Getting Cozy in the Bibliophile’s Space
Warring Clans, Dark and Brooding Castle Coves and the Banshees
That Haunt Them: A Sneak Peek into Sophia’s World
When I immersed myself in writing the Time Traveling
Bibliophile Series, one of the things I most enjoyed was envisioning a
character who constantly found herself in the most curious of places. No matter
where Sophia Marcil went in time, she wound up falling or bumping into a secret
passage, a vintage bookshop or a dark and threatening forest and all while
evading her killer. It seemed to me that Sophia gravitated to the fairytale
locations she might have found in the books she shelved, places like
Lichtenstein Castle, the Black Forest, and fairy hill. Also finding herself in
haunted spaces such as Romania’s Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, and
the witch’s cottage where it all began. So, in honor of our bookish heroine and
her dangerous explorations, I’ve decided to write a series of blogposts on the cozy
places that make up Sophia’s world. Even filling you in on the truth behind the
tales that inspired them, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
First we’ll start
with Northern Ireland which is the prominent backdrop in BOOK THREE, The Temple
of Indra’s Lies and we’ll meet the legendary banshee who roams the dark
brooding fortress and the mermaid’s cove beneath.
Excerpt
from BOOK THREE, The Temple of Indra’s Lies
Northern Ireland, November 1551
To the east of a
small seaside village in Northern Ireland, Alexandra Cuza paced the
cold damp floor of the cave below the massive Dunlace Castle. The weather was
violent, and the waves smashed and tumbled against the sharpened stone of the
White Rocks cliffs. Off in the distance, thin clouds sailed across a darkening
sky, and the wind swept wildly as if to mirror Alexandra’s own foul and
loathsome mood. This medieval castle was her home now, much like the one she’d
grown up in and yet so very different. Occasionally she missed the heavily
wooded mountains of southwestern Transylvania, but there was nothing like the
roar of the mighty waters, as they came rushing and bellowing into the deep
cavern of the mermaid’s cave.
Using her prophetic
sight to her advantage, Alexandra had ingratiated herself into the McQuillan
Clan over the last ten years, becoming known as Saundra—the Witch of
Dunlace—mistress and advisor to Lord Uilliam McQuillan. She’d waited fifty-seven
years to exact her revenge on this man.
There was but one
problem: she no longer wanted to.
Dunluce Castle Facts
This famous Celtic Castle stands on a rocky crag on the
northeast coast of the island of Ireland in County Antrim. First built by the
Irish noble Richard Óg de Burgh in the thirteenth century, the earliest
documented records from 1513 show that at that time it belonged to the
MacQuillan family before being taken by the MacDonnell’s. The site of Dunluce
Castle has been seen as significant both spiritually and strategically and
has often been fought over.
The castle is carved into a rocky promontory, so that the
cliffs around the castle drop off straight into the ocean. The sea-grass and
rocks are slippery from the salt-mist and, in some places, the rocky surface
has caved in and the crashing ocean is visible far beneath the surface
opening. This dangerous setting made the castle a perfect defense against
invaders, but a reckless place to carry out daily life. In the early 1600s the
cliff-face supporting the castle kitchen crumbled into the ocean and plummeted
all the people inside to their deaths.
The Banshee of Dunluce Castle
One of the most popular tales associated with the McQuillans
and Dunluce Castle is the legend of Maeve Roe, the McQuillan Banshee. There are
many blogs that detail the story but here is the most common. Please note that while the names of the
families are the same, this story differs slightly from Temple of Indra’s Lies,
but it is truth that inspired me to imagine Sophia’s own scenario.
Maeve Roe McQuillan, the beautiful Lord’s daughter, fell in
love with Reginald O’Cahan. The O’Cahans were one of the McQuillans’ bitterest
rivals and the Lord of the Route did not see Reginald as a suitable match for
Maeve. In attempting to dissuade Maeve from marrying Reginald, he took the
rather extreme step of locking her in the north eastern tower of Dunluce. With
no servants to attend her or friends to keep her company, Maeve spent the
lonely days and nights pining for her lover and sweeping her room with a brush.
After some days, her father grew worried at how distraught Maeve Roe had
become. He took pity on her and hatched a scheme to allow her to reunite with
Reginald which at the same time allowed him to save face.
On a
wild and windy night, the Lord left the castle with his clansmen on a raiding
mission into a rival’s territory. While he was away, he had instructed one of
his servants to free Maeve Roe from her tower and lead her to the Mermaid’s
Cave underneath the castle where Reginald was waiting for her. There was a boat
nearby to allow them the means to escape. However, as you may have guessed,
there wasn’t a happy ending. Due to the storm, the row boat crashed against the
rocks and the couple were drowned. Reginald’s remains were subsequently washed
ashore but Maeve Roe’s body was never found. Maeve’s ghost continues to haunt
the tower to this day, sweeping the room she had been imprisoned in. Not only
that, Maeve Roe also became the family banshee, mourning the impending passing
of McQuillans with her sorrowful wail.
To see
where I found these stories, check out either of these pages.
Curious to know more about the Time Traveling Bibliophile
and her cozy adventures into the past, check out the Temple
of Indra’s Lies on Amazon. OR start at the
beginning.
You can also get more visual sneak peeks on my Pinterest
page at the The
Magical World of the Bibliophile.
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