Mildred Darby facts for kids

Mildred Darby (born Mildred Dill; 18 March 1867 – 5 January 1932) was an Anglo-Irish writer. She wrote exciting and often scary stories known as Gothic novels. Mildred also owned Leap Castle, which is famous for being one of the most haunted castles in Ireland. Many people believe it's haunted partly because of the spooky tales Mildred herself shared!

Mildred Darby's Life and Family

Mildred Henrietta Gordon Dill was born in 1867. Her parents were Richard Dill and Augusta Caroline Wale. She later married Jonathan Charles Darby. His family owned Leap Castle, and Jonathan was the last Darby to own it. Mildred and Jonathan had five children together.

Writing and the Supernatural

Mildred Darby was very interested in ghosts and the supernatural. She often wrote Gothic novels, which are stories that combine romance with horror and mystery.

Her novel Paddy-risky was published in 1903. At that time, many women writers used different names. So, Mildred published this book under the pen name Andrew Merry. A newspaper called the Spectator reviewed her work. They said Paddy-risky was a "capital farce," meaning a very funny story.

In 1910, she published another Gothic novel called The Hunger.

Ghostly Encounters at Leap Castle

Mildred's interest in the supernatural was common during her time. She often held séances at Leap Castle. These were gatherings where people tried to communicate with spirits.

She wrote about her experiences in a journal called Occult Review in December 1908. She described seeing a strange, grey "Thing" in the castle. She said it was human-shaped but very scary and "unclean." She called it an "Elemental."

Mildred described this creature as being about the size of a sheep. It was thin and shadowy. She said it had a human-like face with large black holes for eyes. Its face and body were a uniform grey color. She also mentioned a horrible smell that came with it.

She later wrote about another time she saw the "Elemental" in 1915. She said she saw it leaning on a rail in the castle. She also smelled it strongly. Her husband was with her, but he didn't see anything. He thought she was playing a trick on him.

Famous Visitors to Leap Castle

Mildred Darby had some interesting friends who visited Leap Castle. One friend was Rex Ingram. He later became a famous movie director in the United States. Mildred told him many of the castle's ghost stories. These stories might have given him ideas for his own films.

Another visitor was St. John D. Seymour. He wrote a book called True Book of Irish Ghost Stories in 1914. In his book, he wrote about the many different ghost stories from Leap Castle.

After the Fire

Leap Castle was burned down in 1922. After this, Mildred's family moved to England for a while. Then they moved to Doory Hall in County Longford, Ireland. They waited there for payments for the damage to their property.

Mildred H. Darby claimed she lost many of her written stories, both published and unpublished. She had already sold the rights to her book Paddy-risky for a movie for $2,000. She hoped to sell more of her stories.

The many stories and publicity around Leap Castle, especially Mildred Darby's descriptions of its hauntings, have helped make it known as the most haunted castle in Ireland.