Welcome to hell or oldcastle

Fast becoming one of the “must visit” Halloween attraction, The Haunted Hotel has been going from strength to strength in recent years and has moved to a new venue, Loughcrew Estate, just outside Oldcastle, for this year’s event 'The Gates of Hell'. Over 500 years old and set in 300 acres, Loughcrew Estate is an ideal setting for a night of haunts and scares. The event is on between October 22nd and 31st.

Local artist, Brendan Melia from The Portable Mural Company, created the “Welcome to Hell” entrance sign.

Colin Smith, creative director with The Haunted Hotel, said the theme of this year’s event is “The Gates of Hell” and wanted to create a wow entrance as visitors enter the attraction.

“We have used Brendan before and we know his work is incredible, so we had no hesitation in commissioning him for this piece” Colin said. “We hope it will inspire and spook our visitors in equal amounts”.

Based in Ballinacree, near Oldcastle, Melia's art is painted on wood and cut-out as a unique one-of-a-kind portable mural on board. It can celebrate loved ones, human or animal, your favourite characters or celebrities and is suitable for your home or business. A wonderful gift or conversation piece, a portable mural on board is a truly unique and individual wall art! The Portable Mural Company has shared its wondrous talent for mural and portrait painting with art enthusiasts for over ten years.

The company, run by Brendan Melia, specializes in wonderful, eye-catching hand-painted, portable murals on board for homes, restaurants, schools, crèches, hospitals, churches and a wide variety of other businesses.