“This Is Ireland’s Scariest Place And With Stories Like This It’s Easy To See Why It Was Voted That”

Darragh Berry

New research from leading hotel group Jurys Inn, has unearthed some treats in the form of our favourite traditions and landmarks.

After casting a closer look at the good, the bad and the downright scary, the survey has revealed that the Hellfire Club (Montpelier Hill), Dublin has been voted as the eeriest place in Ireland (23%), followed by the chilling, Loftus Hall, Co. Wexford (19%).

Commenting on the findings, Suzanne Cannon, Head of Marketing at Jurys Inn said:

“The origins of Halloween are steeped in Irish history and Halloween week is a great time of year for families to get out and explore Ireland together. We see many families enjoying staycations throughout the autumn season as they set out to enjoy Ireland’s top attractions.”

But what makes the Hellfire Club so scary? It contains a terrifying walk which is one of the scariest things you can do in Dublin this Halloween.

They warn people beforehand that “it is not unusual for visitors to experience head and chest tightness as their subconscious picks up on the horrors that this lonely hill has witnessed, it is not a place for the faint hearted.”

There’s also a good chance that walking up the Hellfire Club could see you bring a demon home with you.

You can find that horrifying story here where the woman in question admits how she “can still hear the footsteps in the night time”.

But that’s only the beginning of the creepy stories that have come out of the Hellfire Club over the years.

The Hellfire Club was originally built in 1725 as a hunting lodge for a Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, William Connolly.

As the story goes, “when he passed away in 1729 the lodge was taken over by an unruly young man who’d been banned from every public house in the city.

“From then on the Hell Fire Club became a location where hedonistic behaviour was encouraged and welcomed, and it was a hotbed for all sorts of illegal activity such as drinking, gambling and satanism.”

And when a place “terrifies” someone who hunts ghosts for a living, you know it’s a scary place.

Head of Paranormal Researchers Ireland, Tina, told The Irish Sun that there is only two places in the whole of Ireland that scare the shit out of her and surprise-surprise, they are the two places that placed top of the Jurys list.

“There have been two places I have been that I got absolutely terrified and I don’t usually.

“The Hellfire Club in the Dublin Mountains, and Loftus Hall in Wexford.

“We were up the Hellfire one night, a group of eight or ten of us.

“We stood in a circle and the next minute there was a thud, it was like a vibration went through the whole building and all the equipment went mental.

“One of the guys was in the hall and he is a cynic and he said a black shadow crossed him, 100 per cent — a tall black shadow.

“Another guy started getting sick, and then a girl said she heard a whisper in her ear, very clear, and it just said ‘get out’.

“All in the course of one minute. Chaos. That was the first time ever I called an end to the night and said we didn’t feel safe.”

She also went on to explain the “voices” she heard in Loftus Hall that made her feel “paranoid and Nauseous”.

If you do plan on going for a walk up the Montpelier Mountains, don’t wear jewellery.

Especially chains with religious symbols on them.

One of the many ghosts who arms the building is said to like to grab people’s jewellery, especially if you are wearing a crucifix around the neck.

There has been various reports on the walking tour, which is mentioned above, of necklaces being pulled and broken.

And it’s not just a place armed by one ghost.

A screaming woman who was set on fire, a dwarf who was murdered on site and whose body was found in the 70s and even ‘A Black Cat’ who is really a horrifying figure that is “the size of a Dalmatian” are said to guard the club every day and every night.

A story also circulates about The Hellfire Club being visited by The Devil himself.

The rumour goes that the leader of the underworld turned up during a card game and had to make himself scarce when someone spotted he had hooves instead of feet.

This is a story, however, that is normally added to the history of any ‘haunted Irish place’ and is also said about this beautiful park in the West of Ireland that is scenic in the daytime but downright scary in the night-time.

So maybe the Devil didn’t actually attend. Or, maybe he did. After all, the place burned down shortly after his “rumoured appearance”.

Sexual assault, violence and even reports of murder have taken place at the Hellfire Club because of their activities.

The Devil himself got out unharmed but dark things have happened to lots of people here.

Even doing something as small as cheating in a game of cards could spell the end of your life as the National Folklore Collection explains:

“One night when all the men were playing their nightly game one of the men cheated.

“The men rushed upon him and over-powered him. They bound him hand and foot and put him in a barrel of whiskey.

Then, they set fire to it burning him alive. That was a cruel thing to do but then men did not care.”

And it’s not like the Devil was unwanted in the club.

Club members used to dress in Satanic clothing and even leave a space for Beelzebub at their meetings.

And if you ever see a sort of meeting gathering on the hill, make sure to walk the other way.

A young farmer by the name of Sean was curious to find out what went on in the meetings and took part in the club’s activities on this one particular night.

When he was found the next morning by his father, he was left shaken and disturbed. They say that Sean’s life changed the minute he entered the door of the meeting, forgetting everything and being left unable to speak for the rest of his life.

If making pacts with the Devil and drinking ‘Scaltheen’ (hot whiskey and melted butter) sounds like its up your street, then paying a visit to the Hellfire Club on Halloween night could be the perfect way for you to spend your October 31st.

Be warned though, your life might change forever.