The history of Dublin's Hell-Fire Club, Rathfarnham. Overlooking Dublin city from the south west, at an altitude of 383m (1264ft), is a foreboding ruined hunting lodge, marked on Ordnance Survey maps as the 'Hell-Fire Club'. Current urban lore insists on telling us that it was - and still is - a site commonly used for the practice of 'Satanism' and other occult activities, and that the Devil himself made a brief appearance there at some unspecified time in the past. In a story similar to the one attached to Loftus Hall (a haunted house on the Hook Peninsula), a mysterious stranger seeks shelter on a stormy night, and a card game ensues. A member of the household drops a card, and sees that below the table, the otherwise affable and charming visitor has a cloven hoof. His or her screams made the Devil 'aware of her discovery, and he at once vanished in a thunder-clap leaving a brimstone smell behind him
6 comments:
All the stories about this place, I used to ride my bike up there of an afternoon, and then often on to Eniskerry accross the featherbeds. Loved the wicklow mountains, spent an enormous amount of time there.
A great time in my life. We did all kinds of carry on at the helfire, first went there with Kevin Carrol, remember him? on a trip to the pine forest.
Thanks for posting this Paul, I have been reading up on the history of the building and had no idea how interesting it is.
This was a scary place, just the name was enough to scare the bejasus out of you...
I hear yer man lived up there !
I remember this from when I was very young. We could see this place from certain points in Dublin and it was always frightening to us young children. There were stories of card games and withches and all kinds of evil. We would never go up there.
You could always see it from the front door, sitting up there. Not the trees and Forrest have encroached, I don't think it is visible any longer.
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