Ghostly Folklore- The Haunted Bog Road of Connemara

An old road through dangerous terrain.

In the North West of the County of Galway, in the Republic of Ireland, is to be found Connemara National Park (Irish: Páirc Naisiúnta Chonamara.) This is an area of savage beauty, containing, Mountains, Bogs, Woodland, and Heaths. The gruesome tale I am going to relate concerns this regions extensive Bog land.

The Old Bog Road, was originally the main route to Galway. Before the founding of Clifden (Irish: An Clochán, meaning 'stepping stones.')  A coastal town, found where the Owenglin River flows into Clifden Bay. Today many local people refuse to travel the Bog Road at night, going out of their way to avoid the route.

One local from the picturesque village of Roundstone tells the following tale. “I was giving a lift to two old fellas who insisted that they would get out of the car if I turned down the Bog Road… Who am I to say?” Yet another man from Clifden claimed. “People say it’s haunted. Folks do drive off the road a good bit. I wouldn’t be driving it at night, and certainly not alone.”

The Legend of The Old Bog Road.

The story goes that there was an Inn on the old Bog Road named ‘The Halfway House.’ Many years back in the 1790s, it was run by a brother and sister. This ghoulish pair, made it their business to invite lonely travellers to rest the night at their hostelry, however their motives were not altruistic. They would wait until the luckless traveller had settled down for a restful night’s sleep, then on the stroke of midnight they would creep into the persons room, murder them, steal their belongings, and dispose of the body in the surrounding Bogs or Lakes.

It is the ghosts of these hapless victims – whose bodies the murderous siblings fed to the windswept Bog Land – that haunt this lonesome stretch of road, strange shadows can be seen crawling out of stagnant pools, dark shapes flit before cars, and lonely figures are spotted standing by the wayside, only to vanish should a traveller pull over to offer them a lift.

So dear reader, should you find yourself alone in Connemara, why not test your courage, wait until the sun has set in the westering sky, get behind the wheel of your vehicle, and drive along the benighted Bog Road, will you have the nerve to do it? What will your headlights reveal?

Until next time stay spooky my friend.