What Haunts Loftus Hall in County Wexford, Ireland?

IrelandGhostsDemon

Nov 15

History of Loftus Hall

Built on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, Ireland in 1170, Loftus Hall was originally known as Houseland Castle and owned by military commander Raymond Fitzgerald. Eventually Raymond Fitzgerald changed his name to Redmond Fitzgerald, and the castle became known as Redmond’s Hall over the centuries.

During a series of civil wars, also known as the Eleven Years’ War, between 1641 and 1653 Redmond Hall was the site of a few battles as the Redmonds were sympathetic to the rebels. They successfully defended the Hall against English soldiers loyal to King Charles I of England.

However, the King’s army under the command of Oliver Cromwell were victorious in the war and, as part of the takeover, gave the land under Redmond Hall to the English family, The Loftus. The Redmond family were evicted sometime after 1650 and Redmond Hall was renamed Loftus Hall around 1680.

Over the next 100 years, the castle was renovated into a mansion and all seemed quiet until 1775 when it welcomed a mysterious visitor.

The Devil of Loftus Hall

In the mid-1700s Loftus Hall was occupied by Charles Tottenham who took the surname Loftus after marrying Anne Loftus in the 1750s. Unfortunately, after having six children, Anne Loftus passed away and Charles later married his cousin, Jane Cliffe.

One night in 1775 Charles and Jane lived at Loftus Hall along with Charles’ daughter Anne while the rest of the family was away on business. A sudden terrible storm rolled in and shipwrecked a passing ship leaving only one sailor alive.

Being the mansion was on the peninsula, shipwrecks and taking in survivors wasn’t an unheard of occurrence for the Loftus family. They happily took in the remaining sailor and Anne especially took a liking to him, becoming infatuated with him soon after.

According to legend, Anne spent every moment with him over the next few days and the four would gather in the living room to tell stories and play cards. It was during one of the card games that Anne learned the true nature of their visitor.

When passing a card to the sailor Anne accidentally dropped it on the floor and upon bending down to pick it up she noticed the feet of the sailor were cloven hooves. Anne jumped up screaming at the revelation as the sailor gave her a devilish smile and ignited into flames. The ball of fire then lifted into the air and shot out through the roof.

After this, it was reported that Anne had fallen ill or mentally ill depending on which version you read but instead of fearing the devil that was in the home, it appeared as if it had placed her under some spell. For the rest of her short life, Anne sat by a window watching out towards the sea waiting for the sailor to return. She refused to eat or drink and in that same year she passed away from starvation.

The legends say you can still see Anne’s ghost wandering around Loftus Hall around the main staircase and you might even see her ghostly image staring out of the window still waiting for her sailor.