In the highlands overlooking Dublin is a place called Montpellier Hill. By day, its lush and windswept pastures provide the perfect vantage point from which to view the urban sprawl of the city below. But by night, this out of the way place takes on a far more sinister atmosphere. For Montpellier Hill is the site of the Hellfire Club, an ominous stone structure whose reputation has become the stuff of legend. Indeed, if rumours are to be believed, it may have once played host to the Devil himself... In its heyday, the Hellfire Club was the meeting place for a secretive cabal of the country’s most powerful and influential men. Wild parties that carried on into the wee hours of the morning were a regular occurrence, with drinking and gambling aplenty. However, this revelry belied a darker undercurrent, one that included sinister masonic practice that, according to some, may have had links to Satanism and the occult. If legend is to be believed, these foolhardy efforts bore terrible fruit one dark and stormy night... In the midst of one such evening of debauchery, the occupants of the club were disturbed from their revelry by the arrival of a mysterious stranger who, upon gaining admittance, requested to join in with the group’s poker game. The participants were at first wary of the strangers motives and were reluctant to let him take part … something about the man unsettled them. However, sensing their unease, he proceeded to produce a large bag of coins in order to gain their favour. Spurred on by greed, the group relented and allowed the stranger to join them at their table. The stranger proved his worth by winning every hand, taking much of the other players’ money in the process. The others were both infuriated and impressed by the stranger’s skill. That is, until one of the group stooped beneath the table to retrieve a fallen coin. It is then that the stranger’s true identity was revealed: in place of legs a pair of cloven hooves – the tell-tale sign that the Devil himself was sitting amongst them. His anonymity shattered, the Devil stood up to reveal his true form, before unleashing a terrible fire that reduced every thing in the club to ashes. The Hellfire Club still stands to this day, and can be visited by the curious sightseer who wishes to leave the hustle of the city behind. However, those brave enough to visit this foreboding ruin, even during the hours of daylight, should exercise caution; for who knows what dark force may be peering out at them from the dark recesses of the ruin? It might very well be the Devil himself...
