There may have been a Hall here as long ago as the 9th century, as it is believed the name of the place comes from Haakon, a Viking settler who chose to make the place his home. The Hall now standing near Knott End Golf Course was built in 1656 and there was previously a moated house on the site. Initials carved in stone over the doorway of the Hall indicate that it was built by Richard and Anne Fleetwood of Rossall. The towns of Rossall and Fleetwood are not far away, across the waters of the River Wyre.

Hackensall Hall is best known for its boggart, which took the form of an industrious horse who would work on the farm overnight, so long as a fire was left burning in the kitchen hearth for it to sleep by when its work was done. If the fire went out, the household would be rudely disturbed by the noises of an angry horse stampeding in the kitchen!

Lesser known is the fact that Hackensall Hall was also thought to be haunted by two human ghosts, whose rest was disturbed when their skeletons were found during restoration work on the Hall in 1873. It was rumoured that these two unfortunates, both women, appeared to have been deliberately walled up and left to die. The ensuing reports of haunting were so disturbing that a priest was summoned to perform an exorcism.

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