Ballyadams Castle is believed to have been built in the 15th century by Adam O’More, after whom the castle is named. In 1551, the property was acquired by John Thomas Bowen, a Welshman known for his brutal and violent methods of handling conflicts. He earned the nickname “John The Pike” for his notorious practice of impaling his victims on a long spear. Later, the castle came under the ownership of Bowen’s daughter, Katherine Bowen, and her husband Pierce Butler, but they were forced to flee during the 1798 Rebellion.

The castle is said to feature a “murder hole,” a trapdoor between the corbels of the battlement, through which defenders could drop stones, boiling water, hot sand, quicklime, or even boiling oil on attackers below, their blood-curdling screams confirming a direct hit.

Given its grim and violent history, it’s no wonder the castle is said to be haunted. A heavy, oppressive presence is often felt in the darker corners of the rooms, believed to be the spirit of John Thomas Bowen.

It is also said that the ghosts of soldiers from The Earl of Desmond’s 1551 army still march through the castle, trapped in a spectral loop, doomed to relive their deaths in a never-ending paranormal reenactment.