Rathpeak House (Woodpark Lodge) was constructed in the early nineteenth century. A once fine property, the house later fell into dereliction and the land on which it stood is now used for agricultural purposes.

The house was reputedly haunted by the ghost of a young woman but there are conflicting reports as to who she was and how she came to haunt the property. Some say that it may have been the ghost of a resident who died in childbirth, while others say it may have been a woman who was imprisoned in an upstairs bedroom.

The latter story tells of how an owner’s daughter fell in love with a farm-hand. Her family were appalled and forbade the relationship on the grounds that a young lady of her standing should not mix with a laborer. The young woman was refused to accede to her parents wishes, and she was locked away in an upstairs room as a punishment, presumably in the belief that she would “come to her senses”. But she did not change her view. She was deprived of food and began to lose her mind, banging on the doors, windows and even the solid walls. The dreadful sounds could be heard throughout the house, but still no mercy was shown by her unforgiving family. She eventually died in that room.

Several members of the household heard her hopeless knocks years after she had died, and others even saw the distressed ghost of the young woman, staring out the window and trying to get the attention of anyone coming to the house. One witness recounted how she had seen the girl by the window in the 1950s, how she heard the knocking when she passed by the ruins of the old house over thirty years later. Another witness reported hearing very “loud and very eerie” sounds while photographing the derelict property during the 1970s.