loftus hall

strangepaddy

A few days before halloween a few of travelled down to loftus hall near hook head in wexford(for pl who never heard of it the devil was supposed ta have visite there....long story short....he made a big hole in the roof appartently which cant be fixed.)....we didnt go up to it cause its a private place and all plus there was a light on. Anyways the whole point of this post is i just like to know your views on the place? Believe in it? Ever there? cause the place is so weird lookin i cant help but take interest in it!

Nevyn

Loftus Hall has a lot of stories about it and part of it was made into a film.
Hard to say how much of it is credible you would ahve to try research the house.
The current building that can be seen from the locked gate is not the orginal hall, the ruins of it can be just about seen.

strangepaddy

ya ur right the old hall has long been gone! ive read a fair bit about it.
The new buildin is really nice ....it should be done up or something

eljono

Ya, that place is really cool. I stayed in New Ross for a couple of days before and saw Loftus Hall and just thought it was class. I think there's a plaque on the wall near the front gate that says something about the devil there or spirits.... something in that area anyway. I asked a lad from New Ross about it and he said that the devil is meant to have appeared there during a game of cards and that it was once a nightclub.

eljono

http://www.sunnysoutheast.com/Loftus_Hall/

strangepaddy

"here lies the body of Thomas Broaders,
.
Who did good and prayed for all.
.
And banished the Devil from Loftus Hall."

Anyone know where exactly this grave is?

Fajitas!

Loftus hall has sent shivers down my spine since I first went there, even posting it now...ugh. What a horrible place. I was terrified of going to Hook Head when I was younger because of how near we got to it, or even seeing the roof of it from Dunmore was horrible.

Just one of those places I guess.

tonym

strangepaddy wrote:

"here lies the body of Thomas Broaders,
.
Who did good and prayed for all.
.
And banished the Devil from Loftus Hall."

Anyone know where exactly this grave is?

cannon broaders is buried in horetown grave yard

and thats on his headstone

tonym

http://www.creativecopy.com.au/loftus.html

here is some close up pics i found on the net really cool i want to spend the night here guys

the owners name is micheal deveraux

arac

the story sounds a little like that general urban myth.. A similar story cirlcled around the place Im from in Co. Cork..about a dance hall, you know the type of one where the show bands used to play:) ..supposedly an extremely handsome young man asked a girl to dance there, one night back in the sixties..dancing away the two of them were, when she happened to look down at his feet, yup..two hooves..she screamed and he disappeared..
but loftus hall looks extremely spooky have to say!

misswex

Michael Devereux has long passed away - rip!! He had opened it up as as Hotel and his wife lived there as a recluse since he died.

noel6071

I wonder why the lights are left on some nights when their wouldnt be any electricity in the place??? I am very interested in Loftus Hall and would love to get nearer to the place to have a proper look, their is some great pictures on a website that really show it up close, its a sure is a spooky place, i drove up near it one night and the fog was so bad i had to turn back, great place to make a horror film.

upthere

strangepaddy wrote:

A few days before halloween a few of travelled down to loftus hall near hook head in wexford(for pl who never heard of it the devil was supposed ta have visite there....long story short....he made a big hole in the roof appartently which cant be fixed.)....we didnt go up to it cause its a private place and all plus there was a light on. Anyways the whole point of this post is i just like to know your views on the place? Believe in it? Ever there? cause the place is so weird lookin i cant help but take interest in it!

It is a good place to visit alrite and my opinion on it is that that whole area is haunted and loftus hall is no exception. I went to the gates of the place on night and could smell sulfur. It was eerie. Could have been anything but there was noone around.

dib

I'd definitely like to visit the area. The photos are great and it looks like a beautiful building. I must see who the current owner is.

D

Dan133269

it's a fascinating place alright but has anyone here ever actually experienced or seen anything out of the ordinary there? I'd love to go there aswell

Oryx

Someone does live there from time to time, in a mobile out the back of it I believe, so there would be power to it. Its a horrible looking building, which adds to its creepy vibe.

dib

I wonder if there are any basement areas.

TheMilkyPirate

Hey, anybody got the dvd?

Care to share??

magick

my friend went out there, on the rare time the gates were open and managed to take some photos up close of it , at the back of the hall on the 3rd floor their was an outline of a preist or what looked like a preist looking out at them.

I went there about a week ago with a digital camera but it didnt have a great zoom, got some nice pics but what id really love is a nice high powered camera to nice some really nice clear snaps of it.

Anyone know if its possible to contact the current owner ?

6th

Impossible to contact him, plenty have tried and tbh I could never be arsed to try.

Anyway, can you post the pics you did take and those your friend took?

dib

I would LOVE to go out there and have a look. It's a magnificent building and I'd really love to have a look inside and around the grounds. I may make a trip down to that area for a night or two over the Summer and see if I can get some good snaps.

Kastro

http://bebo.com/watch/3816796500

kshiel

dib wrote:

I would LOVE to go out there and have a look. It's a magnificent building and I'd really love to have a look inside and around the grounds. I may make a trip down to that area for a night or two over the Summer and see if I can get some good snaps.

Its been a few years since I was down in that area but it is pretty well locked up and I dont think they take to kindly to treaspassing. But there are some amazing spots down there for photos etc.

dib

kshiel wrote:

Its been a few years since I was down in that area but it is pretty well locked up and I dont think they take to kindly to treaspassing. But there are some amazing spots down there for photos etc.

Yeah the area itself looks fantastic. I'm definitely going to head down that way during the Summer. Any recommendations kshiel?

kshiel

Hooks Head is the natural one to say but we just got in the car and drove around and stopped where ever took our fancy, we did stay in a little fishing village a fare few mile from Loftus hall called Kilmore key, beautiful little place. I think you can reach loftus through a farm but again it could be trouble if you were caught. Try asking premission for access through the farmers land first, you never know he/she might oblige.

nudge

Was down in Kilmore Quay myself at the weekend. My dads from there. Great spot for a few pints. Where did you stay? Loftus hall has freaked out the people of Wexford for a long time. Gives me the heebie jeebies, especially given the location. It looks so lonely.

kshiel

Cant remember the name of the B&B but it is a great spot. Loftus hall looks generally creepy but to me anyway I would say the reputation far outweighs the actual place, although I could be wrong as never been in it. I like the little epitaph on thomas Broaders Grave though.

Quote
"Canon Broaders died in January, 1773, and on his tomb in Horetown Cemetery is the following epitaph;

"here lies the body of Thomas Broaders,
.
Who did good and prayed for all.
.
And banished the Devil from Loftus Hall."

http://www.wexfordweb.com/Loftus_Hall/index.htm

maggz

I can see it from my house on the coast of waterford, i'm amazed by it. Totally freeks me out - so lonely and so out on its own.

Mahatma coat

Man if you think it looks cool form the outside you should see it inside. its absolutley fckn amazin, marble fireplaces in every room, even the bathrooms, coupled with a ducted heating system, the central grand italian marble staircase is breathtaking, the sculptures and paintings collected oer centuries, and it used to be a guesthouse for a while so it has a huge bar and resturaunt area, Actulay about ten to fifteen years ago one of the Bikerclubs in the area had their anual bash there, twas feckin brilliant, then theres the card room where the Quarefella himself is supposed to have shot through the ceiling after being caught out by some priestybloke, there's a stain in exactly the same spot on the ceiling in the room above and one appears in the floor under it, actualy if your lookin at the building from the front you may be able to see the section of tiles that 'they keep havin to replace' its about 5M in from the lefthandside and up about 2M (guestimate but its around there)

the gardens had gotten into a fair state of disrepair the last time I was there but care was still being take for the interior, God knows what its like now tho!

there are quite a few ghoststories about the place, when I get home tonight I'll have a spliff focus the aul head and try to get some of them down.

Mahatma coat

Oh yeah the place dosent have a basemant as such, but there is a network of tunnels running under it, they run out to the deerhunting wall and down to the bottom of the gardens where the old heatin system was ( probably a service tunnel for this and a lazy way of crossin the fields to hunt deer in the rain)

I'm not sure about the rest of the tunels I've only been down the one from the garden to inside, but I know where the other one comes out at the deerwall.

course from what I remember the house may have been scary but the stories of what happened in the mews still make my hair stand on end.

Nightwish

I've been fascinated with the place ever since I was a child, and holidayed down in Dunmore East. When I was 17 or so (and had access to a car) I started visiting Hook Head, which I still do a few times a year, and I always stop to just look at Loftus Hall. A friend in work visited the house when it was a hotel and the lady who lived there gave him and his fiancee tea and coffee and scones and didnt charge them - she just wanted the company.

Nowadays the place looks derelict. I've seen a jeep up outside the house before though, and I've seen lights on so I assume someone is still sorta half minding it.

karenp

I was passing by there today the plac on the wall has been took down for some strange reason.
The gardens have all been done too theres no more grass.

6th

Sounds like its gonna be developed ... must put the feelers out.

dib

6th wrote:

Sounds like its gonna be developed ... must put the feelers out.

Indeed!! It would be sweet if we could get a group down there.

bloodcanticle

me & my friends went in there last week to make a video, we took lotsa great pictures, when i do up my website i'll put up a link if anyone wants to see them? the videos will be on youtube once we've edited them!

fifth

bloodcanticle wrote:

me & my friends went in there last week to make a video, we took lotsa great pictures, when i do up my website i'll put up a link if anyone wants to see them? the videos will be on youtube once we've edited them!

I actually heard about that, any chance we could get a look at the vids/pics?

Daknight

the story reminds me a lot of the hellfire club up the top of the dublin mountains,apparently it was a pub years ago where two men had a card game with the devil and somehow it ended with him burning down the club(cant remember all the story) anyway,people go up there all the time saying its haunted by a nun for some reason,(someone really needs to correct me on the stories and goings on,everything about it confuses me). Turns out two idiots burnt the pub down while they were drunk to see what hell felt like,still supposed to be haunted though.

Fergality

I was there at half one this morning.(I looked it up in the search engine and found this)

Anyway we went into the property and got into the original Loftus Hall with the holes and stains and all which was freaky.There was a sign in there that said welcome visitors even though it was the derelict part.We walked around the back of the property and took a look.Then we went up to the building and up to the front door and I swear there was someone in the bush.We pegged it out through the farm and back to the cars.
We're going back tomorrow but yeah myself and a friend are sure we saw something coming up off the roof as we were approaching the place but it was way too big to be a bird.

FREAKY CRAP!

6th

Are you going to take a camera tonight?

strangepaddy

Mahatma coat wrote:

Man if you think it looks cool form the outside you should see it inside. its absolutley fckn amazin, marble fireplaces in every room, even the bathrooms, coupled with a ducted heating system, the central grand italian marble staircase is breathtaking, the sculptures and paintings collected oer centuries, and it used to be a guesthouse for a while so it has a huge bar and resturaunt area, Actulay about ten to fifteen years ago one of the Bikerclubs in the area had their anual bash there, twas feckin brilliant, then theres the card room where the Quarefella himself is supposed to have shot through the ceiling after being caught out by some priestybloke, there's a stain in exactly the same spot on the ceiling in the room above and one appears in the floor under it, actualy if your lookin at the building from the front you may be able to see the section of tiles that 'they keep havin to replace' its about 5M in from the lefthandside and up about 2M (guestimate but its around there)

the gardens had gotten into a fair state of disrepair the last time I was there but care was still being take for the interior, God knows what its like now tho!

there are quite a few ghoststories about the place, when I get home tonight I'll have a spliff focus the aul head and try to get some of them down.

ah u do realise thats not the first loftus hall u see today! the old loftus was knocked down years and years ago and he present on built on the ground. so i find it hard to believe that the stains in the roof exists from where "the devil was suppose to of went through" in the present building

Oryx

Passed the place by yesterday, and its in the saddest state Ive ever seen it. The entire ground floor is boarded up, the grounds are overgrown, it looks pretty derelict. Sad to see it fall into such a poor state. Looks like it might be let fall down altogether., nobody seems to be doing anything with it. Pity.

Tempelton

Okay, allow me to clear some things up about the Hall.

First off, there is indeed someone living there. Furthermore the hall is actually listed, under a Mrs Devereux, in the phonebook (at least up to a few years back when I was researching the place). The phone does ring, but nobody answers...

Secondly, there is definitely electricity in the main building. I have been down there and I have seen lights on (in the daytime, suggesting they were automatic perhaps).

Finally, the urban legend of the devil playing cards was, according the accounts written in the 19th century, a cover story actually invented by the Tottenham family themselves. Apparently young Ann, a lonely sort you see, became so smitten with a young man who took up a brief residence in the original hall, that she descended into some sort of unseemly madness once the young man departed. The family apparently saw fit to then present a cover story - however silly it sounds - to draw attention away from the unfortunate Ann's lustful loopiness!

Or so the story goes.

The point most people seem to miss is that the devil and the card game story is NOT the haunting that is associated with the place (as the silly RTE docudrama suggested) but rather the real story was the haunting of the hall by Ann Tottenham herself.

As to the validity of the stories, well, who can say. But there is some interesting accounts written of the alleged haunting that do detail with some intelligence a catalogue of apparent eye witness testimony to strange goings on in the hall.

Yes, it has now been re-built. And few stories, if any, seem to have emerged from the new building. I have yet to track down any interesting sources on this front, but they may be out there.

I heard a few years back that the hall was going to be developed for tourist purposes but that has now fallen by the wayside I fear (perhaps something to do with the fact that the grisly child-rapist, Father Fortune, had attacked some of his victims in the hall in the 1980's in a sleepover).

One thing is for sure, if you visit Hook Head and enquire in the lighthouse info point about the hall, you will immediately be given a frostier reception than if you were to suggest you have a bomb strapped around you waist!

The locals, for reasons perhaps best know to themselves, do not like to talk about it...

lesbehan

The original building on the site was constructed by the Redmond family in 1350... The Loftus family obtained the property in (wait for it) 1666 :eek:
However the version of the building that stands today was built between 1880& 1881.

The Ghost Story

Charles Tottenham and his family came to live in the mansion in the middle of the 18th century. According to Rick Whelan's film version of the story, the date was July 1762.

The story of the house is that one cold, rainy night the family of the house were sitting in the parlour playing card games. During the game they heard a knock on the front door. A man on horseback was at the door and asked them if he could stay the night in their house because of the bad weather outside. He was invited in to play cards with the family and preceded to do so. It is said that during the game, one of the daughters of the family (who was about 18 at the time) dropped a card under the table. As she bent down to pick it up she saw the man's feet, which apparently resembled hooves.

It is said that the girl screamed and the man went up through the roof in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a large hole. A rumour states that the hole could never be properly repaired, and even to this day, there is still a certain part of the ceiling which is slightly different then the rest. The family called on Father Thomas Broaders (a Catholic priest) to exorcise the house. Fr. Broaders later became parish priest of the surrounding area.

Father Broaders' gravestone exists today and on it is written, "Here lies the body of Thomas Broaders, who did good and prayed for all, and who banished the devil from Loftus Hall".


Its arguably one of the most eerie places I have ever visited (which include Auchwitz and the Wallachia & Transylvanian regions of Romania (where Vlad III aka Dracula had reigned in the 15th Cnt).

The last time I was in the area, my father & I decided we would take a nosey around the building as it has always fascinated us... we walked up along the adjacent field and climbed over a small wall that led to the courtyard to the front of the mansion. The windows all had timber shutters on the inside but several had slight openings in them. Around the back there is a dilapidated caravan (possibly there for the past decade or two), but one of the most striking things about it was the view over the beach and the channel between hook and Dunmore. (****ing picturesque )

we heard viscous barking from dogs we could swear were within close distance... this barking grew louder and fearing we were about to be attacked we decided to run, at this point it seemed like the barking was just feet away but yet there was no sight of any dogs... quite freaked out we made it back to the road where we had the car parked, we were then approached by a middle aged lady in a car who claimed to be the owner of the property and threatened to call the guards, accusing us of smashing windows and damaging the place, my father (54) then apologised for trespassing saying we had no knowledge of anyone living there... to which she replied "well that’s the sad part about it, there is" :eek:


About a year later my cousin was telling me that him and sum m8's had went down there 1 evening.... without mentioning my experience of the place he went on to speak of the abandoned caravan and "some dogs were running at us but couldn’t see them".... that fact alone freaks me out

BIG-SLICK-POKER

A few of us went up there last year , absolutely **** meself it was about 11 at night and we parked down the road because we knew we were tresspassing so we went in through fields and over a hedge and up next to it . It was the most eery experience i have felt in my life anyhow we were only there about 10 mins when the gates on the front swung open and a car approached at speed up the drive , We fckin legged it lol .. I was absolutely ****tin it now felt like a 10 year old again.. This place has a light on but has a caretaker watching it accross the road . I am 100% sure there is nobody inside as why would they chain the fckin gate lol... Is she a prisoner .. This man warned us anyhow that he would call the gardai if we did not leave .. At this stage im thinkin thats great we have got at least 40 mins b4 they arrive down that far Lol .. Anyhow i understood we were tresspassin and did not argue and just left

But for anyone who wants to get an adreniline buzz go down in pitch dark and have a look around it will frighten the **** out of u no matter how hard u think u are .. An amazing structure which would be ideal for murder mystery weekends or Haunted Weekends away .. Its a pity it is not open for viewing anymore as it is an amazingly interesting buliding

U can see it clearly from Dunmore in Co Waterford , I always point it out no matter who i am with

lesbehan

Has anyone ever seen dogs around the back of loftus hall or even hear barking from them????

BIG-SLICK-POKER

lesbehan wrote:

Has anyone ever seen dogs around the back of loftus hall or even hear barking from them????

That could have been my missus and her mate to be honest ...:D

maisymarshall

Tempelton wrote:

Okay, allow me to clear some things up about the Hall.

First off, there is indeed someone living there. Furthermore the hall is actually listed, under a Mrs Devereux, in the phonebook (at least up to a few years back when I was researching the place). The phone does ring, but nobody answers...

Secondly, there is definitely electricity in the main building. I have been down there and I have seen lights on (in the daytime, suggesting they were automatic perhaps).

Finally, the urban legend of the devil playing cards was, according the accounts written in the 19th century, a cover story actually invented by the Tottenham family themselves. Apparently young Ann, a lonely sort you see, became so smitten with a young man who took up a brief residence in the original hall, that she descended into some sort of unseemly madness once the young man departed. The family apparently saw fit to then present a cover story - however silly it sounds - to draw attention away from the unfortunate Ann's lustful loopiness!

Or so the story goes.

The point most people seem to miss is that the devil and the card game story is NOT the haunting that is associated with the place (as the silly RTE docudrama suggested) but rather the real story was the haunting of the hall by Ann Tottenham herself.

As to the validity of the stories, well, who can say. But there is some interesting accounts written of the alleged haunting that do detail with some intelligence a catalogue of apparent eye witness testimony to strange goings on in the hall.

Yes, it has now been re-built. And few stories, if any, seem to have emerged from the new building. I have yet to track down any interesting sources on this front, but they may be out there.

I heard a few years back that the hall was going to be developed for tourist purposes but that has now fallen by the wayside I fear (perhaps something to do with the fact that the grisly child-rapist, Father Fortune, had attacked some of his victims in the hall in the 1980's in a sleepover).

One thing is for sure, if you visit Hook Head and enquire in the lighthouse info point about the hall, you will immediately be given a frostier reception than if you were to suggest you have a bomb strapped around you waist!

The locals, for reasons perhaps best know to themselves, do not like to talk about it...

Guess what? My name is Linda Devereux. I'm related by marriage to the late Michael Devereux who was my late father in law's brother Thomas Devereux. My husbands father. Any info wold be appreciated I have never been to Loftus Hall but my husband has many years ago.

pretty-in-pink

Isn't the story that the daughter was pregnant, out of wedlock, they killed her, told the father she had ledt and disposed of the body in a secret room. and she haunts the house, crying and moaning etc to this day, scereams etc are meant to be heard?

and I have heard other people mention the dogs at loftus hall. think they are connected to aNN.

The devil bit is bs.

The old lady living there is tormented by the ghost of Ann. THink they found the skeletons of mother and child, and buried them, but the house would still have a lot of residual negative energy.

Last I heard the old lady is scared to death, but can't leave. effectively a prisoner as the haunting follows her and drives away anyone who gets close to her

Tempelton

pretty-in-pink wrote: »

Isn't the story that the daughter was pregnant, out of wedlock, they killed her, told the father she had ledt and disposed of the body in a secret room. and she haunts the house, crying and moaning etc to this day, scereams etc are meant to be heard?

and I have heard other people mention the dogs at loftus hall. think they are connected to aNN.

The devil bit is bs.

The old lady living there is tormented by the ghost of Ann. THink they found the skeletons of mother and child, and buried them, but the house would still have a lot of residual negative energy.

Last I heard the old lady is scared to death, but can't leave. effectively a prisoner as the haunting follows her and drives away anyone who gets close to her

This is just silly. You're mixing common horror narratives, such as The Others and Haunted, with pure fantasy. Where is your evidence for saying any of that?

I have been there twice and saw or heard no dog. There is a very real human being living there (at least there was then). Plus, keep in mind, the hall that stands now is not the same building that the alleged haunting occured in. Urban myths are fun, but they need to be at least somewhat realistic.

Tempelton

maisymarshall wrote: »

Guess what? My name is Linda Devereux. I'm related by marriage to the late Michael Devereux who was my late father in law's brother Thomas Devereux. My husbands father. Any info wold be appreciated I have never been to Loftus Hall but my husband has many years ago.

Well, I can't really offer you any recent info I'm afraid. I am not even sure whether or not Michael's widow is still alive - although, if she is, she must feel quite vunreable if she is still living at the rather isolated hall.

For the record, all the stories above - about disembodied dogs and what not - are, of course, quite silly. I wil admit to trespassing there some years ago - not realising until closer inspection - that the place was obviously occupied. There were electric lights on in the front porch/reception area during the day - which suggested that perhaps someone was away at the time (or maybe was not concerned about day-to-day upkeep of the property).

Having since driven past there several times, but declined to intrude on private property, I will say that I have seen many gaggles of teenagers hanging around the entrance (which is near several more modern homes). No doubt, if Mrs Devereux is still living there, she must find this sort of attention rather unwelcoming.

Finally - expanding on what I wrote above - there is a priest, Sean Fortune, who was charged in a very high profile case here in Ireland (sorry, I don't know if you are in Ireland too) with abusing many kids. Without getting into detail, let me just sum it up by saying - the man was one of the most vile and disgusting abusers ever to have been caught. Anyway, Fortune went on to commit suicide when he was found out. An Irish Times journalist, Alison O'Connor, wrote a book about his crimes - called "Message from Heaven" - in which she alleged that Fortune, who was posted to the local parish of Fethard, used to take groups of kids to stay in the hall. This was very much in the days before Michael bought the hall - namely, it was when it was being run by a group of Catholic nuns. The book goes on to speak about a room referred to as "the Devil's Room", which is where Fortune committed his attacks.

If ever the devil did visit the hall, I would say it was in the form of Sean Fortune (not some hoof-footed urban legend).

Anyway, apart from that, there is one very good book I must try to dig out that deals pretty extensively with the Loftus Hall haunting story. It was written at the end of the 19th century and so is steeped in characteristic Victorian zeal for the paranormal and, as such, treats the story with far more seriousness than it currently receives. In the process the author manages to extract some interesting eyewitness accounts of alleged hauntings of the original "tapestry room" (again, remembering that this was in the original building - long since reconstructed).

Watch this space...

Tempelton

BIG-SLICK-POKER wrote: »

A few of us went up there last year , absolutely **** meself it was about 11 at night and we parked down the road because we knew we were tresspassing so we went in through fields and over a hedge and up next to it . It was the most eery experience i have felt in my life anyhow we were only there about 10 mins when the gates on the front swung open and a car approached at speed up the drive , We fckin legged it lol .. I was absolutely ****tin it now felt like a 10 year old again.. This place has a light on but has a caretaker watching it accross the road . I am 100% sure there is nobody inside as why would they chain the fckin gate lol... Is she a prisoner .. This man warned us anyhow that he would call the gardai if we did not leave .. At this stage im thinkin thats great we have got at least 40 mins b4 they arrive down that far Lol .. Anyhow i understood we were tresspassin and did not argue and just left

But for anyone who wants to get an adreniline buzz go down in pitch dark and have a look around it will frighten the **** out of u no matter how hard u think u are .. An amazing structure which would be ideal for murder mystery weekends or Haunted Weekends away .. Its a pity it is not open for viewing anymore as it is an amazingly interesting buliding

U can see it clearly from Dunmore in Co Waterford , I always point it out no matter who i am with

That is a very good point you make - it's unlikely that the gates would be chained if someone were living in the hall. I recall seeing a caravan out back of the hall though a few years before. I wonder if this is occupied also.

How did the caretake spot you in the dark? How close did you get to the house? Where in the hall was the light located - or were there multiple lights? And did you hear a dog (as mentioned by others)? Cheers!