The Stranger at Loftus Hall
Irish legend says a dark stranger arrived at a remote house in a storm and played cards with the family. When a card fell, a young woman saw his cloven hoof.
What was reported
Loftus Hall is a large, lonely mansion on the windswept Hook Peninsula. The story is set in the 1760s, when the Tottenham family lived there. On a stormy night, a ship landed a young stranger who was taken in as a guest, and Anne, the daughter of the house, became fond of him.
One night, as the family played cards, Anne dropped a card and bent to pick it up. Under the table, she saw that the stranger had a cloven hoof. When she screamed, he shot up through the ceiling in a ball of flame, leaving a hole that, it's said, could never be repaired. Anne is said to have never recovered from the shock.
Explanations offered
The devil-at-cards story is told about several houses, in Ireland and elsewhere, and Loftus Hall's version can't be traced to any record of the time. The house, rebuilt in the 1870s, now runs tours based on the legend.
- When
- Told of the 1760s
- Where
- Hook Peninsula, Wexford, Ireland
- Witnesses
- Irish legend
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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