When Susan Herrmann Loomis recently remarked on the “dark” side of her adopted French town, she was referring to the local exorcisms and burnings of two priests accused of witchcraft in 1647.
But she also could have been speaking of the troubled spirits who she suspects inhabit one room of her ancient house, which stands across from a Gothic church in this Norman town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Paris.
Ms. Herrmann Loomis, a food writer, chef and cooking teacher, lives in a 12th-century house whose rambling layout pairs well with its lengthy history.
