Little Caroline Travels The Big World: Tours of the Dead

This evening Catherine and I went on the Ghost Bus Tour. We got on the bus at O'Connell Street and like with most Irish tours, it was late getting to us. To be honest, I was a little nervous about going on the tour. The website said the tour guide was an actor and I hate theatrical representation of things. This made me fear that things were going to pop out at me like on haunted house rides.

But I had to go so when the bus came, I loaded on. The bus was a double decker city bus that was converted to do these tours. It was painted purple and black, with the logo of the tour on the side.

We had to check in with the driver before we got on the bus. A couple of people in front of us had trouble checking in.

The bottom level of the bus had spider webs and skeletons just hanging out. We had to climb the stairs to go to the upper level. It was really dark upstairs and I was expecting something to jump out at me. I think something did touch me, but I didn't pay too much attention to it.

Black curtains were on all the windows so you could not look out. There was already a good amount of people on the bus before Catherine and I got on, so we sat in the middle section.

Soon the show began. Our tour guide actually started in the back of the bus. At first you only heard his voice, but slowly he made his way to the front, all the while scaring people. I had noticed him when Catherine and I were trying to figure out our seats, so I was not scared. I also kept my eye on him the whole time.

Our tour guide was very theatrical. He used music, lights and objects to scare us and tell very interesting stories.

We drove around and I really didn't like the fact that the curtains covered the windows. I wanted to know where we were.

One of our first stops was near Trinity College at the College of Physicians. This is where the famous Dr. Clossy worked as a teacher. Apparently he was very theatrical with the dead bodies he used to teach his students. He needed more bodies to do experiments and so grave robbers would give him bodies. There is a red window in the building that was once his office. I couldn't see the window from the bus.

Our guide also talked about Bram Stoker and his creation of "Dracula". Stoker's house is on Kildare Street, the same street in which the College of Physicians is located.

At the end of Kildare Street is the Shelbourne Hotel and it is here that our guide tells us another ghost story. In 1910, Leek, a psychic, contacted the ghost of a Mary Masters. This happened in room 256 and more activity has been reported from that room.

After driving around a little and hearing more stories, we stop and we got out of the bus to enter St. Kevin's Park. It is dark and very cold. Our guide is dressed in all black with a large overcoat and he is carrying a bag. This can't be good.

The park is closed but our tour guide has the keys to the park and he opens the gate, which leads to a cemetery. I don't know if I have ever professed my love of cemeteries here before, but I LOVE cemeteries.

Here our guide tells us the hardships that the Catholics had to endure during the Penal Times, when it was illegal to be Catholic. It was so sad to hear. Our guide told us stories of Fathers dieing for what they believed it.

He then lead our group to a small, old, ivory covered church. My sister and I were towards the back of the group and when this particular group entered, a body fell from the entrance. They freaked out and they deserved it. This group was made up of 2 boys and 2 girls and they had been drinking on the bus ride and were very drunk and being disrespectful towards everyone by talking all the time.

We entered the ruins of the church and our guide began to tell us the seedy history of the church. Apparently a lot of secret meetings took place here, whether it was religious or some not so legitimate groups. Also, the place has a tragic history. The church was burnt down and some children were killed in the fire.

The guide tells us that the church still has active spirits and that one tour he did one of the ladies was able to talk to the young boy that was killed in the church fire. Creepy.

We then went to the far corner of the church where our guide demonstrated how body-snatchers would get the bodies out of the grave. The people would hire children to spy on the graves to see if any new people were buried. The body-snatchers didn't have much time to get the body, so the quicker the better. They would dig a hole near the head and with a pole that had a hook, they would attached it into the head or chin and then drag the body out. This didn't always work out and a mess usually was made. I found this very interesting.

One of our last stop was to the Gates of Hell. We stopped on the backside of St. Aoden's Church. This is where one of the last remaining original gates of the city stands. Of course it was lock and of course our guide had the keys to the Gate of Hell.

We entered the city gate and near the entrance was this closed wall with evidence that at one time it had an opening. This was the entrance to Hell. In medieval times, this entrance lead to a whole underground networks of tunnels. Down here very seedy things happened: various crimes and prostitution. This is why it was known as Hell. Once you entered, you didn't know if you would come out alive.

The guide also told us that the ghost of the Green Lady haunts the grounds. She was a lady who owned a brothel and got pregnant by a healthy person. She hid the baby from the dad, so he would not kill it. Later she was convicted of being a witch and was killed. It is said that she has been seen walking around crying.

We also learned that the church had not always been perfect. I guess one of the leaders of the church was doing some questionable things. Later he confessed to doing these questionable things and was killed.

Right next to the Gates of Hell are the 40 Steps. This steps lead up to the church, but they also have a sad past. This is where leopards would wait for assistance from the church. The guide said that the steps are haunted and that he would not climb them. Of course my sister and I climbed the stairs. It was so interesting to learn of the history of the steps because I had walked these before without knowing their true history.

The tour costs around 26 Euros and it lasts a little over 2 hours. If you are really interested in ghost stories, I would highly recommend this tour!

Visit http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/ghostbus/index.aspx for more information.