Contact from the Dead

Fairy Mount

Photograph of Fairy Mount in 1906 by H.G. Tempest (Morris 1906, 42-43). Morris's account of the site is full of romantic notions of it being a timeless 'green grassy mound … that had stood there from Pagan times' (ibid., 41).

Fairy Mount

Fairy Mount

Photograph of Fairy Mount in 1906 by H.G. Tempest (Morris 1906, 42-43). Morris's account of the site is full of romantic notions of it being a timeless 'green grassy mound … that had stood there from Pagan times' (ibid., 41).

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The fear of the returning dead is a dominant aspect of death customs, and is reflected in the stories told. The National Folklore Collection in UCD is dotted with stories of deceased mothers returning to watch over their children, stories about the dead giving help to the living, returning to seek prayers, help or even revenge, to complain of a neglected traditional observance or to meet the newly dead and convey them to the otherworld. Sometimes we find stories of people who visit the world of the fairies, finding their dead friends or relatives.

Today, many people in Ireland believe they have had contact with deceased loved ones, many of whom visit people who claim to be psychic. Others believe or claim that they have seen or spoken to ghosts. Sometimes, people use the Ouija Board in the belief that it can summon ghosts and demons. All the while, folklorists recognise similar patterns in people’s narratives and experiences.