SPOOKTACULAR 2015

By the time you are reading this, children all over the country will be up and getting ready for Halloween, be it Dressing up, Trick or Treating or a visit to the Bonfire, Samhain is well and truly underway. So welcome to the first annual SPOOKTACULAR Challenge.  It has been just over a month in the making and boy do we have some fantastic places to show you. Perhaps it is no coincidence, but there are 13 sites to explore, (Or maybe its not?). For some 1 is an unlucky number. Lets hope that is not the case here. Each one has its own individual spooky association and history which I hope that you enjoy as much as I have. So before we proceed, I have to give a special big THANK YOU to each and every contributor whom has made this challenge possible.

First up we travel down to Kilkenny in Ireland, to see first hand the Kyteler Inn. You might recall I briefly mentioned Dame Alice Kytler in one of my posts earlier this week. Alice was one of the first women believed to have been accused of Witchcraft in Ireland. A ghost is sometimes said to appear in the window of the Inn?

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1. Kyteler Inn, Kilkenny, Ireland by Autum Wagner @ AutumnChangesBlog

Next up its off to Kildare and a rather atmospheric shot of Moyglare Church outside Maynooth taken in the fog. With the addition of the moon behind the church, this looks like one creepy place!

2. Moyglare Church, Maynooth, Ireland by AJ Vosse @ OuchMyBackHurts

Staying in Ireland for the moment we head off to County Letrim and a rather unusual gravestone which is said to depict an image of the Dochar Chu, a mythical Water monster. The grave is believed to belong to a woman whom was killed by the monster back in 1722!

3. Dochar Chu Monster, Leitrim, Ireland by Adrian McGlynn @ AidyMcGlynn

We leave Ireland for now and head west to the US, with a stunning image of Familia de los Muertos (Family of the Dead) taken last Halloween in Texas. Día de Muertos is a celebration from Mexico similar to our Samhain, which focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.

4. Familia de los Muertos, Texas, United States by Kerry Duncan @ PostcardsFromKerry

Staying in the US its off to Oakland, California. This cemetry shot is very creative with its use of light and darkness to create a rather creepy mood. You can just imagine all the things that go bump in the night roaming around here when the sun goes down.

5. Oakland Cemetery, California, United States by Laura Macky @ LauraMackyPhotography

Moving back across the Atlantic to Wales, we visit the South Stack Lighthouse in Anglesey. This particular lighthouse resides on some rather nasty sheer cliffs where frantic screams and noises can be heard, said to be caused by a former lost lighthouse keeper whom still haunts the old place.

6. South Stack Lighthouse, Anglesey, Wales by Callum Dickson @ StudentInSnowdonia

Now we must journey back across the Water, but this time to Canada to check out the Castle Ghosts of Victoria. This shot is a statue of Annabelle, a young Parlor maid whom killed herself under tragic circumstances at Hatley Castle. It reminds me of the work of one of my favourite all time Photographers, the late Sir Simon Marsden.

7. Annabelle, Hatley Castle, Victoria, Canada by Cybelle Moon @ CybeleShineBlog

We then travel to Italy and to the stunning  Arena in Verona where a pact with the Devil went terribly wrong. Said to have been built 2000 year ago. You could only imagine what history resides in its walls. Along with some rather ghoulish tales.

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8. The Arena, Verona, Italy by Sarah Zama @ TheOldShelter

Our Spooky journey around the globe brings us back to England, and to Caxton Gibbett Inn in Cambridgeshire. It was burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances in 2009. But we do have a rather spooky depiction of the place. With its fascinating macabre history, its well worth looking into.

9. Caxton Gibbett Inn, Cambridgeshire, England by Marjorie Mallon @ Kyrosmagica

Staying in England we take a trip to the old Victorian water pumping station in North London. With the serious amount of creepy occurrences during the Victorian period, no doubt there are some rather spooky tales hidden within these walls.

10. Victorian Water Pump Station, London, England by Geoff Le Pard @ TanGental

Staying in Victorian London, we head across to Abney cemetery. Well you just dont get much creepier than an old cemetery, and this is no exception.This particular cemetery is said to have been used for the graves of a lot of non conformists and dissenters.

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11. Abney Cemetery, London, England by Geoff Le Pard @ TanGental

Staying in England we head off to explore the Hell Fire caves of West Wycome in Buckinghamshire. If you have never come across the Hell Fire Club before then you should really check these guys out, there are plenty of creepy and rather nasty tales associated with them.

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12. Hell Fire Caves, West Wycombe, England by Sue Vincent @ DailyEcho

Last but not least we return to the Emerald Isle. I had planned on showing you around another Hell Fire site which we used to visit as kids during the summer. But Sue’s Caves got their first. So I will now share with you a rather unusual and creepy experience that I encountered during the course of my Ruin Hunting. The site itself is not a creepy place, but what happened to me whilst I was there was most unexpected and hard to explain. You can read all about it HERE.

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13. A Spooky Encounter, Skryne, Ireland by Ed Mooney @ EdMooneyPhotography

The normal Capturing history Challenge shall commence next Wednesday. And so until next year, have a wonderful, safe and peaceful Samhain. And try to stay away from all those creepy ghouls and monsters that may be lurking in the shadows,

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