Ghostly Folklore – The Haunted Lighthouse of Dunbar Head

The Headless Lady.

On the eastern coast of Ireland, you will find the county of Wicklow - a place of waterfalls and mountains. The county is named after Wicklow town, located some 31 miles south of Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. The name Wicklow is believed to derive from the town’s former Norse settlers and may have meant either Viking Meadow or Lough of Ships.

Wicklow Head, also referred to as Dunbar Head (Irish: Ceann Chill Mhantáin), lies approximately two miles to the south-east of Wicklow town. Its lighthouse, constructed around 1781, remained in use until 1836, when a fire destroyed the lamp house. Today, the structure possesses a domed roof—added in 1866 - as it was considered an important and useful landmark. The building has an octagonal shape and gradually tapers as it rises 95 feet from the ground.

One might expect the spectral inhabitant of such a building to be a former lighthouse keeper, or perhaps the shade of a sailor drowned at sea—but it is not. The ghost of Wicklow Head Lighthouse is that of a headless woman. 

The Tale

During the mid-nineteenth century, a young woman became engaged to her suitor. Much enamoured with her handsome new love, she looked forward to settling down with him. Sadly, a former admirer became aware of the engagement. He still carried a candle for the pretty young woman, the thought of her taking up with another man drove him into a rare and violent rage. Seizing a scythe from a barn, he stalked the headland in search of her. He discovered her near the lighthouse on the Wicklow headland.

Perhaps she tried to flee - or maybe she was taken unawares - but either way, the enraged man decapitated her with the razor-sharp farming tool.

Now, her ghost lingers in the lighthouse, often seen on the staircase - a headless silhouette.

It is reported that in 2003, a travel writer visiting the lighthouse was casually flicking through its visitor book when he was surprised to find a collection of unusual entries: tourists reporting strange encounters with the headless woman. In one entry from 2000, six guests described seeing her slowly walking down the stairs towards them, before vanishing before their eyes.

Many thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this blog. As ever, I hope you are able to sleep well tonight.

Until next week—stay spooky.

Finally, if you enjoyed this blog, please consider picking up a copy of my new book, Threads of Shadow, currently available on Amazon. If you're kind enough to give it a read, I’d be hugely grateful if you could leave a review - it really does help.
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Welsh Folklore – The Murderous Brenin Llwyd, and His Court of Mists and Shadow.