In 1996, a house in the Pinewood estate in Balbriggan, north County Dublin, made national headlines when its residents claimed they were experiencing a haunting. Vincent Hughes and his daughters, Sonia (14) and Charlene (12), reported seeing ghostly figures in their back garden while camping outside one night. According to their account, these apparitions began appearing at the so-called “witching hour”, manifesting at the bottom of the garden night after night.

The family described the figures as three hooded, cloaked shapes, almost “Casper-like” in outline. They reportedly appeared first as a shimmering blur of greenish-white light, lasting for 20 to 30 seconds before fading away — sometimes reappearing several times in a single night. Vincent Hughes also stated that he often felt an eerie, uneasy presence whenever he walked through the garden, even before the sightings began.

The cause of these alleged hauntings was never established, but local speculation quickly took hold. Some residents suggested that parts of the Pinewood estate may have been constructed on or near an old burial ground, and that a new boundary wall erected behind the houses might have disturbed resting spirits. While no confirmed archaeological evidence of a burial ground has been published, the claim became part of the folklore surrounding the area.