach would hurtle wildly down the toad and disappear into the cemetery."

The Devil and the Blacksmith

Howard Street once linked St. Columb's Wells and the Long Tower. According to an account in Peter McCartney's 'Parade of Phantoms' there once stood a livery stable at the top. Therein lived a blacksmith who had a reputation as a gambler and drinker. Some locals, tired of the smith's hell-raising, asked a local priest to have a word.

The Ghosts of Boom Hall. There have been stories that on misty evenings sounds have echoed across the water and a tall man stands perfectly still, looking towards the river before moving in an erratic way along the riverbank.

When asked to stop he mocked the cleric telling him he would challenge even the devil to a game of cards rather than quit. One stormy night, 'the blacksmith opened the door and was confronted by a tall, lean man wearing a long black cloak, standing stony-still. The man's gaunt face was deathly pale in colour and a faint eerie glow seemed to issue from his deep sunken eyes'. They got to playing cards.

The blacksmith lost and realised he was playing with the devil incarnate who told him 'I will only accept your immortal soul'. The stable and forge were burned down and reputedly nothing has ever been built on it since.

The Demon Bride of Bishop Street

A haunting in Bishop Street led to a harrowing exorcism in the 1940s. The building was apparently haunted by a young bride-to-be who had died tragically young.

Cushy Glen and the ghosts of the Murder Hole Road. The ghosts of the victims of the notorious highwayman Cushy Glen, are said to haunt the Windy Hill Road between Limavady and Coleraine.

Years later a young couple had moved in. A young girl was passing and thought she saw a 'slim figure in a white dress' from one of the windows and crossed the street to take a closer look.

"Suddenly, the figure thrust its head forward, right up against the window, and the young girl reeled in horror as she saw a leering evil face, contorted in a malevolent, sneering face, staring down at her'. Ultimately an exorcism was carried out. The building was eventually demolished. This too is from 'Parade of Phantoms'.

The Lady with the Lamp

The Foyle Arts Centre is famously haunted by the ‘lady with the lamp.’ She can be seen walking the upper floors of the building that was once home to Foyle College carrying a lantern in her ephemeral hands.

Nightmare on Nelson Street

Nelson Street once connected Blucher Street and the Lecky Road. One wintry might a woman lay dying in the street and beseeched a family living in the street to take in her child.

Maggie Murphy's lane runs from Kilfennan down to Nelson Drive. It is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of a young Maggie Murphy, her lover and her enraged father

The family did but did not treat the child well. It was said that the household soon began to experience all kinds of inexplicable phenomena such as chilling wailing and objects flying around.

Some said it was the woman come back from the dead to haunt them for their neglect. Until the house was knocked down in the late 1960s people used to cross the road rather than walk past it. From 'Parade of Phantoms'.

Abhartach

Abhartach was a chieftain from Glenullin who is said to lie under the Giant’s Grave in the townland of Slaughtaverty between Dungiven and Garvagh. He was buried upright in the fifth of sixth century. The following day, Abhartach returned and demanded that each of his subjects cut their wrist and gather the blood in a bowl. They were told to do this and deliver the blood to him each day in order to sustain his life. Terrified, they did as he ordered. It's said the Abhartach legend partly inspired Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'.

Stumpy's Brae

The ghost of a mutilated pedlar murdered by an old couple on a remote road between St. Johnston and Lifford in the 1700s is still thought to haunt a steep brae and bridge near Craighadoes. Stumpy (Tom the Toiler) was allegedly murdered with a pick for his belongings.

They tried to put him in his pack after emptying it of goods but he was too tall so they cut off his legs at the knee to bury him.

Tom came back for vengeance as a gruesome ghost that walked about on the stumps of his legs and tormented his killers.

Colonel Daniel McNeal and Binion Hill

Colonel Daniel McNeal was a defender of Derry in the siege and later fought at the Battle of the Boyne. A tyrannical landlord he was notorious for abducting girls in the vicinity of Binion. McNeal was to perish in 1709, suffering an awful death at the hands of local men in retribution. On the night it was said that devil tore a wall out of the house as he made off in haste with his soul.

The Cloven-Footed Man of Magazine Street

Peter McCartney’s ‘Parade of Phantoms’ told of sightings of a cloven-footed man believed to the devil. He was seen at Long Tower Street but more frequently at the bottom of Magazine Street where executions once took place.

The Whispering Man

In the 1950s and 1960s there were numerous reports of a 'whispering man' particularly in the Creggan, Bogside and Brandywell.

People reported hearing a rattle on their windows and leaving the house to investigate but finding nobody there they would often hear the whispering voice of a man in their ear.

One witness claimed to have seen the creature and described him 'more of a shadow' than a man. The last reported manifestation was on John Street.

Maggie Murphy's Lane

Maggie Murphy's lane runs from Kilfennan down to Nelson Drive. It is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of a young Maggie Murphy, her lover and her enraged father.

Legend has it that Maggie, and her star-crossed lover, a farmhand, from an unsuitable background, died in tragic circumstances in the 1880s. Maggie's father also perished. They are all said to haunt the lane.

A Shantallow Haunting

A spine-chilling story of a haunted house in Shantallow that is no longer inhabited is included in Peter McCartney's 'Parade of Phantoms'. Five separate families recounted uncanny occurrences and such was the terror of one of the households a Mass had to be said in the house.

This only made the malevolent entity that supposedly occupied the premises to 'go mad' in the words of one person. One woman was awakened one night by something gripping her foot and moving her leg up and down.

"There before her stood what looked like a tall, lean figure of a man dressed in a thin, white cloak, almost akin to a shroud," the book relates.

The woman screamed and the figure that also bore a black cap shook its head, went down on one knee three times then 'put its hand to its throat and began to emit terrifying, choking, strangling noises'. The creature moved towards a wardrobe and disappeared.

The Headless Coachman of Campsie

Another headless coachman is said to appear like clockwork in Campsie. He is believed to appear every seven ears. According to 'Parade of Phantoms' he is due again in 2029 but who knows? he might show up early!

Ghost of the 'Oldest Man in the World' on Judges Road

A terrible murder is said to have occurred on Judges Road in the 1930s. An international fair was in Derry and with it came a Turkish gentleman, who at 136 years of age, was supposed to be the 'oldest man in the world'.

He went for a midnight walk one evening, when he was brutally murdered.

"On various occasions since the killing, people have claimed to have seen the ghostly figure of a man wearing a fez walking wearily along the lonely stretch of Judges Road. At a spot halfway along the road he disappears just like that," according to Peter McCartney's 'Parade of Phantoms'.