Loftus Hall, Co Wexford, Ireland
through the roof in a ball of flames.The property will soon open as luxury hotel Ladyville House, if anyone dares to stay. Visit ladyvillehouse.ie
TRAVEL - Spooky
The most chilling places to visit in the UK and Ireland this Halloween By Sarah Marshall, PA Steeped in history,the UK and Ireland are home to hundreds of castles and stately homes. But life behind closed walls wasn’t always harmonious. Tales of headless queens, cloven-toed devils and even a monarch with burned bowels haunt dozens of sights – which now makes for some seriously spooky getaways and days out.
Blickling Estate, Norfolk
Famously beheaded in 1536 for treason and adultery on the orders of her irascible husband Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn’s ghost floats through the corridors of this Jacobean house, built on the ruins of a Tudor Hall. Supposedly born here, she often turns up on May 19 – the date of her execution.The former Queen of England has been seen arriving at night in a carriage drawn by four headless horses, driven by a headless horseman.Wearing white and clutching her blood- dripping head, she wanders the building until sunrise.
From £16.50 adults; £8.30 for children. Visit nationaltrust. org.uk
Blickling Estate, Norfolk
Here are some of the most frightful tales…
Loftus Hall, Co Wexford, Ireland
The devil was a regular guest at this 17th century mansion on the windswept Hook Peninsula in Wexford, widely considered to be Ireland’s most haunted house.The gothic edifice stands on the site of a 12th-century castle and is visited by the terrified ghost of former owner Anne Tottenham. One stormy night in the 1760s, a stranger knocked at the door.Anne invited him in for a game of cards, but while bending down she noticed he had cloven hooves in place of feet. Hearing her screams, the stranger bolted
106 | mccarthyholden.co.uk
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