Leixlip Castle

Leixlip Castle is an 1824 short story by the Irish writer Charles Maturin. His final work, it was published posthumously. Maturin's earlier novels had been heavily Gothic in tone. With his previous work The Albigenses he moved towards historical stories in the style of Walter Scott's popular Waverley novels. In Leixlip Castle he combined both elements in a supernatural story concerning Ireland in the early 18th century. It should not be confused with a novel of the same title by M.L. O'Byrne published in 1883.

Synopsis

In 1720 Jacobite supporter Sir Redmond Blayney, tired of the boasts of his Whig about the Siege of Derry, moves from the North of Ireland to rent Leixlip Castle in County Kildare outside Dublin. Over the following years his three daughters all begin suffering from supernatural and tragic events.