In 1705, a woman named Margorie McCall from Lurgan was struck by a sudden illness and soon pronounced dead. Fearing the spread of disease—possibly plague or fever—her family arranged for her immediate burial in Shankill Graveyard.

That very night, a group of grave robbers entered the cemetery. Drawn by the valuable gold ring buried with her, they unearthed Margorie’s grave. Unable to remove the ring from her swollen finger, they resorted to cutting it off. As the knife pierced her skin, Margorie suddenly awoke with a gasp—having only been in a deathlike coma.

Terrified, the grave robbers fled.

Margorie, still weak but very much alive, made her way home. Upon knocking on her front door, her husband—shocked at the sight of his “dead” wife—reportedly fainted or, in some tellings, died on the spot. Having returned from the grave, Margorie became a widow.

She lived for several more years before eventually dying for real, and was buried once again in Shankill Graveyard. Her headstone is said to bear the enduring inscription:

“Margorie McCall – Lived Once, Buried Twice.”

To this day, quiet nights in the graveyard are said to be disturbed by the sound of soft, phantom weeping—believed by some to be Margorie’s lingering spirit.

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When validating this story, I also found this another haunting tied to this location.

According to local tradition, a British Army lieutenant named Henry once served in India, where he fell in love with – and married – an Indian princess. When his period of service ended, Henry intended to return home to Ireland, but attitudes in society at the time meant he was unable to bring his wife with him.

As the story is told, she watched him leave by ship and, in despair, threw herself into the sea. Some versions claim she uttered a curse upon him before she died.

Henry’s life in Ireland never recovered. Around a year later, he met a young woman from Dublin who agreed to marry him, only to break off the engagement unexpectedly. Local belief holds that she discovered the tragic story – and the curse – and changed her mind.

Heartbroken for a second time, Henry is said to have walked onto a nearby railway line, where he was struck and killed by the passing mail train. In a cruel twist, that very train was carrying a letter from the Dublin woman, accepting his proposal after all.

It is said that the lieutenant can still be seen wandering near the graveyard, carrying his own head under his arm.