Strange Tales Of Loughareema – The Vanishing Lake Where People Are Lost

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com -  If you travel to the Glens of Antrim, a few miles from the seaside town of Ballycastle, in Northern Ireland, you may or may not see Loughareema. Whether you can spot the lake depends on whether the water is blocked.

Known as the Vanishing Lake, it has been a source of amazement not only because of its odd geological behavior throughout the year. "The Vanishing Lake" is a chalk sinkhole that occasionally gets blocked up when peat washes into it.

Credit: Adobe Stock - breakermaximus

Water draining off from the surrounding land fills the lake up, sometimes flooding the nearby road after particularly heavy rains.

Once the blockage is cleared, or the aquifer beneath can accept more water, the "Vanishing Lake"… vanishes." ¹

This beautiful place has been mentioned in several strange tales. One of the older accounts describing a tragic event related to Loughareema appears in Coleraine Chronicle, published in October 1898.

As the story goes, one Colonel named John Magee McNeill was returning from visiting his family. In a hurry to catch a train from Ballycastle back, McNeill and his coachman

David McNeill tried to cross the lake, but the waters were, unfortunately, rising at the time. A witness who saw how the men and horses struggled to pass to the other side recalled that the animals had water above their bellies and panicked, unable to walk. The two men did not have more luck. Being trapped in the water, they did all they could to get to the dry land, but their attempts proved futile. After fighting for so long, they had no more strength, and the horses and men drowned. It is said that the ghosts of the poor victims are still haunting Loughareema.

Another curious story about the Vanishing Lake was told by a man named James Murphy who said: "The vanishing lake: if you want to disappear go there for a day. There was a guy told not to cross that, hey.

That was the winter – I don't know who it was – but it was snowing and he was never got again … he was a breadman so he was … He said he had to go and deliver the bread and stuff the people needed hey. He was told not to go but he went on anyhow so he did, and being a good martyr as he was hey. Never was seen again. Never."

Nicholas L. Wright writes in the "Lore of the Land: Exploring Folklore And The Supernatural Across The Causeway Coast" this story was confirmed by Lillian McCullough who stated the ghost of the man who vanished at the lake can still be seen on certain occasions at the site." ²

As explained by Wright, Loughareema, "a source of amazement to locals and travellers in earlier times, it is sometimes referred to as the Fairy Lough.

In the nineteenth century, a road was constructed over the lake bed and at least two tragic events on that road have led to ghost sightings in the area." ²

Curious accounts of vanishing lakes are by no means uncommon, and Loughareema reminds us of Llyn Y Dywarchen, and the enigmatic lake we discussed in another article. Located in Wales, Llyn Y Dywarchen has long been referred to as the floating island.

Loughareema, The Vanishing Lake. Credit: Mike Simms - CC BY-SA 2.0

"Llyn Y Dywarchen's floating island is not the only thing that makes the lake unique. The beautiful and mysterious lake is also associated with interesting legends and myths. Many say peculiar beings have been spotted around this place

The belief in fairies has long been widespread in some European countries such as Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In Welsh folklore and mythology, the term Tylwyth Teg (Fair Family) is the term that describes mythological creatures known as the fairy folk of English and Continental folklore. Many stories from Wales tell of fairies that live near lakes, and Llyn Y Dywarchen is believed to be a portal to the fairyland.

Llyn Y Dywarchen has long been regarded as a meeting place of the fairies. Another legend tells of a man who spotted a group of fairies having a meeting at the lake one evening. As they danced, they invited him to join them, and he was transported to the mysterious land of the fairies from which it took seven years to return. This particular Llyn Y Dywarchen reminds a little of Brigadoon, a mythical village in Scotland where time stands still. "People who visit Scotland often ask where they can find the mysterious and beautiful village of Brigadoon.

It's a place where the passing of a century seems no longer than one night. The village is hidden somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and it appears every hundred years for just one day."

There are many fairy legends associated with the beautiful lake in Wales." ³

Perhaps there is something magical about disappearing and reappearing places that catch our imagination. Maybe we have not yet discovered the true secrets of nature, and the thought of invisible realms awakens our curiosity and desire to explore all that is unknown to us.

Whatever the truth may be, stories of the strange and unexplained are appealing to most of us because who can resist a mystery?

Updated on October 05, 2023

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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