Harriet and the Staircase: The Charleville Castle Ghost Story

Reviewed by Josh N · Updated August 27, 2026 · How we verify

Ask about the Charleville Castle ghost in Tullamore and one name comes back before any other: Harriet, a little girl said to have died after a fall on a staircase inside this Gothic pile on the edge of the County Offaly town. That story has carried the castle onto television schedules across two continents. What sits underneath it is a genuinely strange building history, a family that could rarely afford to live in its own house, and half a century of volunteer effort to keep a roofless shell from disappearing altogether.

What Stands on the Clodiagh Today

Charleville Castle is a Gothic-style castle in County Offaly, bordering the town of Tullamore and near the River Clodiagh. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of its type in Ireland. Charleville Forest, which borders the castle, is classified as a Special Area of Conservation, so the setting is as much woodland as architecture.

Thomas Moore’s Mansion and the First Earl’s Ambition

The first mansion house on the site was built by Thomas Moore around 1641. The estate passed to Charles Moore, Lord Tullamore, a grandson of Thomas, and on his death in 1674 it went by way of his sister Jane to Charles William Bury. Charles William was created 1st Earl of Charleville in 1806, in a second creation of the title, and he decided to replace the old house entirely.

The new castle was commissioned in 1798 and designed by Francis Johnston, one of the era’s major architects. Construction ran from 1800 to 1812. The result was a showpiece, but not a home in any settled sense: the castle was not continuously occupied because its owners lacked the resources to keep it going. Each re-opening brought a fresh burst of building or refurbishment, and at one point that included engaging William Morris, who designed the dining room ceiling.

The castle played host to Lord Byron, who held many parties here. It also once held a 1789 painting by Matthew William Peters titled Henry VIII, Act V, Scene 4, which was removed from the house in 1970 and now sits in a Canadian collection.

1912 to 1968: The Slow Unroofing

The castle stood uninhabited from 1912, when Colonel Howard-Bury left to live at Belvedere House in County Westmeath. By 1968 the roof had been removed, which for an Irish country house of that scale usually marks the beginning of the end. Restoration work was begun by Michael McMullen in 1973, and continued later by Constance Heavey Seaquist and Bonnie Vance. A charitable trust was formed to support the work. As of 2014 the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust was managed by Dudley Stewart, with day-to-day running handled by volunteers.

Harriet, and the Claim of Europe’s Most Haunted

The castle has been claimed to be the most haunted building and grounds in Europe. That is a marketing superlative rather than a measurable fact, and it is worth treating as such. It has, however, been repeated widely, helped by appearances on Living TV’s Most Haunted, Fox’s Scariest Places on Earth and Ghost Hunters International.

The best known of the reported spirits is Harriet, a little girl who is said to have died after a fall on a staircase. The sources available describe her as a reputed figure, not a documented death, and no date or record for the fall is given. Treat Harriet as legend attached to a real staircase.

Beyond the Harriet story, the castle has been visited by a number of paranormal investigators and psychics, and it has been photographed by Simon Marsden, whose infrared images of Irish ruins did as much for the building’s atmosphere as any ghost hunt. What the record supports is a long run of reported experiences and televised investigations, not verified events.

Festivals, Film Crews and the Explorers’ Museum

The castle earns its keep as a venue. Events have included fright nights, an auction and a play by the English Chamber Theatre called Dearest Nancy, Darling Evelyn. The Mór Festival and its successor Castlepalooza have both been held here, as has Facefest, a not-for-profit festival staged over the summer solstice weekend. As of 2014 the castle hosted the Explorers’ Museum, covering the history of exploration and dedicated to Charles Howard-Bury.

Film location scouts found it too. Charleville has stood in for period Britain in Becoming Jane (2007) and Northanger Abbey (2007), and appeared in The Knight Before Christmas (2019) and The Green Knight (2020). It served, alongside Ashford Castle in County Mayo, as the French Court in the pilot episode of Reign (2013), and most recently featured in the second season of Wednesday in 2025.

Planning a Visit to Charleville

The castle sits immediately beside Tullamore, roughly in the middle of the country, and is run by a heritage trust with volunteer staff rather than by a full-time commercial operation. Access has historically been tied to what is happening on site: museum opening, a festival, a booked event or a fright night. Check ahead with the trust before travelling, and expect a building still very much under restoration rather than a polished visitor attraction. The surrounding Charleville Forest, protected as a Special Area of Conservation, is the other half of the experience and is worth the walk in its own right.

Address: Charleville Castle, Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland

See Charleville Castle for Yourself

Sources

• Buildings at Risk, Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co Offaly
• Irish Castles, Charleville Castle
• The Explorers' Museum: About
• Explorers Museum (Atlas Obscura)
• Lights, camera and a tidy €450m in tourism
• Wikipedia: Charleville Castle