Margaret Franklin The Legend of Loftus Hall

A Scary Story for Hallowe’en: The Legend of Loftus Hall

One of the scariest stories I remember from my youth, was the legend of Loftus Hall. The building is a gothic mansion, located on the bleak windswept Hook peninsula, in the very south of County Wexford, my native county. The saying, ‘By Hook of By Crook’, may have been inspired by the Hook Peninsula, though the exact origin is obscure. Some say that the Normans, who invaded Ireland in the 12th Century, first coined the phrase. At that time, there were few safe harbours in Ireland where an invading ship might land. One was on the Hook Peninsula, in Co. Wexford, while another was on the far side of the estuary of the three sister rivers (Barrow, Nore & Suir), in the village of Crook, on the Waterford side. Some suggest that it was Cromwell who said he would take Ireland ‘by Hook or by Crook’, but the phrase seems to be of more ancient origin.

We often visited the Hook peninsula when I was a child. It is so narrow that in many places one can see the sea on either side. The treacherous rocks that have caused many fatalities, in both ancient and modern times, were an obvious risk to mariners and so a lighthouse has been situated at the end of the Hook peninsula for over 1,000 years. The lighthouse is now automatic and the homes of the lighthouse-keepers have been turned into a visitors’ centre, along with the inevitable café and gift shop. It is a popular attraction in summer.

But, in order to reach the lighthouse, you must pass by Loftus Hall, as the only road on the narrow peninsula runs right in front of it. The original owners were the famous Redmond family, of County Wexford, but the site was taken over during the Cromwellian wars, when it was given to an English family, named Loftus. Why any one would want to live in such an isolated place is beyond me, though its strategic position as a defence against invasion was obvious. However, the house itself was not designed as a stronghold, but as a residence.

A number of terrifying tales are told of Loftus Hall. There were stories of card games in which the Devil himself took part and of a young woman who died under tragic circumstances and whose ghost haunts the house. It is said that, on one occasion, a stranger arrived at the door of the house on a stormy night and was given shelter. It is quite extraordinary that anyone would be passing that way, as the road doesn’t lead to anywhere,