Larne’s Viking ghost recalled on Facebook

The Memories of Larne Facebook page, which has over 4,700 members, posted a message on Sunday calling for people to recall the tale of a Viking ghost which is said to have haunted a house near the old Greenland Secondary School back in the 1960/70s.

And within 24 hours, the site was inundated with over 50 responses from people who were keen to share their memories and experiences.

One of the founders of Memories of Larne, local historian Liam Kelly, told the Times he was “surprised and delighted” with the response.

He said: “There was an article in the Larne Times back in the 70s about a Viking ghost at the old caretaker’s house at Greenland School.

“I have a friend who will be visiting Larne in April. He is an internationally renowned author researching Viking activity in this area for a new book, and I wanted to have the details of this haunting for him.

“As usual, our members have been very helpful, but I was not expecting it to take off like this. We have been flooded with comments from people who either experienced or heard about the haunting.”

The building in question has long-since been demolished, but memories of what is said to have transpired there are still very much alive.

One response on Facebook stated: “Rumours were that the house was built in an old Viking burial site. I heard the minister who went to exorcise the ghost left in a bit of a state and all the buttons on his jacket flew off.”

Another poster added: “ I remember the story... angry Viking, dog wouldn’t go into bedroom and wife slept with bible under her pillow.”

Memories of Larne Facebook group was founded in 2008. There is also a website at www.memoriesoflarne.co.uk