The Devil Comes to Visit
In: Edgelands: A Collection of Monstrous GeographiesSearch for other papers by Deirdre Nuttall in
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Loftus Hall is a derelict stately home on the isolated Hook Peninsula in Wexford, Ireland. Because of the strong prevailing winds, the peninsula is largely treeless; the house stands in a bare field, visible for miles and a constant reminder of the awful events that are said to have happened there in the eighteenth century when the devil came to call. Locally famous, and widely believed to be true, the story of when the devil came to Loftus Hall, played cards with the family there, and left devastation in his wake is an example of migratory legend ML 3015 (as classified by Reider H Christiansen). In its telling, the story embodies many diverse commentaries; resentment on the part of the local peasantry of the privileged lifestyle of the wealthy landlord; a sense of spiritual superiority on the part of the (usually Catholic) narrator – despite many attempts to vanquish the devil, the only person who can get him to leave is the local parish priest, a humble man of extraordinary faith; attraction and revulsion in the face of a way of living and believing that seemed completely alien to the people who lived around this wealthy family. Although the wealthy family is long gone, Loftus Hall is still a very prominent feature on the Hook Peninsula; a permanent reminder of the long and unjust reign of the privileged classes over the ordinary people of this tiny corner of Ireland. The house has been, at various stages, a holiday home for nuns, a hotel, and the home of an eccentric couple rumoured to have been driven mad by the house’s ghosts. Closed for years, it has recently reopened and is undergoing restoration. How long before the new owner fails too? The devil is gone but a curse remains.