loftus hall

MelissaLoftus

Can anyone tell me the current ownership situation with Loftus Hall? Even though it is not the original building, my husband still feels a connection with the property with his ancestors. Thanks!

Milly33

in saying still feels a connection what do you mean. is he related

MelissaLoftus

Yes, hence my name

Milly33

I see I see. But sure would there not be something in the family to tell you this? no sorry not being smart but if twas loftus land as such.. I know years ago I got onto the wexford library and they gave me loadsa details about it so maybe they might be worth a go that or just ring and ask

MelissaLoftus

That's the thing, we live in the US so don't have easy access to some of the resources in Ireland. I had heard the Hall was now owned by a haunted house company, but did not know if it was true or if they were still the owners.

Milly33

Ah all the way from America jaysus tis a popular spot boards Id say if you popped them an email and ask they are on facebook too and are quite quick to come back, I am sure they would provide you with some information

mac.the.hat

The Hall was bought in late 2011 by a Wexford property developer and it now operates as a business, drawing very much on the legend and the stories. The owner has (by his own admission) brought in a multimedia company to "enrich" the experience for visitors. Yes, there are sound effects, projectors and apparently refrigeration units to provide "ghostly" chills and excitement. There is also apparently a hole in the roof which is visible for all to see, although when a local ghosthunting team Wexford Paranormal spent a night in the hall under previous ownership, there was no hole in the roof.

There was plenty of paranormal activity documented by very reliable sources in the original building up as far as 1869 and it was knocked to the ground in 1870. The Tapestry Room is where all the hauntings were documented and it was upstairs in the original building. There is also a "Tapestry Room" downstairs in the present building. Interestingly enough, the activity was by all accounts reported to Queen Victoria who apparently replied that she did not believe in such things but not to tell Albert as he did. The present building was completed in 1871 and it is not in the same location as the original. Comes reasonably close at one point alright, but it is definitely not the same building.

Fabulous building and very disappointing to see it turned into what can be described as little more than a circus, combined with a rewrite of history. By the way, there is another version of the story (and a far more likely one at that) that suggests a handsome stranger, a bored young lady, a liaison and a pregnancy that had to be covered up at all costs. Who knows?

The Wexford Paranormal video is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_T5OKE1Zwk on Youtube if anybody fancies a watch. Interesting to see the inside of Loftus Hall at night in the dark but the footage of the Hall is all nightvision video.

History Press are due to publish a book entitled "Haunted Wexford" in mid-2014 and I understand that Loftus Hall gets quite a mention.

face1990

mac.the.hat wrote: »

Fabulous building and very disappointing to see it turned into what can be described as little more than a circus, combined with a rewrite of history.

It's far better than such a nice building to fall into even worse condition. Also I believe they are now doing historical & architectural tours (though I have been on one yet).

As for rewriting history, they're embellishing a ghost story for entertainment (like almost every ghost story ever).
If it pays the bills to restore the house, then fair play to them.

Green Hornet

Yeah, it's a stunning building, in a stunning location. From what I hear from some locals, the intention is to put money back into the place so its a win, win for me.

mickmackey1

mac.the.hat wrote: »

The Wexford Paranormal video is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_T5OKE1Zwk

Well the 'unexplained object' at 4.44 is nothing but the reflection from the bloke Michael's torch! I didn't bother with the rest of it :rolleyes:

Gumbi

Why was it filmed in the dark? Surely this adds to their tentativeness, and their lack of sensory perception is asking for the mind to play tricks (how often do any of us think 5-6 foot trees lining a driveway at night are people for a split second?). Not to mention the classic "seek and ye shall find" probably one of the most accurate the hing the Bible... You go in with the mindset of expecting "strange" activity and every flash, sound etc becomes paranormal activity.

maccored

Gumbi wrote: »

Why was it filmed in the dark? Surely this adds to their tentativeness, and their lack of sensory perception is asking for the mind to play tricks (how often do any of us think 5-6 foot trees lining a driveway at night are people for a split second?). Not to mention the classic "seek and ye shall find" probably one of the most accurate the hing the Bible... You go in with the mindset of expecting "strange" activity and every flash, sound etc becomes paranormal activity.

I think thats part of the reason why tbh. Ever since most haunted hit the screens, people like the dark as its spookier. Doesnt help in researching the paranormal ... in fact some state that using infrared itself inhibits any kind of paranormal activity.

The biggest rip off ever is the full spectrum cameras. they arent even based on the multi spectrum ones used in ghost hunters/GHI/Fact or Faked etc.

Idbatterim

was down here over the weekend, having been in the bar about 20 years ago... A bloody travesty that it was allowed to get into the state it did, the roof has now been replaced, but the parquet floor around the grand stair case and a lot the ceilings were damaged.

mac.the.hat

Wexford Paranormal found absolutely nothing in Loftus Hall. In fact they have described it as one of the quietest places they have ever visited and other investigation teams from around Ireland have said exactly the same. Fantastic building but that's about it.

macslash

Heard a piece on this on The Last Word just there. Some paranormal team from America did an investigation last night. There will be a 2 hour documentary made about apparently. Not sure on the details. Apparently they said it was the most interesting place in the world they had investigated!

mac.the.hat

macslash wrote: »

Heard a piece on this on The Last Word just there. Some paranormal team from America did an investigation last night. There will be a 2 hour documentary made about apparently. Not sure on the details. Apparently they said it was the most interesting place in the world they had investigated!

Zac Bagans and Ghost Adventures are well noted for hyping things up to the last as well as using equipment incorrectly and getting spectacular results. Brings to mind the old adage about birds of a feather flocking together and wasn't there also one about a goose laying golden eggs??:

Milly33

Ohhh now I have the hump we wanted to do one there but they said ne

Not2Good

Milly33 wrote: »

Ohhh now I have the hump we wanted to do one there but they said ne

Sorry to hear that. Maybe now they will be more responsive??

mac.the.hat

Not2Good wrote: »

Sorry to hear that. Maybe now they will be more responsive??

Times must be hard. They're flogging the goose!

PrettyRad

A few weeks ago, my sister and her boyfriend headed off to Paris so my mam and I were charged with looking after their 3 year old, my goddaughter. We had read online that tours of the hall were family friendly, and recently I have had a heightened interest in the paranormal so we decided to drive down with my niece. The reception area felt a little gimmicky, with a lot of devil emblems around, and the tour had a similar feel, but I enjoyed myself all the same. It's designed to put you on edge and make you feel a bit uneasy as you're guided throughtge house. Not entirely factual-more focused on the legend, something I didn't mind one bit!

My niece was a bit unsettled once we entered the actual hall itself, which we originally put down to the dimly lit rooms and banging, until, that is, we entered the tapestry room.

Of course, this is not the original tapestry room but it is still reputed to be home to te ghost of Anne Tottenham. Ellie got noticeably more agitated in this room, and kept glancing at our tour guide, who I had told her was "only pretending" in an attempt to put her at ease. She then kept looking behind him and then away rather quickly, and squashed herself in between me and my mother. She asked me "is the girl in the back there pretending too?" and while I could see no-one, I assumed her imagination was overstimulated due to the surroundings. After that she became incredibly restless and kept gesturing to us that she wanted to be picked up. She looked ready to cry so I obliged and when she was right up next to me ear, she mumbled "she's coming over I don't like her, she's not nice like you"

Of course there are many logical explanations, but it still freaked me out a little.

Milly33

Oh sounds very spooky..I know when we went on the tour the tour guide mentioned a similar story involving a kid again. They were in the tapestry room and the child kept looking in the corner and eventually piped up saying mum the lady in the corner is scaring me and she doesn't look friendly

PrettyRad

Milly33 wrote: »

Oh sounds very spooky..I know when we went on the tour the tour guide mentioned a similar story involving a kid again. They were in the tapestry room and the child kept looking in the corner and eventually piped up saying mum the lady in the corner is scaring me and she doesn't look friendly

Oh really? Our tour guide never mentioned anything like that, did say that the guide dog won't go into the tapestry room though. Creepy indeed.

Milly33

We went for the night tour so maybe that was it if there are kids there they don't say anything that might scare them. I am nearly sure he said the girl saw whatever she saw in the corner of the room. It was odd when we went in there, we could smell matches burning as if someone had lit one and just blown it out, and himself thought he felt something on his neck. We defo smelt the matches and the guides didn't seem too surprised they said lots of odd things happen in there.

Yep he mentioned the dog alright.. I would love to get in there properly to spend more time there.. Would love it, grew up with the story thanks to an uncle and just loved the place..Even if tisnt haunted I would love to wonder around it properly to see it all

PrettyRad

I'd love to spend a night in there, or even take the tour again without Ellie (as terrible as it sounds). The tapestry room has a completely different feeling to the rest of the house, even I felt quite uneasy in there!

Milly33

Yeah I would love to get around the rest of the house, hopefully one day they might do it

Sephiroth_dude

I didn't know they did tours up there,what state is the place in?

Milly33

yep it has been open quite a while now. They do a day time tour and a night time one for the older kids

It isn't in too bad a state at all. They have a nice welcome area before you go in and then they lead you through the bottom rooms of the house. It is a shame that you cannot go upstairs, it is not suppose to be in a bad state.

The gift shop aswell me thinks (it was when we were there) is closed in the evenings but id say If you asked they would let in. You can pick up a deck of cards..

I wont say much as it would spoil it but it isn't bad at all..I was just excited with finally getting into the building.. Tickets are cheaper too if you book online..Tis might windy up there too

Sephiroth_dude

Are they renovating it atm too? Someone posted pics earlier in the thread and the place looks really shoddy and messed up.

Milly33

http://www.loftushall.ie/gallery.html

PrettyRad

According to our guide, most of the structural work is done, although going upstairs is apparently not yet safe. They say the place is in a "Marie-Celeste" kind of state regarding decor, as in everything is more or less where they found it, but one can assume they've at least scrubbed off any signs of vandalism-I didn't see one spot of graffiti in there.

The staircase has been fixed up beautifully, judging by the terrible old pictures I've seen of the place when it was derelict.

The not-so-neat-and-tidy appearance of the place adds to the atmosphere, I think, although it'd be nice if they'd put actual windows back in.