Haunted Places in Ireland to Visit: 10 Sites With Opening Times and Prices

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Ireland has plenty of ghost stories, but fewer places where you can walk in and test them. This guide covers ten haunted places across Ireland and Northern Ireland, with what you can actually do at each: opening times, ticket prices, tours and where the official information lives. Details were checked against official pages in November 2026, and several have changed, so a few of these are closed or open by arrangement only.

We picked places with a documented history and a long-standing ghost reputation, then checked each against the owner’s or operator’s official page. Ghost sightings themselves are reputation and folklore, not fact; where we say a place is “said” or “reputed” to be haunted, that is all we mean. The numbering below is our own order of ghostly reputation, not a visitor rating.

At a glance

10. Duckett’s Grove, County Carlow

A Gothic Revival mansion near Carlow town that was gutted by fire in 1933 and is now a roofless shell you can walk around. Ghost stories here are about a figure in the walled garden and the feeling of being watched from the empty windows.

Know before you go

• Where: near Carlow town, run by Carlow County Council and Carlow Tourism
• Hours: grounds open 8.30am–8.30pm (April–October) and 8.30am–5pm (November–March)
• Cost: free guided tours of the ruins, walled gardens and pleasure grounds at 12.30pm and 2.30pm, Friday to Sunday; no individual tours from 14 December 2025 to March 2026 (groups can still book)
• Facilities: car and coach park; restricted wheelchair access

Official information: Carlow Tourism: Duckett’s Grove. Our own guide: our County Carlow guide.

9. Ardgillan Castle, County Dublin

A Georgian house on the Fingal coast, built in 1738 for the Taylor family and now the centrepiece of a public park. The reputed ghost is a grey-cloaked figure on the main staircase and in the library.

Know before you go

• Where: Ardgillan Demesne, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin (K34 C984)
• Castle and tearooms: 10am–5pm most of the year (10am–6pm May–August; 10am–4.15pm November–December); park gate 9am to 5pm in winter, later in summer
• Tours: self-guided audio tour; guided tours by local volunteers are for groups of more than 10 only. Tour prices are not published on the official site, so ask before you go: 01 849 2212
• Park: the demesne is free to walk

Official information: ardgillancastle.ie opening times. Our own guide: our guide to Ireland’s best castles.

8. Hellfire Club, County Dublin

The ruined hunting lodge on Montpelier Hill was built around 1725 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and is said to stand on an ancient cairn. Later it was used by the notorious Hellfire Club, and stories of devil sightings cling to it. You can walk up with no ticket.

Know before you go

• Where: Montpelier Hill, Dublin Mountains; free car park (about 70 spaces)
• Car park hours: 7am–9pm (26 March to October); 7am–5pm (November to March). It can close at short notice in snow or ice warnings
• Walks: Montpelier loop, 4 km, about 1 hour, rated moderate (blue waymarkers); Hell Fire forest loop, 5.5 km, about 1.5 hours, rated strenuous (green waymarkers)
• Getting there: Local Link SD4 stops at Hell Fire Club/Massy’s Estate (four services each way on Saturdays)
• Facilities: no toilets or bins on site

Official information: Dublin Mountains Partnership: Hell Fire Club. Our own guide: our history of the Hellfire Club ruins.

7. Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary

A cluster of medieval buildings on a limestone outcrop. The ghost story attached to the Rock is that of Miler Magrath, who held office as a Catholic bishop and as Protestant Archbishop of Cashel at the same time. The story says he cannot settle on a side even now.

Know before you go

• Where: Cashel, Co. Tipperary; run by the OPW (Heritage Ireland)
• Hours: daily 9am–5.30pm (17 March to 15 October, last admission 4.45pm); daily 9am–4.30pm (16 October to 16 March, last admission 3.45pm). Closed 24–26 December
• Cost: adult €8, senior €6, student/child €4, family €20
• Allow: 1 to 1.5 hours. Cormac’s Chapel is by guided tour only, with limited tickets sold on site
• Heads up: very exposed site that can close at short notice in bad weather; uneven ground and low doorways; assistance dogs only; public car park close by

Official information: Heritage Ireland: Rock of Cashel. Our own guide: our complete guide to Irish castles.

6. Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny

A twelfth-century Norman castle that was later the seat of the Butler family and is now beautifully restored. Ghost stories are told about the building, but this is the entry where the visit matters more than the ghost: the rooms, the picture gallery and the parkland are worth the ticket on their own.

Know before you go

• Where: Kilkenny city, on the River Nore; run by the OPW
• Hours: April–September daily 9.15am–5.30pm (last entry 5pm); October–March daily 9.30am–5pm (last entry 4.30pm)
• Cost: self-guided adult €8, senior €6, child/student €4, family €20. A summer guided tour is €12 adult. Book on the official site only: resale tickets are not valid
• Closure to note: the castle is closed to the public from 1pm on 2 November until 9.30am on 5 November 2026 for filming. The parkland stays open
• Dogs: assistance dogs only

Official information: Heritage Ireland: Kilkenny Castle. Our own guide: our castles you can go inside.

5. Charleville Castle, County Offaly

A neo-Gothic castle near Tullamore, built between 1798 and 1812. The best-known ghost is Harriet Bury, a child said to have fallen from the staircase in the nineteenth century, whose footsteps and laughter visitors report hearing.

Know before you go

• Where: Charleville Demesne, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
• Status: the castle says it is closed for public tours until further notice while essential works take place. No opening times or prices are listed; because it is volunteer-run it cannot always offer regular times
• Before you go: check the castle’s website and social media for news of tours resuming. Do not turn up unannounced

Official information: charlevillecastle.ie. Our own guide: things to do in Offaly.

4. Dunluce Castle, County Antrim

A ruined castle on a basalt outcrop on the north Antrim coast. Legend says part of the kitchen fell into the sea in a storm in 1639, taking servants with it, and that Maeve Roe, a noblewoman held in the north tower, still cries out above the waves.

Know before you go

• Where: Causeway Coast, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland (so prices are in pounds sterling)
• Hours and price: opening times change between summer and winter and are set by Discover Northern Ireland. Check its page for the current hours and ticket price before you travel
• Booking: tickets are bought from the ticket office on site, with no need to pre-book
• Heads up: no dogs except assistance dogs; the site can close in extreme weather

Official information: Discover Northern Ireland: Dunluce Castle. Our own guide: the story of the woman in the north tower.

3. Loftus Hall, County Wexford

The best-known haunted house in Ireland. In the legend a stranger joined the Tottenham family for cards on a stormy night, a dropped card revealed cloven hooves, and he vanished through the ceiling. Ghost tours ran here for years, but the hall closed in 2020 and was sold in 2021.

Know before you go

• Status: closed to visitors; being renovated (checked October 2026)
• What you can do instead: see it from the road on the Hook Peninsula, and combine it with Hook Lighthouse and the coast
• Before you go: do not enter the grounds. It is private property now

Official information: no official visitor page (not open to visitors). Our own guide: our County Wexford guide.

2. Wicklow’s Historic Gaol, County Wicklow

Built in 1702 and used as a prison for more than two centuries, including for prisoners held after the 1798 Rebellion. Staff and visitors tell of cold spots, whispers and the sense of being followed.

Know before you go

• Where: Wicklow town
• Hours: reopening 21 November 2026. Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat–Sun 10am–6pm, last entry one hour before close, open bank holidays
• Cost (self-guided): adult €14, senior/student €12, child (3–15) €8, family €42
• Booking: online, or phone +353 (0)404 61599
• Night tours: none are listed on the official site at the moment, so do not plan around one

Official information: wicklowgaol.ie. Our own guide: best things to do in Wicklow.

1. Leap Castle, County Offaly

Often described as Ireland’s most haunted castle. A massacre in the chapel gave it the name “the Bloody Chapel”, and an oubliette was found behind a wall with human remains inside. Its best-known presence is the “Elemental”, described as about the size of a sheep with a smell of rotting flesh. It is also a private home.

Know before you go

• Where: R421, Leap, near Roscrea, Co. Offaly
• Access: open to visitors on request only; it is a private home. There are no set opening hours or published prices
• Before you go: the castle’s own site says visiting arrangements change and that older opening hours were removed as out of date. Confirm through its official channels first and do not just arrive

Official information: leapcastle.net: Visit. Our own guide: the oubliette discovery.

Planning a haunted trip

• When to go: check closures first. Kilkenny Castle shuts briefly this week for filming, Wicklow Gaol reopens on 21 November, and Charleville and Loftus Hall are not open to the public.
• Easiest free option: the Hellfire Club walk needs only a car park and good footwear. Take a torch if you stay near dusk, and mind the car park closing time.
• Winter weather: Rock of Cashel and Dunluce are exposed and can close at short notice. Look at the official page or social media on the day.
• Respect private homes: Leap Castle and Loftus Hall are not attractions you can turn up at.

Have you stayed or toured anywhere haunted in Ireland that we have missed? Tell us your favourite in the comments.

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