MACROOM’S Carrigaphooca Castle is a hotbed of unexplained paranormal activity, according to Cork Supernatural Society.

Matthew Clarke, founder of the group, said the 16th century tower ruin is one of the buildings where he’s seen some of the strangest goings on since his interest in the paranormal was sparked at the tender age of ten.

He and his sister were walking around the graveyard of what is now Nano Nagle place in the city when they saw a room in the convent building which appeared to be on fire.

‘Another couple saw it too. It was like this mist, and then a figure of a human body with very distinct hands became clear.

‘We called into the convent later on but they thought we were crazy and didn’t know what we were talking about – and since then I’ve been obsessed with paranormal investigations.’

Matthew founded the group in 2013, and along with around ten other members they regularly visit places with reported paranormal activity in Cork.

Matthew insists he always sets out to disprove paranormal activity: ‘I’m coming from a place of scepticism, and am always looking for proof, to explain what’s happening but every now and then stuff happens that you simply can’t explain.’

That includes what happened when the group spent a night in Carrigaphooca Castle, a few miles outside Macroom.

Translated, the castle’s name means ‘castle on the rock of the fairy’ or ‘púca’.

Interior shots captured by Cork Supernatural Society.

Matthew explained: ‘Cormac Tadhg McCarthy was appointed High Sheriff of County Cork and was charged with the task of tracking down Irish rebels.

Legend has it that McCarthy invited an adversary to a banquet at Carrigaphooca Castle to forge a truce but instead had his guest killed and then feasted on his raw flesh in a savage and misguided attempt to earn the respect of the English.

‘He claimed in his defence that an evil spirit had risen from the rock beneath the castle foundations and had possessed him, forcing him to commit the brutal, cannibalistic act. Some believe he is now doomed to spend eternity locked away at the castle as atonement for his sins.’

He continued: ‘We knew people had heard screaming sounds coming from the ruins and reports of a black figure going up the stairs so a group of four of us went along and had a really weird experience.

‘We were setting up our equipment in a little room when a motion light we had earlier put on the stairs went off for no apparent reason. The next thing we saw this massive white ball of light coming up the stairs.

‘It was as strong as a torch, in a bubble that was the size of a tennis ball, a ball of light, that cut into the room where we were and then disappeared into the wall. It all happened so quickly but we all saw it.’

That night the group also recorded a voice on one of their devices, that hadn’t been audible to the human ear.

‘It was the voice of a man with a strong accent, possibly from Dundalk but we couldn’t make out what he was saying.’

An orb, Matthew said, is ‘an early manifestation of a spirit’ and in all his years he has never seen anything like what unfolded in Macroom.

‘It wasn’t frightening, we’re just really curious about it and intend returning – it’s definitely the strangest thing I’ve ever seen on an investigation. We have literally investigated dozens of castles all over Ireland, and we have never found them to be that active or interesting from a paranormal point of view, but Carrigaphooca Castle is certainly one castle that would make you think long and hard about the possibility of the paranormal.’

Matthew said his most terrifying experience was in the former Good Shepherd convent (Magdalene laundry) in Cork city.

‘We suddenly heard a door slam above us, in what was an abandoned building. Then ten minutes later we heard the loudest sound ever, like a cupboard being flung across the room, and something running towards us and another door slamming. It was the only time we left an investigation as we were properly spooked,’ said Matthew.

Coláiste Iosagán in Ballyvourney is another site where he’s recorded unexplained activity. ‘We got recordings of what sounded like a child praying and one of our audio devices were flung from one corner of the room to the other.’

Last summer he was called to a privately-owned home in the Ballydehob region, where the owners were experiencing what they believed was poltergeist activity.

‘We heard some unexplained object moving. One of the owners later said they got an unexplained scratch down their back and they since left the property so we didn’t have a chance to investigate further.’

He also recounted a spooky tale relating to the Eldon Hotel in Skibbereen, where it’s said the ghost of a woman who died in a fire many decades ago still haunts one of the rooms.

People have reported hearing the sound of someone crying in the dead of night. When Matthew and other members visited they witnessed a wardrobe flying open, heard whispering and the sound of something being dragged across a floor and a bang on the door.

And sinister goings one were also experienced in Timoleague Abbey

‘A photo I took there clearly revealed a human shape which wasn’t visible to any of us, standing just feet from it,’ Matthew said.

He insists he doesn’t have any special talents: ‘All you need is patience – I’m happy to sit and wait in a building for seven or eight hours to see if anything happens.’