When TAPS suddenly has the urge to visit a dwelling you know that there will be more to the visit than just tea and cake and some friendly conversation. These guys mean business and they are seemingly afraid of nothing. Perhaps that is why they stood up to the challenge of visiting Leap Castle in Roscrea, Ireland for a game of cat and mouse with some very inhospitable ghostly guests when the owner felt the need to uncover the mystery surrounding the castle’s grave secrets.
Leap Castle has a dark history that has remained throughout time and has baffled each person that has dared to purchase the castle and live there. The O’Carroll family was one of the earliest owners of the castle, occupying it around 1532. The temper some family had a definite mix of beliefs that proved fatal. Teige O’Carroll was a warrior who threw lavish banquets that quite often ended in the death of one or all of his guests.
Mulrooney O’Carroll, brother of Teige was a priest who did not approve of the way his brother led his life. The two men often battled, and eventually Teige murdered his brother in the chapel while he was celebrating mass. The chapel has since become known as the “Bloody Chapel” as it is an active spot for ghostly activity. Tech specialist Dustin from TAPS was knocked to the ground from an apparition that only showed a hooded face. The smell of stale rubber became overpowering in the room and the TAPS team soon left the chapel area. Dustin then began to feel ill after the episode and was shaken to his very core over the incident.
Other ghostly inhabitants include a demon referred to as “The Element”. This particular entity fears nobody and nothing and is quite devilish as it exhibits a willingness to toy with the crew. The smell of rotting flesh prevails from this primitive and malevolent force. The EMF, used to measure the electromagnetic field, and the wireless audio appeared to pick up activity in the Oubliette dungeon area where “the element” seems to be the strongest. Many people were tortured and killed in this area of the castle, and the entities that remain there appear to be trying to communicate with the team.
Another ghostly spirit appears in a flowing red dress in a hallway close to the stairway. She brings no harm and is thought to be the lover of Captain Darby who was being held prisoner in the castle’s dungeon. The woman engineered his escape and after a bloody battle during the escape, they eventually married. She eventually became the heiress to Leap Castle after Captain Darby had passed on.
The Darby family remained in the castle for many years, and Mildred Darby would often receive unwanted attention from “the element”. She held séances that drew out many other entities and eventually documented the disturbances and wrote an article to the Occult Review describing the events that took place at her séances. The ghostly apparitions that lived within the walls of Leap Castle were alive and they wanted to make their presence be known. Leap Castle was beginning to establish a fearsome reputation and ghost hunters from the area wanted to take part in the action. The only problem was that anyone that dared to enter the corridor of the castle was frightened to their wits end or harmed by freak accidents, and because of these sinister actions the castle eventually sat empty for 70 years.
The castle was again occupied in 1972 and sold in 1991 to Sean and Anne Ryan who had their minds set on making the castle livable once again. Electrical wires, bats, and many other projects needed attention, but Sean was consistently halted due to injuries from freak accidents that left him with a broken ankle, and a fractured knee in separate incidents. The Ryan’s were beginning to think that they were unwelcome and began to grow tired of the paranormal activities that flooded the castle walls.
In an effort to put all of the hype to rest and get to the bottom of the hauntings, TAPS was led to the castle by Barry Fitzgerald, a TAPS investigator that resides in Ireland. Upon entering Leap Castle, TAPS was immediately drawn to particular areas of the castle. They began to set up their equipment and were soon getting strong reactions. They witnessed “the element” with their own eyes, and were plagued with heavy pressure to parts of their bodies. Cold spots, barometric pressure drops, foul smells, and shadows were quickly apparent. Once home at TAPS Headquarters, the team analyzed their findings which included film, readings, and audio that was packed with many forms of evidence that Leap Castle is truly haunted. Upon hearing the audio, the team discovered a womans voice asking for help, and no female TAPS team members were on location at Leap Castle.
