On the way to work

When walking to work this morning I passed by the site of my mothers paternal home, I say site because it was knocked down and now, like so many places in Dublin city was erased and new apartment blocks put in its place. However it made me think of something I had not thought of in years, the house itself my mother told me was haunted and not in your bump in the night haunted either. Many many times my mother and grandmother would prepare dinner each day in anticipation for the walton number of siblings to return from their respective jobs, and, as the cooking was under way Mam & Nan would hear the clatter of china and cutlery being 'interfered' with. When roused they would go to investigate the parlour and would find the Delph or dining chairs piled up in the middle of the table ( a lot of plates and chairs for 7 kids and 2 adults to dine at), this happened from time to time but then it started to get more and more frequent until it really bothered my Nan.

The house itself was a Georgian townhouse with a scullery and parlor downstairs so in order to gain access to the parlour you would have to pass my mother and nan when preparing the evening meal. My nan told my grandfather who was as big as a house and a 20 pint a day docker about the paranormal events, he said he would stay the night in the parlor to see what was up. The next morning my Nan found my grandfather ashen faced with an empty brandy glass beside him and he told her to fetch the priest right away and get the house blessed. He never spoke about what he saw he refused point blank (much to my annoyance), it must have been something else , my grandfather was as hard as they come, heavy with his fists to all that knew him - my nan & mother found that out to their detriment but he wasnt the same for months after his night in the parlour. Anyway interestingly enough as the house got blessed and the windows and doors where opened for any negative spirits to leave both top floor sash windows cracked and broke. Sounds like something out of a Spielberg movie doesn't it. But like the house , the presence that lived in there are long since gone.

A house in dublin not too unlike the one I speak of and consquently around the corner from the paternal homestead site..