Fun with the Creepiness

I was perusing my NONpolitical bookmarked sites (Truly... there are a few!) and found this by author Amy Neftzger. It’s an older post and yes I DO know that Halloween has passed but c’mon, creepy is FUN!

You may not be aware that the celebration of Halloween originated here in Ireland. Unless, of course, you're Irish (or possibly Welsh or from another nearby location).

So, in preparation for Halloween I visited two of the most haunted places in Ireland. Because that's what I do for fun. Let's face it: anything that's haunted has a good story behind it, and I love good stories. So I had to explore.

Halloween’s Irish?! Yup. Specifically Celtic with a bit of Britain and Northern France thrown in for good measure. It began with Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced sow-win). As with a lot of other Pagan festivals the big cheeses of Christianity ripped it off – “borrowing” a lot of the fun stuff so’s they could win converts.

Back at the haunted places Ms. Neftzger visited on that Halloween…

Legend has it that during a storm at sea, a dark stranger approached the Hall (Loftus Hall in County Wexford) on horseback after his ship was driven into nearby slade Harbour with rough seas. He was invited in to seek shelter and spent some days with the Tottenham Family who were living at the Hall at the time. The young Lady Anne Tottenham was especially taken with this dark stranger and fell head over heels for him. One night during a card game, she dropped a card and upon bending down to retrieve it, she noticed that this dark stranger had cloven hoofs instead of feet. As soon as he realised what she had seen, he shot through the roof in a ball of flames.

Anne never recovered, she went into a state of shock and madness and her family locked her in the tapestry room for fear that anyone would see her. She died a couple of years later, still quite young, but her death was no release as servants and family members reported seeing her wandering through the house at night. (source)

Then there’s the Hellfire Club of Dublin – this was originally a Neolithic passage grave (burial chambers covered in earth or stone, usually with a single, narrow entrance). The view from here –  Montpelier Hill, south-southwest of Dublin – was just too awesome for this idiot to pass up. He destroyed the cairn and built his home from the grave stones. This eventually became the Hellfire Club…

... which was a place for wealthy young gentlemen to drink, gamble, hire prostitutes, even, allegedly, engage in more degenerate activities like animal torture and Satan worship.  Their motto was “Fais ce que tu voudras” (“Do what thou wilt”). (source)

 Animal torture? I’ve no doubt the Trump family would’ve all been proud members.

What’s up with Halloween now? I don’t have kids and, frankly, the concept of sending wee ones out, all wrapped up in costumes that probably aren’t easy to run in (unless you’re dressed as The Flash of course) to go up to strange houses, collecting candy from the resident strangers seems like asking for a mega load of trouble.

When my older sister and I were…dunno…3 and 5 or so, my parents took us to a Halloween parade. We were dressed up as them (yes, how ka-yute). I was mia madre, complete with mega large pillowed rack. My sister was kitted out in tweed jacket and specs– looking very, appropriately professorial.

In other years I remember Daddy walking us on specific routes – not just to friend’s homes but def to places that looked “safe.” He wouldn’t go up to the door with us but stood close by.

We never get trick or treaters here at Valhalla. Is that not a thing anymore or does Valhalla just give off bad vibes? OR is our team of visitor cats fiercely guarding their territory? Could be!