Weirdness while walking in Wicklow

storker

I'll start by saying that I'm not saying I saw a ghost...because I reckon an awful lot more people think they have seen a ghost than actually have, but here's something a bit strange...

This evening, I was taking a walk along Wicklow harbour and East Pier. It was about 18:30, dark, damp and windy. I had reached the end of the pier and turned back and was nearly back at the "angle" of the pier (see http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/54/50/1545039_6f60ede7.jpg), where a large gate goes across the pier which you have to go around either on the side nearest the wall or the side nearest the water, where there is a railing (visible in the photo). As I aproached I saw a smallish figure, which I assumed to be male, approaching the gate from the other side, seemingly making for the same gap as me. He seemed to be wearing some kind of peaked cap. I couldn't see a face, but I wasn't looking for one. I was just happening to notice someone else out for a walk on a dark evening.

As the railing was draped with fishing nets, I lost sight of him as he got to the gap between the gate and the edge. I was surprised, then, when I got to the gate, to see no sign of him, having expected to meet him at that spot. About 5 seconds had passed since I had lost sight of him, and I'd say I saw him for 2- 5 seconds before that. I looked around to see where he might be, but there was no sign of him. There were only two places he could have gone, the lifeboat house, but that was all closed up and I would have seen someone heading for the door; or some steps down to the water, which are more or less at the same spot, but when I looked down the steps there was nobody there.

I continued back to where my car was parked, thinking it must have been the piles of nets making a shape in the dark or something. But when I had seen the figure, I wasn't thinking it was something that looked like a person; I was convinced it was a person, a real one, nothing weird at all. He didn't become weird until after he'd vanished. Wanting to investigate a little, I retraced my steps back to where I was when I'd seen the figure, and tried to see if there was any shape or shadow that might possibly have tricked my eyes, but I couldn't see anything that remotely looked like a person of any shape or size. And the draped nets on the railing were just hanging there...there was no movement in them at all. Yet the figure I had seen was walking, not just standing.

Just for the hell of it, I Googled to see if there were any ghostly associations with that spot, but all the ghosts in Wicklow seem to hang out at the gaol.

Anyway, just wanted to write this down before I forget all about it, and I thought some of this forum's regulars might enjoy the story.

Stork

Janedoe10

Amazing ! Was he dressed differently or anything ??

storker

Janedoe10 wrote: »

Amazing ! Was he dressed differently or anything ??

All I could tell was that he was wearing dark clothes, but I couldn't identify any details.

Stork

screamer

I can tell you, there are no ghosts in the gaol either, more like people's imaginations manifesting themselves....

dyer

not entirely related to your story but i saw the ghost of my neighbour once walking towards me on the opposite side of the street..he'd died 2-3 weeks earlier. i probably wouldn't have believed it myself only a friend was with me and was able to see him too. perhaps the strangest thing was that it wasn't your usual run of the mill notion of a ghost.. he was as clear to see to us as any other living person.

anyway as i said.. your story just prompted that memory for me.

nice spot in wicklow btw.. used to spend a lot of time with my cousins down on that pier when i was a kid

Paramad

Ha no just eccentric "mediums' in the gaol , no ghosts

Rasmus

First off, I'm not a sceptic - I've seen ghosts. However my first thought here was why you didn't call the coastguard. If I saw a figure by the pier at night that suddenly vanished, I would think they had fallen into the water...

storker

Rasmus wrote: »

First off, I'm not a sceptic - I've seen ghosts. However my first thought here was why you didn't call the coastguard. If I saw a figure by the pier at night that suddenly vanished, I would think they had fallen into the water...

Couple of reasons. I heard no splash and no shouts cries or words of any kind. I also looked down at the water at what would have been the point of entry and saw nobody and no disturbance. In addition, the water there was quite shallow, anybody who had fallen in would have been up to his knees. I also suspect that on some level I already knew it wasn't real.

Stork

Micky 32

dyer wrote: »

not entirely related to your story but i saw the ghost of my neighbour once walking towards me on the opposite side of the street..he'd died 2-3 weeks earlier. i probably wouldn't have believed it myself only a friend was with me and was able to see him too. perhaps the strangest thing was that it wasn't your usual run of the mill notion of a ghost.. he was as clear to see to us as any other living person.

anyway as i said.. your story just prompted that memory for me.

nice spot in wicklow btw.. used to spend a lot of time with my cousins down on that pier when i was a kid

What's more likely though, a ghost or someone you seen that looks like your neighbour mistakenly thinking it's him.

Rasmus

storker wrote: »

Couple of reasons. I heard no splash and no shouts cries or words of any kind. I also looked down at the water at what would have been the point of entry and saw nobody and no disturbance. In addition, the water there was quite shallow, anybody who had fallen in would have been up to his knees. I also suspect that on some level I already knew it wasn't real.

Stork

Fair enough. Question: where is the gate in the picture? I can't figure out where the gap is that the figure may have been making for.

patwicklow

Im not 100% sure but i think some one jumped off there many many years ago
il be in the town on the week end il try and find out more

storker

patwicklow wrote: »

Im not 100% sure but i think some one jumped off there many many years ago
il be in the town on the week end il try and find out more

Someone jumped off there only last year, but it wasn't him - too short.

Stork

storker

Rasmus wrote: »

Fair enough. Question: where is the gate in the picture? I can't figure out where the gap is that the figure may have been making for.

The gate is just below where the pier makes an angle. You can just about make out a white sign attached to it. It's between the person walking on the pier and the bit of a parked car that's visible on the right.

And as I type this I wonder why I never thought to take a picture at the time... Some ghosthunter, eh? :rolleyes:

Stork

screamer

Storker, not being dismissive of what you saw, but looking at the picture, and assuming that the gate you speak of is at the entrance to the pier, and this figure was walking towards that, then you lost sight, my first thought is that whilst you couldn't see the guy, he simply turned into the building there at the entrance to the pier, so when you could see ahead again, he'd disappeared but because you lost sight of him with the nets, you didn't see him change direction.

storker

screamer wrote: »

Storker, not being dismissive of what you saw, but looking at the picture, and assuming that the gate you speak of is at the entrance to the pier, and this figure was walking towards that, then you lost sight, my first thought is that whilst you couldn't see the guy, he simply turned into the building there at the entrance to the pier, so when you could see ahead again, he'd disappeared but because you lost sight of him with the nets, you didn't see him change direction.

That's certainly possible, but I thought it very unlikely at the time. The gate isn't actually at the entrance to the pier, rather its further along near where it makes an angle, see previous post. I'll try to post a better photo.

Stork

gcgirl

Know the place very well and have been out the pier and surrounding areas countless times, it's part of my childhood playing there, I have been there late at night along with where the castle and beach is and along the golf course, 2 people sadly lost their lives off the pier that I know of waves dragged in first one suicide took the 2 nd one a couple of months back, it has been used in transporting body's, back in the 60's there was a plane collision when they were filming the blue max , a few people would have fallen in around the castle as well and died, I have never picked up on any thing there but then again never picked up on anything in the Goal nor the Convent grounds, where as my aunt thought someone tipped her on the shoulder in the Convent. I could be just kne of those people who don't pick up on anything

storker

Here's a couple of photos I took of the spot this morning...the yellow shows where I saw whoever it was.

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx233/Holdit66/photo1_y.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx233/Holdit66/photo2_y.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx233/Holdit66/photo_y.jpg

Stork

storker

gcgirl wrote: »

I have never picked up on any thing there but then again never picked up on anything in the Goal nor the Convent grounds

That makes two of us; I never pick up on any of this stuff. For all I know, Jacob Marley could be tapdancing on my desk and the Flying Dutchman parked outside, but I'm in a vibe-free zone.

I do remember some yarns about ghosts in the convent, of nuns, naturally, one including a wheelchair that moved itself. Great spooky touch, that. If you want to see how spooky, watch "The Changeling" (1980).

As for the Gaol, I think it's all a bunch of hype designed to keep the visitors coming. I'd probably do the same if I was running the place. I did go along to one of the evening visits, but it was crap. To many people turning up with a few drinks on them and jumping out shouting "boo!" at each other. I was hoping for a spooky atmosphere, what I found was more like a theme pub.

All the same, I wouldn't fancy being shut into that solitary confinement cell, not even for just a second.

Stork

gcgirl

storker wrote: »

gcgirl wrote: »

I have never picked up on any thing there but then again never picked up on anything in the Goal nor the Convent grounds

That makes two of us; I never pick up on any of this stuff. For all I know, Jacob Marley could be tapdancing on my desk and the Flying Dutchman parked outside, but I'm in a vibe-free zone.

I do remember some yarns about ghosts in the convent, of nuns, naturally, one including a wheelchair that moved itself. Great spooky touch, that. If you want to see how spooky, watch "The Changeling" (1980).

As for the Gaol, I think it's all a bunch of hype designed to keep the visitors coming. I'd probably do the same if I was running the place. I did go along to one of the evening visits, but it was crap. To many people turning up with a few drinks on them and jumping out shouting "boo!" at each other. I was hoping for a spooky atmosphere, what I found was more like a theme pub.

All the same, I wouldn't fancy being shut into that solitary confinement cell, not even for just a second.

Stork

I was down in solitary confinement with another girl and with the door closed And the lights off I was thinking to my self c'mon I was really syched up I was a bit disappointed

As for the pictures there is no way whoever it was could have turned to go back with out seeing its back, totally weird especially if it was that close to the gate