5 Most Terrifying Irish Folklore

The Dearg-Due is said to be the most feared vampire that lurks within Irish folklore.

Literally translated as 'red blood sucker', she raises from her tomb once a year to lure men to their end with her inescapable beauty, draining the blood from their quivering bodies.

Pray you never hear the piercing screams of an Irish banshee!

These folkloric hags are the Irish harbingers of death, with their ear-splitting wails.

This list wouldn't be complete without the terrifying Caorthannach; one of Saint Patrick's most fearsome foes.

Said to have grown from the molten core of the earth, spawning evil serpents and The Devil himself, this legendary fire-spitter met her match after a unrelenting 2-day battle with St Patrick.

Truly defeated or simply waiting to rise again?

A powerful giant with a huge eye in the centre of his forehead. Balor reigned over Ireland with his army of twisted supernatural creatures.

According to Irish folklore, by opening his colossal eye, Balor could bring indescribable destruction to everything he saw.

Never trespass in the land of The Hallow!

Lurking deep within the darkest of Irish forests, it is said that these hideous creatures of ancient folklore bring upon a violent doom to the victims.

Intelligent, brutal and with a craving for children, they'll use their manipulative tricks and savage violence to hunt you down. Once they have you, there's no escaping as your agonising transformation into one of these monsters begins.

You have been warned.