At Bonamargy Friary there was a widespread belief that misfortune would befall anyone who stepped on the thirteenth step of the narrow staircase to the upper floor, and visitors deliberately avoided it. Over time that step became noticeably less worn than the others. For safety the stair is now sealed. Some say the Black Nun fell from that step.
Spirited Isle also tells of a strange incident in the early 2000s. The BBC Radio Ulster reporter Brian Willis was photographing the Black Nun's grave when a young family wandered into his shot. They stepped aside to wait in a nearby passageway, and a large stone from the friary structure flew past them and smashed to the ground. They fled and told Willis. Police were called and the Heritage Department sealed off that section pending inquiry. The inquiry reportedly concluded that the stone had not simply fallen but appeared to have popped out of the thick wall, almost as if pushed from behind.
The same writer notes local tradition that the monks buried treasure in an iron chest, and that finds of manuscripts in 1822, a gold-embellished key in 1851 and a silver box later have fed the idea of a guardian. This is speculation, set out here for completeness.
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