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Wednesday, February 7, 2007

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..

15 comments:

Stucco said...

If you had a ghost, why wouldn't you first try to make peace and keep it around? What a novelty.

slaghammer said...

If I were being haunted, the first thing I would do is get rid of the scullery. It just sounds evil. Then I googled it and it all sounds innocent enough. By the way, I just returned from a blog holiday, it’s going to take a while to get caught up on all of this reading.

Judith said...

Stucco
Wouldnt that be brilliant having a house ghost albeit a friendly one!? Mom said she did some research on the house when it happened apparently 2 sisters died in the house in question, they where quite old and let hermit like existence's , it was something like 2 months before their bodies where discovered after they died. Probably didnt like the fact someone else was living there...
Slag
Scullery does sound evil indeed 'They dragged his lifeless bludgeoned body to the scullery and prepared it in a lime bath disclosing all trace that he existed' Doesnt have the same evil ring to it as 'they dragged his blugeoned lifeless body to the utility room...' Glad to see you back in the saddle anyway!

Glamourpuss said...

Scullery - scene of sculduggery? More often than not, I suspect. A friend of mine rented a flat in Finchley where the taps would come on in the night and scrubbing could be heard - plates and stuff moved, too. The first night I slept there I had a really vivid dream that a young couple lived there in the 60's and he committed suicide by sticking his head in the oven. She couldn't deal with it and cleaned the flat obsessively. It was horrible! Didn't stay again.

Puss

Judith said...

Puss had a similar experience when I too stayed in my friends flat in Tooting when I was living in the uk
only it involved a child and a shovel, not something I ever want to experience again

General Catz said...

Saw something once while living in Reading, nothing in the US. There was a man in the room, but just saw his figure outline and he was wearing a hat like from the Al Capone era. 1930s maybe?

Your story gave me goosebumps. My ghost just watched (perv).

Anonymous said...

I brake for hallucinations...

Judith said...

Catz what where you doing when the ghost was watching you

squid
have you had many?

General Catz said...

You really want to know?

Judith said...

Where you being a naughty little minx or just doing something unsavory?

General Catz said...

Nothing x-rated i'm afraid.

Pickled Olives said...

See, I'm not sure I'm up for something like that. There are ghost tours all over the place. I figure, If I don't see em, Maybe I'm not supposed to.

Crankster said...

One wonders where ghosts go when their atmospheric old homes get destroyed. Maybe McDonalds?

Judith said...

Cats
Me and my one track mind LOL!
Olives
Would you just loose it you think if you saw something strange
Crankster
If they do go to Mc Donalds they probably only order I Scream (Oh did you laugh? did you??!!!)

heartinsanfrancisco said...

From what I've heard, hauntings are not unusual in Ireland. They are probably not unusual anywhere, but I think the Irish have more magic in their spirits, and are more connected to such happenings than other people.

It's a wonderful story. I would also like to know what your grandfather saw.