Ghosts or aliens in an Irish bog?
There is a stretch of bogland west of the town of Ardee in County Louth in the north east of the Republic of , that covers about 25 square miles running towards the village of Drumcondrath in County Meath. The bog is crossed by two narrow, twisting roads that are bumpy and uneven. Very few people live on these roads with just a scattering of small cottages that are occupied mostly by an older generation of people. The remnants of some old deserted houses lay along the lonely isolated terrain bearing testimony to a backward existence generations ago when harvesting the fruit of the bog was the only way to earn a living.
Once out in the centre of this small bogland, one could be anywhere such is the disconnection with everyday life. Silence is the dominant sound. During even the sunniest day, the eerie feeling of discontent and unidentified tension is palpable. Decades ago, people from the town of Ardee would come out and cut their winter supply of turf. Nobody comes anymore, however.
It is a subject not talked about by the locals, but the bog contains, it is said, a fearful secret that led to the virtual de-population of the area. Those residents remaining are old and would not talk about what sometimes is called the “presence” in the bog. From the early seventies, stories began to emerge about strange movements in the topography of the bog akin to wave like shifts. Earthy sounds emanated from the western side and animals belonging to local farmers which grazed on solid ground near the bog started disappearing. Children out playing near the bog reported of being “pulled” towards one particular stretch by some mysterious force.
Investigations took place, organized mostly by locals initially and by geological experts on soil and bogs later. The experts concluded that the movements in the bog were not geologically possible. They did however discover that at night the bog gave off a hue of reddish light to the western side, which they could not explain. It was like a fog hanging close to the top of that section.
Numerous tales of a magnetic pull towards the bog abound from people, some of whom might be the worse for wear with drink on their way home through the bog, and others who were extremely credible, sober and lucid in their descriptions. In the late seventies, two people mysteriously disappeared whilst walking home through the bog at twilight. Their bodies have never been found despite extensive searching. After that incident the bog became a virtual no-go area, although there have been numerous incidents during the intervening 30 years.
One theory about the “presence” in the bog may have validity. In the early seventies, was hit by a meteor shower in the north east of the country. It is thought that a meteor landed in the bog of Ardee and sank so deep to be beyond trace. Could this have something to do with the strange presence in the bog? Assuredly there is something strange in this eerie place. But is it an ghostly presence or an alien one?
The question remains: why doesn’t somebody in authority investigate?
Seamus Maguire is a 54-year old businessman who lives in Collon, County Louth, Ireland with his wife Brid and two boys Dominic and Ciaran. He writes about Ireland as a hobby but with a serious passion and extensive knowledge. He runs a website called Look Around Ireland, which provides detailed information and interactive virtual tours of all the highlights that Ireland has to offer to the visitor. On his website, there is a specific section called the Ireland Travel Guide, which is a very useful detailed travel tool for the first time visitor to Ireland. Article Source: