Vicar’s Hill is one of Armagh’s most elegant streets. On one side stand fine Georgian townhouses, while opposite rises the dramatic profile of St Patrick’s Cathedral. In the 18th century it was a fashionable address, home to merchants, professionals, and the vicars choral who served the cathedral.

But in 1888, a tragedy at No. 6 gave this street a darker reputation. It became linked with one of Armagh’s most enduring ghost stories — the tale of the Green Lady.

Bellina Prior was just 21 years old, the daughter of a respected military commander. Despite her privileged background, she was accused of killing a child, Annie Slavin, whose body was discovered in a kitchen boiler. When Bellina was found, pale and dripping wet, suspicions grew. Witnesses recalled her protesting, “I did not do it,” before allegedly crying, “I have killed the child.”

The true circumstances remain unclear — whether accident, madness, or intent. A jury found her “guilty, but insane,” and she was committed to an asylum. Reports suggest she attempted suicide during her confinement. Eventually she was released into her mother’s care on one condition: she must never return to Armagh.

Yet after Bellina’s death, stories spread that she had indeed come back. Locals spoke of icy chills on Vicar’s Hill, whispers in the silence, and soft scratching at the windows. Some who peered through the letterbox swore they saw a pale face staring back.

Children were warned: “Get home before dark, or the Green Lady will get you.” In the 1970s, one man claimed he was chased by a woman in a green dress who vanished at the Cathedral gates. Drivers reported swerving to avoid a spectral figure in green, while late-night walkers described ghostly footsteps keeping pace behind them.

Generations of Armagh families passed down other tales. One of the house’s windows was bricked up, said to contain her spirit. Some even claimed to see her face pressed against the stonework. Another story told of a green glass bottle hidden inside the house, said to trap Bellina’s soul. If it were ever broken, her spirit would walk the hill again.

During renovations in the early 1990s, a workman fled in terror when his sledgehammer struck something behind the sealed window, fearing he had found the cursed bottle. Yet when work resumed, nothing was discovered.

A family now lives peacefully at No. 6 and report no strange activity, though they are well aware of the building’s chilling reputation. Still, the legend of the Green Lady remains a powerful part of Armagh folklore.