In 1725, atop Montpelier hill near Dublin, a wealthy Irishman named William Connolly built a hunting lodge over a burial mound. In fact, legend has it that some of the stones from the cairn were incorporated into the building of the lodge.

It hadn’t stood long before a fierce wind ripped the roof off. Locals weren’t surprised, seeing the event as a sign of some sort of otherworldly vengeance. Connolly died less than four years later.

The lodge then moved into the hands of Richard Parsons, a man some believe helped bring the infamous Hellfire Club to Ireland. At Hellfire Club meetings, one chair was always left vacant for the devil, according to legends.

Local myth had it that a nearby farmer went poking around, peering into windows at the lodge to learn more about what was going on inside. He was found the next day, suddenly deaf and mute. Other legends speak of a large black cat with horns and ‘eyes of the devil’.

The Hellfire Club members were well-off and learned men who chose to frolic in a more debauched atmosphere than most gentlemen’s clubs of the time offered. Following a trend then of counter-culture blasphemy, the organization’s head was the devil and they often considered themselves devils, but this seemed more of a joke, a way to shock genteel society. Still, legends of the rich and powerful–and their abuses–are endless, so it’s no surprise that tales of mayhem and murder abound here. Many believe vengeful victims still stalk the property, demanding retribution from beyond the grave.