The Elemental of Leap Castle

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
When and how a non-human spirit known as The Elemental came to haunt Leap Castle in Ireland is unknown. Its origins, the first person to encounter it, and even its exact nature until this day are shrouded in mystery.

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Leap Castle was probably built around 1250, and has a history of being haunted

Leap Castle (Caisleán Léim Uí Bhánáin in Gaelic) located in County Offaly, has a reputation of being haunted by a non-human spirit since time immemorial. The identity of who conjured it, is varied.

One theory is that the druids used the place as a sacred site before the castle was built, and left the elemental there as a sentinel.

There is evidence that Leap Castle was constructed on the same site as another ancient stone structure, perhaps ceremonial in nature, and that the area has been occupied consistently since at least the Iron Age (500 B.C.), and possibly since Neolithic times.

Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, a magick practitioner, who attempted to take the castle is believed to have invoked it in order to burn the castle down.

Another belief is that the spirit is not elemental at all, but the ghost of an ancient O'Carroll, a leper who died in the castle. This explains the rotting stink that accompanies a manifestation, as well as the decomposing facial features described by those who have seen it. The O'Carroll were a brutal clan that continuously fought in order to secure dominion in the area.

In 1659, the castle passed by marriage into the ownership of the Darby family.

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Margaret Darby in the Great Hall at Leap Castle (Source - LeapCastle.net)

Mildred Dill married into the Darby family in 1889. She was said to have dabbled in the occult and spiritualism. As a writer of gothic novels, and perhaps for inspiration she conducted seances. Some think her attempts to contact the other side, either awoke or summoned the Elemental. Or perhaps it was the discovery in those years of the entrance to the oubliette, where prisoners were thrown in so they could die a slow death. The bones of approximately 150 bodies were retrieved. Soon after this Mildred Darby had her encounter with the Elemental.

The Elemental makes it presence known through provocation, and the Ryans who have lived there since 1991, have not encountered it.

The following is an excerpt of an article that appeared in The Democrat Chronicle newspaper in 1897, titled Discoveries in Leap Castle.

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A series of interesting “finds” just discovered in the historic Leap castle are described as a first, an 11th century stone spiral staircase springing from the first floor level and terminating at the summit of the great tower, 100 feet high. The finely cut stone steps are laid with mathematical accuracy and are large, like the passage itself. The O’Carrolls, princes of Ely, whose chief stronghold this castle was, were all big men, in fact, a race of giants, as the few relics of them extant attest.
 
The second find is an entrance to the guardroom cut out of the rock, and which was up to the present believed to be a mass of solid masonry. Here numerous bones, coins of the reign of Edward the Confessor and other relics were found. Human bones in large quantities, flints and spear heads were also found in the extensive range of dungeons, which have been brought to light beneath the castle, these curious prison-houses being rock -hewn and their existence having been previously unknown to the owner of the castle and the lord of the soul, Jonathan C. Darby.
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The present owner has put into a complete state of preservation the ancient chapel, an apartment twenty-five feet square and high, which is on top of the tower, and here has been discovered a very large and fine early English window, which from its great elevation commands a view embracing eight counties. A little below this is a remarkable room, which none of the servants will enter after nightfall. It was a state bedroom of one of the princess of Ely, who was murdered six centuries ago by her lord, and the solid oak door retains the bloodstains of the royal victim. This part of the building is reputed to be haunted and Mr. and Mrs. Darby who do not believe in ghosts, admit that they cannot account for the extraordinary noises that occasionally come from the death chamber of the murdered princess, and which make it nearly impossible for them to retain their female servants in their employment. The manifestations are reputed to take the form of shrieks, which resound and reverberate through the building, and set all the dogs in the kennels whining and barking. ​

The origins of the Elemental is a mystery

The best description of the Elemental was given by Mildred Darby and a friend staying at Leap. This is an excerpt as written in The Occult Review c.1908 article –Kilman Castle, The House of Horror:

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Suddenly, two hands were laid on my shoulders. I turned round sharply and saw, as clearly as I see you now-a grey ‘Thing’, standing a couple of feet from me, with it’s bent arms raised as if it were cursing me. I cannot describe in words how utterly awful the ‘Thing’ was, it’s very undefinableness rendering the horrible shadow more gruesome. Human in shape, a little shorter than I am, I could just make out the shape of big black holes like great eyes and sharp features, but the whole figure-head, face, hands and all-was grey-unclean, blueish grey, something of the color and appearance of common cotton wool. But, oh! so sinister, repulsive and devilish. My friends who are clever about occult things say it is what they call an “Elemental”.

The thing was about the size of a sheep, thin, gaunt and shadowy in parts. It’s face was human, or to be more accurate, inhuman, in it’s vileness, with large holes of blackness for eyes, loose slobbery lips, and a thick saliva-dripping jaw, sloping back suddenly into its neck! Nose it had none, only spreading, cancerous cavities, the whole face being a uniform tint of grey. This too, was the color of the dark coarse hair covering its head, neck and body. It’s forearms were thickly coated with the same hair, so were its paws, large, loose and hand-shaped; and it sat on it’s hind legs, one hand or paw was raised, and a claw-like finger was extended ready to scratch the paint.  It’s lustreless eyes, which seemed half decomposed, and looked incredibly foul, stared into mine, and the horrible smell which had before offended my nostrils, only a hundred times intensified, came up to my face, filling me with a deadly nausea. I noticed the lower half of the creature was indefinite and seemed semi-transparent-at least, I could see the framework of the door that led into the gallery through its body".

The Occult Review was published from 1905 to 1951

The following is a response to the article that appeared in The Occult Review which related a personal account while staying at the castle:

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I saw your eyes fixed upon something above our heads, and the next minute my own eyes were filled by the sight of a Thing in the gallery looking down at us.  There was plenty of light from the lamps in the hall and the one above on the wall at the corner of the gallery, for every one of us to see quite plainly the grey-colored figure about the height of a small grown-up person looking down at us.  I wish I thought I could ever forget the sight of that grey figure with dark spots like holes in its head instead of eyes, standing with grey arms folded on the gallery railing looking down at us. Then just as he put foot on the gallery, the Thing that he saw there, that we were watching, suddenly faded out of sight.  The Thing did not move, only became less and less visible until it vanished.

Mildred Darby sent the following letter to Sydney Carroll about the last time she saw The Elemental:

The last appearance of the Elemental was on November 25, 1915. On that date two of our servants knowing the “master” would be late and that I was driving that afternoon had invited “friends”, two soldiers from the Barracks at Birr, distant the other side 6 miles.  They came rather late and my husband came home early so the visitors had to be kept out of his sight in the lower regions of one of the wings (the Priests House), and were unable to be shown the center tower – the very lofty hall.  At 7:15 my husband and I went up to dress for dinner, my room is in extremity of the house from the kitchen, his dressing room next door to me.  Whilst dressing I was startled by a loud yell of terror stricken male and female voices coming apparently from the hall – and ran out to see the cause.  My husband was out ahead of me, at his heels I passed through the corridor of one wing and onto the gallery wing, rounds two sides of hall. Two lamps on the gallery, two more in hall below.  On the gallery leaning with “hands” resting on its rail I saw the Thing – the Elemental and smelt it only too well. 

At the same moment my husband pulled up sharply about 10 feet from the Thing, and half turning let fly a volley of abuse at me, ending up 'Dressing up a thing like that to try and make a fool of me.  And now you’ll say I’ve seen something and I have not seen anything and there is nothing to see, or ever was'. This last speech without a pause, begun waving one hand at the Thing, and ended up by stalking back to his dressing room still abusing me for trying to give him a fright.  As he was speaking the Elemental grew fainter and fainter in its outlines until it disappeared. By the sounds from my husband’s room I judged he was employed as I was myself, in preparing an empty spot for our coming dinner. He never made any inquiry as to the yell that called us both out, and from that day to this has not mentioned the incident to me. I heard from our servants that when we went to dress for dinner they had brought their friends just to show them the hall, when all four has suddenly seen and smelt the Elemental looking down at them from the gallery. We all got such a turn, we couldn’t help letting out a bawl, then fled to the servants quarters where all 4 were very sick. The two maids had letters necessitating their going home next day – and they did not return".

Leap Castle prior to the residency of the Ryans

In 1922, Leap Castle was burned during the Irish Civil War. The family went to England for a short period of time, and they returned back to Ireland to live with family in County Longford at Doory Hall. The move to Ireland was in order to get compensation for the burning of the castle through the 1923 Compensation to Property Act. Mildred Darby claimed she lost at least two drawers of writings that she had hoped to publish in the future. The family never returned to the estate, and Mildred never published again under the name of Andrew Merry. She passed away on January 5, 1932.

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Chapel at Leap Castle

Only a burnt-out shell of the chapel remained after the fire in 1922. It is considered very haunted as well, and the stories predate the time of the blaze. There is a story of murder during the time the O'Carrolls lived there, when one of them killed his own brother; a priest who was performing mass. The reason being a bid for power.

At nightfall, light is seen streaming from the barren windows. The spirit of the murdered priest is seen at the stairwell, accompanied by the smell of burning rubber.

There is a also a story of a woman who met her end at the hand of the O'Carrolls, who is occasionally seen running through the grounds, as if her attacker is still in pursuit. Chances are this is a version of the story of The Red Lady. One story is that she was taken by one of the O'Carroll men. Soon she was pregnant with his child. When it was born he killed it with a blade, and the mother in absolute despair grabbed the knife and did away with herself. She is said to roam around wearing a long red dress, with her long, brown hair flowing out behind her. She always carries a dagger.

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Gallery in the Upper Hall, Leap Castle c.pre-1922 (Source - LeapCastle.net)

Mildred Darby also witnessed ghostly events. She said, “There is something heavy that lies on people’s beds, and snores. They feel the weight of a great body pressing against them, in a room in the Priest’s House. A monk, with a tonsure and cowl, walks in at one window and out another, in the Priest’s House.”

Two other ghosts from Leap Castle, are Emily and Charlotte. They lived on the estate during the 1600s, and it is difficult to prove if they indeed existed.  Emily died when she was 11 years old, after falling from the battlements. Charlotte is seen dragging a deformed leg behind her. There are stories of a child falling from the heights of the castle, only to disappear before hitting the ground.

These are descriptions of other encounters at Leap Castle"

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June 18, 2002
I traveled to Leap Castle in order to make a show for a local TV network, and this was my first time in the notorious castle I had heard so much about. So the show went well, but I wanted to try the UV on the camcorder whilst still shooting. I had sensed something down the old access to the battlements earlier, and never went down. I climbed the stairs with the camcorder in front, the light from the UV allowed me to see about 6ft. ahead and no more so I climbed slowly.

I opened the gothic style door and made my way slowly down the narrow passage, about 10 feet in I thought I saw something move, and I lifted my head. I could feel something was wrong, but I had no idea what. This time with the camera dropped I thought I saw a glow come from around the corner, and then it went back in. I stood and studied this for a while, and thought it may be a side effect of the UV which can be common, a few steps more and my body was weakening fast, it was a strange sensation. Suddenly this mass of white-like mist raced around the corner like a bull, even the rubbish on the floor scattered as it approached at speed. The passage was tight and I turned to my left to try and get out but it was too late, I felt the pain as if something had just pierced under my right rib cage and went all the way through to the back.

This startled me a little and we proceeded to arrange shooting in the cellars. The audio refused to tape again in the cellars and I felt really odd, I was sweating heavily and was becoming very weak and drowned in dread. Right after the incident in the tunnel it felt as if a hole in my chest had been punctured on a spiritual level, and my life was seeping into the stones. In order to describe it and let the reader understand they would have had to experience a large blood loss sometime in their lives. As they felt the blood drain this weakness would become prominent, other words they were experiencing the onset of death. I was dying.
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June 18, 2006
I looked into the darkness of a corridor that exited the spiral stairway. I became aware of the smell of sulphur. It was as if boxes and boxes of matches had suddenly been lit at once. I looked at my friend who had taken me to visit Leap Castle. He could also smell the sulphur. I stared into the darkness of the corridor and had the impression that a beast like a bear or lion was staring back at me.  The tension was rising like a ticking time bomb. My friend then closed the door and said 'To let sleeping dogs lie'.  Meaning sometimes you just have to leave things alone. He was a friend of Sean Ryan and I certainly did not want to disrespect either of them by stirring up the 'Elemental'

After the Darbys left Leap Castle it stood empty for 50 years until 1972. Peter Barlett, an Australian historian whose mother was an O'Bannon, bought the structure and commenced a renovation. He died in 1989, before the work could be completed. In 1991, Sean Ryan purchased the property and continued with the restoration. He has also opened part of the castle to tours.

There are also lesser known wraiths that haunt Leap Castle. There is an elderly man sitting by the fire in the main hall. In what is left of the Priest's House a burly man, dressed like a peasant is seen pushing a heavy barrel up the back stairs near the servants' quarters. When he reaches the top, the barrel rolls backward and disappears.