Spectral phenomena expected at Loftus Hall’s Halloween experience!

For many of us Halloween conjures up images of trick or treating, dressing in ghoulish costume, pumpkin carving or bobbing for apples!

However, these contemporary Halloween activities are based on practices dating back to the darker origins of Halloween, or Samhain.  Around 2,000 years ago in Celtic Ireland, Samhain was the division of the year between summer and winter.  During Samhain, the divide between this world and other domains was at its thinnest which gave spirits greater opportunity to pass through to this world.

Loftus Hall, in Co. Wexford, will celebrate Samhain, and as Ireland’s most haunted house, you can expect to experience some eerie encounters and hear some ghostly tales from Loftus Hall’s past.

Nestled on the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford in barren and austere surroundings, Loftus Hall’s heritage dates back 665 years to 1350. It is now a magnet for tourists, historians, and paranormal enthusiasts, who continue to document evidence of frequent paranormal activity in the house. Highlighting some of this activity, Loftus Hall will feature on TV3 this Halloween, with a fascinating account of an Irish Ghost Hunters Investigation.

According to Aidan Quigley, Owner of Loftus Hall, Loftus Hall is a very special, but unpredictable, place to be during Samhain. “We observe strange phenomena in the house throughout the year, but at Halloween, the house often surprises us.”

 “At Loftus Hall, there is no need for overstated gory props or effects.  The house has a very twisted and tortured history, and so naturally speaks for itself. We have had reports from many ghost hunting groups and spectre seekers who recount rather unsettling results, such as significant temperature drops, particularly in the Chapel and Tapestry Room, and spikes in electro-magnetic fields, indicating an unseen energy source. Visitors to Loftus Hall continually experience and qualify these findings, and many encounter things that they can’t quite explain.”

The Loftus Hall Samhain Tours open to the public from October 17^th and visitors should expect some strange and inexplicable goings-on.

It’s not only ghost hunters who have documented ethereal activities at Loftus Hall.  Following last year’s viral “ghost photo” which hit the international headlines when tourist Thomas Beavis snapped what appeared to be a ghostly apparition in the porch way of the Hall, another visitor to Loftus Hall, Tara McMeel also captured some strange ghostly apparitions in a “selfie” shot.

The continuous visitor feedback regarding unnatural experiences, and tangible captures of evidence such as this, keeps world-wide curiosity rife about Loftus Hall and its ominous past.

Mr. Quigley revealed, “Without giving too much away about the newly designed family or adult Samhain tours, I can confirm they will both feature the re-enactment of the much heralded, infamous “dark stranger” episode.  Charles Tottenham Loftus, the then custodian of the Hall in the 18^th century, invited a stranger to play cards.  During the card game, as his daughter Anne who was captivated by this stranger, bent to retrieve a fallen playing card, she discovered that the invited guest had cloven hooves.  The stranger flew into a fiery rage, crashing through the roof leaving in his wake a smell of sulphur and brimstone, and the very same roof has been irreparable ever since. This Legend is synonymous with Loftus Hall, and is a fundamental part of the houses spectral history.”

If you want to experience Samhain in an authentic haunted house, Loftus Hall Hall’oween tours commence from October 17^th with a range of family tours each day, adult night tours on October 24^th, 25^th, 30^th and 31^st, and the ultimate Halloween Paranormal Investigation Lockdown on the 7^th November.

To find out more about the Daily Halloween Tours, Adult Night tours, or the Loftus Hall Halloween Lockdown at Loftus Hall visit www.loftushall.ie or call 051 397728.