The Big House behind the trees has a haunted room - or so my father used to say as he told ghost stories at Halloween. He told how, according to local lore, a stranger knocked on the door of the Big House one stormy night and was given shelter inside, joining a card game which was being played by the gentry. One of the players dropped a card, and reaching down to pick it up, noticed that the new-comer to the game had a cloven foot and that they had, in fact, invited the devil to join them. According to tradition, the room was boarded up and no one ever dared to enter.
Eddie, the charming owner of Bellurgan Park, knows the story well. And he knows the answer to the 'blocked up' room. An extra door leading to no where gives symmetry to the entrance hall.
So, it's totally appropriate that there's all sorts of spooky goings on taking place at the Big House this week.
I was fortunate to be able to get a behind the scenes look as the ghouls, witches, vampires, zombies and other spooks began their transformation in preparation for going a-haunting throughout the house and in the woods.
The wonderful make-up artist Aine Lawrence and assistants were hard at work creating a host of scary characters for the Kreepy Kids and Ghost Walk events.
Would you dare walk in the forest? In the dark? Without any torch?
