Free Irish Ghost Tales by Tony Locke

been trying to protect himself. The other seemed to be pointing at the coffin, which was half open.
    In the coffin lay Brigit, peaceful in death, her hands joined together as if in prayer. It was the custom at the time to bury the corpse with a set of rosary beads in his or her hands. However, the locals saw that instead of rosary beads, Brigit was clutching a leather purse. When they prised the purse out of her hands they found it to be full of gold coins. They counted the coins and found that there was just enough money to buy new oak coffins, one for Brigit and one for her mother Mary, and to pay for a decent pair of plots in the local cemetery.
    Unfortunately there was not enough money left to bury Dermot. However, the locals managed to use the wood salvaged from the cheap coffins in which Murphy had buried his wife and daughter. They buried him at the end of the garden, where the oak tree used to be.

19
T HE C OONEEN G HOST
COUNTY FERMANAGH
    I t is in 1913 that our story begins. A widow named Mrs Murphy lived in a cottage in the mountains near Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, with her son and five daughters.
    The problems seemed to begin following the tragic accident that caused the death of Mr Murphy. At first, there was occasional knocking on the front door, but when someone opened the door there was no one there. That kind of thing could be local lads just messing around. But the knocking began to happen more frequently – and it wasn’t just on the front door, but on every door and window in the house.
    There were other strange happenings. Above the cottage was a room used for storing. The room could only be accessed by a stone staircase to one side of the cottage. The family began to hear heavy footsteps coming from the room but whenever anyone went to investigate there was no one there. Mrs Murphy decided to ask some of her friends and neighbours to sit with her and listen to the noises but even though they heard the banging and footsteps no one could explain it. Things soon took a turn for the worse.
    Plates would suddenly lift into the air, fly across the room and smash against the cottage wall. Pots and pans would follow and music would suddenly begin to play. For some reason the ghost seemed to like ‘The Soldier’s Song’ and ‘The Boyne Water’. Sometimes the rapping sound followed the rhythm of the tunes. The family also witnessed furniture moving of its own accord and in one of the bedrooms the bed rose several inches off the floor before crashing back down again. Mrs Murphy became so scared for herself and her children she called on the services of the Church.
    Father Coyle from Maguiresbridge paid a visit to the cottage. He witnessed strange shapes appearing and disappearing on the walls of the cottage, as well as the pots and pans flying across the room without any human involvement. The paranormal events were also witnessed by the MP Mr Cahir Healey, who simply did not believe what he was seeing. Father Coyle described watching blankets rise and fall on an empty bed as if someone underneath was breathing. He also heard terrifying groans coming from the hay store upstairs.
    Father Coyle was given permission to carry out two exorcisms in the cottage, which in itself was extremely unusual for very few exorcisms were carried out in Ireland at that time. Unfortunately for the family, the exorcisms didn’t work and the ghost continued to plague them.
    In fact, things started to get worse. It was as if the poltergeist resented the actions of the priest. The Murphys’ friends and neighbours even turned on the family, blaming them for practising witchcraft and bringing this horrifying entity upon themselves.
    It was suggested by some of the locals that Mrs Murphy’s son had found a book in the forest near Cooneen called The Legions of Doom , which was said to give instructions on how to carry out satanic rituals and conjure up demons. The son was rumoured to have developed an unhealthy interest in the