“Great news Boss! I finally managed to find a tenant for the old house, after almost two years of trying we have someone who is more than happy to take up residence in the old place.”
“I hope you told the poor fellow some of the history of Baalmore House before you got him to sign the lease, did you Jones?”
“Sure I did Mr Kane! I told him all he needed to know and I mentioned that we did have trouble getting long-term tenants because the place was supposed to be haunted, but he didn’t seem worried.”
“But you did tell him, Jones! That’s very important… you didn’t hide anything, after all we do have a duty of care even here in the west coast of Ireland.”
Gerald Kane was pleased that young Jones showed all the signs of becoming a top class real estate salesman but he was sometimes over-enthusiastic in his efforts in making a sale. Sometimes he was known to be economical with the truth, if he wasn’t asked he wouldn’t tell… that was not a bad thing in itself as long as there was no danger anticipated but all the facts should be explained to a prospective tenant who could then make informed decisions. Kane Real Estate had built a reputation for honest and decent dealings in the district for more than eighty years and that had to be preserved at all costs. Gerald Kane needed to keep a sharp eye on this young fellow, bending the rules to make a sale might be OK in Dublin or London but not here in Clonderrigh. They have long memories in this part of the world where old wounds still fester.
“I told him boss, but he was not deterred.”
“I don’t care what the rent costs…I must have that house, it’s just what we have been looking for. We must have that place.”
“He told me that his wife and three children would be arriving from the United States in two days time and they would move into Baalmore House as soon as the paperwork was complete.”
“That’s what he insisted on Boss, he was adamant that he must have the place, so I didn’t argue. I told him the house has a shady history and is supposed to be haunted but he just laughed.
“Young man I write novels for a living, I don’t believe in old wives tales and a ghost or two might be just what’s needed to add to the character of the place, so can we have the lease or not?”
“So you see Boss he wants the place no matter the cost. I think we are lucky to find such a tenant and he has signed a long-term lease.”
“How much do you know about Baalmore House, Jones?” Gerald Kane asked the young salesman. “Why do you think we have so much trouble in getting tenants to stay there for any length of time, why do you think we have such difficulty in keeping the property maintained, if it wasn’t for old Simon Walsh the place would be a shambles that’s for sure. He is the only local person who will stay there after sunset, the others are scared of the place, and not even Simon Walsh will set foot in there on All Saints Night.”
“What’s so special about All Saints Night…apart from it being Halloween?” Jones asked.
“Call it what you like Jones! This story goes back a long time, long before my time, before my father’s time, back to when Baalmore was the home of the MacSiurtain family. They were rich landowners who owned most of the County of Mayo. They were a well-respected and honourable family. They treated their tenants and workers well and everyone prospered, but when the property fell into the hands of their wayward son Dirmid that’s when things started to go very wrong. The good times were over and the problems that we have today were only just beginning.”
“The son Dirmid Mac Siurtain was a cruel man, he was a tyrant who inflicted many wrongs on the good people who had served the family faithfully for many decades; he abused everyone including his own family. There was something evil in that man, he led a life of depravity and self-indulgence, the grand old house and its owner were deteriorating. Many vile deeds took place in that once noble house, deeds so terrible and sinful as to awaken the devil himself. Some thought he had sold his soul and sooner or later he would have to pay the price. It was on the Eve of All Saints when Satan came to Baalmore House to claim his own.”
“What happened that night, boss?”
“The story is that Dirmid went berserk and killed everyone in the house, his wife and his six children, the children’s nanny and two serving girls all were hacked to pieces. Dirmid himself was killed by a bolt of lightning as he ran screaming from that satanic scene”.
“That was the beginning of the Mac Siurtain curse, bad luck, ill-health and even death has followed all members of that family ever since that terrible night. No-one bearing that name has lived very long in Baalmore House since.”
“So there has there been more deaths in the house?” young Jones asked.
“Oh yes! There have been more deaths in that place; I remember when John Mac Siurtain who was a distant cousin of the original family moved into Baalmore House. He was a good man, a decent respectable fellow in the mould of the original owners and he set about restoring the place back to its former grand state. The family soon earned the respect of the local population and they were accepted into the community. He employed the local tradespersons and labourers to rebuild the house and to work the land and the village prospered when there was plenty work at Baalmore House. All went well until All Saints Night when a mysterious smouldering type fire caused that family to perish as they slept. The house itself was virtually undamaged.”
‘So the whole family was wiped out that night?” Jones asked.
“No… Jones! Not the whole family, a newborn baby boy somehow managed to survive the tragedy. He was the only Mac Siurtain to be taken out of Baalmore House alive, the little boy was later adopted by a distant relative and it’s thought he ended-up in America but we have never heard anything about him since, we don’t know if he’s still alive. He would be the rightful heir…if he chooses to stake his claim. We administer the estate and put any profits into a trust fund. One day no doubt someone will stake his or her claim to the property and good riddance. I’ll be glad to see the back of it… it’s just been a big problem for many a year…nothing but trouble.”
“It sure is one hell of a story.” young Jones conceded “I certainly wouldn’t like to live there, but I don’t think the Jordan family would even bother to listen, they signed a two-year lease this morning and they are moving in at the weekend… on Halloween actually.”
“Jones you idiot! You must stop them…tear-up that lease…we can’t let them go in there. We can’t let it happen again. Don’t let them in.”
“But why Boss…I worked hard to find tenants for the place, the Jordan’s seem to be a nice young family…there was no problem when I let the place before?”
“Because Jordan is the English interpretation of Mac Siurtain. That’s why.”