Derry’s most historic & haunted house

Prehen House is a beautiful building with palatial proportions and is classified as a Grade A example of an early Georgian manor house. It overlooks the River Foyle on what would have been a private estate of nearly 4,000 acres. The house was built for Andrew Knox PM for Donegal in 1740 whose descendants became some of the most prominent and colorful people in the northwest of Ireland. The famous ghost story attached to the house is that of  ‘Half-Hanged MacNaughton’ – a member of the Antrim gentry who gambled away his fortune. He tried to entice Mary Ann Knox into marrying him, but her family feared he was after her money and would have none of it. MacNaughton plotted to seize MaryAnn by force when she was on a coach journey to Dublin however MacNaughton and his accomplice accidentally shot and killed Mary Ann. He was soon captured, found guilty of murder, and sentenced to death by hanging. During the execution, his rope snapped which led some to think God had intervened. MacNaughton however declared that he did not want to be remembered as ‘Half-Hanged MacNaughton’. When a fresh rope was fastened around his neck it did not fail and ironically, he has been remembered as ‘Half-Hanged MacNaughton’ ever since! Other notable members of the Knox family were Baron George Carl Otto Louis Von Scheffler Knox , Dylwith Knox, (who was instrumental in breaking the Enigma Code during WW2) and, Ronald Knox who was known for his outstanding translations of the Bible. In 1971, the house was acquired by the Peck family, cousins of the famous Hollywood star Gregory.