Part of the legend is that the 14th century estate was said to have been visited by the Devil.
If you’re looking for a property to invest in that checks all the boxes - private, spacious, charming, historic - with a reasonable asking price, Lotus Hall in Ireland may very well be the one. The 14th-century mansion that boasts 22 bedrooms, 97 windows and 63 acres of land dates back to 1350 and is located on Wexford’s Hook Peninsula in the southeast of Ireland.
There’s just two minor caveats: the sprawling abode is Ireland’s most haunted house and the estate was said to have been visited by the Devil. Other than that, you're good!
The story behind Loftus Hall dates back centuries when the Tottenham family had occupied the estate. Legend has it that a dark stranger approached the hall during a storm looking for shelter. He was taken in by the Tottenham family when Lady Anne Tottenham fell head over heels for the stranger. One night, during a card game, Lady Anne is said to have dropped a card on the floor and when she went to retrieve it, she noticed the stranger had cloven hoofs, a sign of the Devil, instead of feet.
As soon as the stranger realized what Lady Anne had seen he shot through the roof in a ball of flames, leaving Lady Anne in a state of shock, from which she never recovered. She spent the rest of her life until her death locked in the hall’s tapestry room after allegedly going mad and her ghost is said to haunt the mansion, according to Loftus Hall's website.
A local priest was brought in to exorcise the tapestry room but did not succeed.
The home, which was renovated in the 1870s, continues to be filled with spirits of the spine-tingling kind. The property was once a home for nuns, a school for girls and a hotel, before being acquired by its current owner, Aidan Quigley, in 2011. “I seem to be the one that the spirits seem least likely to interact with but, there isn’t a day at Loftus Hall that I don’t feel that there is something or someone there with me," Quigley told the MailOnline.
“I have met with a lot of people who have had visual and audio experiences here that cannot be explained away,” he said.
Quigley said there was initial stateside interest on the property, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, no one was able to travel from the U.S. to view the property.
For those who may want to explore the property can take a virtual tour at www.loftushall.ie.
And, to mark Friday the 13th, on this special spirited day, paranormal investigations team Paranormal Researchers Ireland will conduct a three-and-a-half hour investigation at Loftus Hall, the DailyMail reported.
The team will focus on the tiled floor, the stairs— the area with the highest amount of paranormal activity recorded— and Room 13, the room Quigley said is in the deepest part of the house, as it is furthest from any exit.
Tina Barcoe, the lead investigator, will hold a lone vigil in Room 13 until midnight and try to "communicate with the spirits." Viewers can watch the investigation via 12 live web cams across the hall for $5.90. The cameras are live until midnight on Saturday. See www.loftushallafterdark.com for more information.
RELATED STORIES
