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1. The Dearg Due:

The Dearg Due was a monster similar to a vampire. The story is as follows: a beautiful young women fell in love with a peasant, but her father disapproved and would not allow them to be together. The father made his daughter marry a cruel, but wealthy chieftain out of pure greed. The chieftain locked her up and would not let her escape to her lover. Sadly, the young woman took her own life. Her tortured spirit rose from the grave and looking for revenge upon her greedy father and heartless cruel husband. She visited both of them and sucked their blood until they died.

It is said that once every year, The Dearg Due rises from the dead to suck the blood of an unsuspecting male victim...then, she leaves her victim, lifeless.

2. The Banshee:

This is one of the most well-known of all monsters in Ireland's long list of ghouls and ghosts. The Banshee is usually described as a female spirit who lets out blood-curdling shrieks and wails. She is said to be an omen foretelling doom or bad events such as death. If one hears the wail of a Banshee, it is said that someone in their family will soon die. There are some people who believe that everyone has their own personal Banshee who comes to them as a warning of demise and doom.

3. The Dullahan:

The Dullahan, or, "The Dark Man" is similar in nature the The Headless Horseman. He wanders across Ireland holding his decapitated head under one arm. Usually, he is said to be on a dark horse with flaming eyes or riding a dark carriage with six black horses. When he stops riding the horses, someone loses their life.

He is connected to the Banshee because once the Banshee's cries are heard, The Dullahan comes to get them! Some stories indicate that The Dullahan throws buckets of blood on those he passes. In other versions of the tale, he calls out the names of those who must join him.

In order to "defeat" The Dullahan, one must carry with them some gold because at least according to some stories, he is very afraid of this precious metal!

3. The Puca:

People describe this as a small creature that looks like a dog or a rabbit, but is totally covered in fur. The mischievous Puca usually appears in the countryside and is said to bring either good tidings or worrisome wickedness to those who see it.

In one story called "The Drunken Journey Home," The Puca turned itself into a horse and told a man that he would take him home. However, instead of getting tge drunken man home, he left him somewhere farther away. The man was so confused in the night that he could not find his way back home!

4. Balor:

In Celtic folklore, Balor is the name of a demonic God of death. It is said that he can kill anyone just by looking at them. He is in charge of the Fomorians - evil creatures that live deep within Ireland's lakes and seas.

The Fomorians needed human flesh to feast on, so Balor would collect humans who would swim in Ireland's waters and feed them to the Fomarians. Eventually, Balor's son, Lug, killed him with a slingshot leaving The Fomorians to fend for themselves and search for their own prey to feast on.

5. The Sluagh:

The Sluagh are a collection of dead sinners whose spirits come back in the form of malevolent ghosts. They are said to come from the West in search of houses where someone us dying so that they can overtake the spirits of those who are deceased stealing away their spirits.

Those who believe in The Sluagh keep their west-facing windows locker at all times so that The Sluagh cannot enter their homes!

6. Carman:

Carman is an evil witch, often referred to as a Celtic goddess of evil magic. She travels with her three sons and together, they destroy everything that is in their paths.

Her three sons are called "Dub," which means "Darkness," "Dother," which means "Evil," and "Dain," which means "Violence."

The story goes that she continued her reign of evil for a long time until the people called out to a special kind of magical people called The Tuatha De Dannan to help them defeat her.

They were successful at overpowering Carman and her sons and they were banished from Ireland for as long as the water surrounds the land!

This concludes part 1 of our series on some of the darkest and most disturbing tales from Irish mythology! Stay tuned for part 2!