Forget about bobbing for apples and cute costumes this Halloween, the dark history of Ireland’s most haunted house, Loftus Hall, on Hook Head, County Wexford is sure to send chills down your spine.
Every Halloween the great house opens its doors and affords the public a chance to experience some eerie encounters and hear some ghostly tales from the great house’s history.
Nestled on the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford in barren and austere surroundings, Loftus Hall’s heritage dates back 665 years to 1350. It is now a magnet for tourists, historians, and paranormal enthusiasts, who continue to document evidence of frequent paranormal activity in the house.
The 22-bedroom isolated house is set on 60 acres, overlooking a lonely stretch of the southeast coast. Since it was abandoned over three decades ago the grand building has only had structural repairs.
According to Aidan Quigley, Owner of Loftus Hall, the house is a very special, but unpredictable, place to be during Samhain.
“We observe strange phenomena in the house throughout the year, but at Halloween, the house often surprises us,” said Quigley
“At Loftus Hall, there is no need for overstated gory props or effects. The house has a very twisted and tortured history, and so naturally speaks for itself. We have had reports from many ghost hunting groups and spectre seekers who recount rather unsettling results, such as significant temperature drops, particularly in the Chapel and Tapestry Room, and spikes in electromagnetic fields, indicating an unseen energy source. Visitors to Loftus Hall continually experience and qualify these findings, and many encounter things that they can’t quite explain. ”
Read more: Halloween tales from IrishCentral here
It’s not only ghost-hunters who have documented ethereal activities at Loftus Hall. Following last year’s viral “ghost photo” which hit the international headlines when tourist Thomas Beavis snapped what appeared to be a ghostly apparition in the porch way of the Hall, another visitor to Loftus Hall, Tara McMeel, also captured some strange ghostly apparitions in a “selfie” shot.
The ghostly tours are based on the 18th century story of Anne Tottenham and a visitor to the house whose body, during a game of cards, went ‘through the roof,’ leaving a hole in the ceiling which is visible to this day, and left young Anne in a state of terror.
She was put into a room known as the Tapestry Room to rest, and it is here that she stayed completely silent until her death in 1775.
Over the years since, servants claimed to have seen a dark, mysterious figure roaming the halls, causing disturbances.
The Loftus family abandoned the house in the early years of the 20th century. The visitor feedback regarding unnatural experiences, and tangible evidence such as this, ensures world-wide curiosity about Loftus Hall and its ominous past remains high.
Visit www.loftushall.ie to learn more.
Read more: Is this Ireland's most haunted house?