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CARDIFF CASTLE
South Glamorgan
Wales
Some might say that if a resident of a castle has never experienced
any phenomena then it is unlikely to be haunted. This is, of course,
untrue for the individual might not be attuned to the haunting for
some years and then suddenly see the ghost which has been in the
building for decades Derek Edwards the custodian of Cardiff Castle
in 1975 experienced his first encounter with one of the ghosts after
only twelve months working there. He was clearing up after a civic
luncheon in the dining room when he noticed the figure of a man
in the doorway at the other end of the hall. Mystified, he walked
towards the stranger, 'Can I help you Sir?'. The man turned, but
as did so the shape and faded away. His children and friend staying
with them claimed that they had seen a man looking at them in the
bedroom and shortly afterwards poltergeist activity was experiences.
Doors were locked by the unseen force, a wardrobe moved and the
dog went berserk.
The second Marquess of Bute died in what is now a small chapel
behind the library and it is here that the ghost of a man in a long
cloak has also been seen, In January, 1977 Mr. Keith Carton of Birmingham
visited the castle and was told by the custodian that a year earlier
a young couple had told him a strange incident that they had experienced
when passing through the door of the chapel. ` A tall man in a cloak
pushed past them in a great hurry and when I mentioned it to the
chief architect the following day she appeared somewhat disconcerted.
That morning she had been standing at the top of the stairway and
on turning to her right witnessed a tall figure in a red cloak.
The man seemed to be scowling at her and then vanished`. His appearance
was identical to the portrait of the second Marquess of Bute whose
portrait hangs on a nearby wall. Top
GWYDIR CASTLE
Near Llanrwst
Gwynedd
Wales
Claimed to be a former royal residence but now open as an historic
house Gwydir offers visitors a sight of 50 peacocks and a ghost
of an unknown gentleman in an `Edwardian -style suit` He was seen
twice in 1975 and again in 1978 by visitors. The building, never
in fact a castle as such, was the country seat of the well-known
Wynn family, burnt out earlier this century and later restored.
Top
MANORBIER CASTLE
Pembroke
Dyfed
Wales
A member of the staff of a nearby hotel admitted to me that she
admitted to me that she has seen the drychiolaeth, the ghost, which
disappeared a few feet away from the gateway of the castle, and
knew of, `A couple of other people, visitors who had witnesses the
lady in black`. The phantom is a tall woman who suddenly appears
halfway along the path and walks quite purposefully towards the
entrance. Top
MONNOW STREET
Monmouth
Gwent
Wales
The clattering sound of horses` hooves have been heard in this road
and veering round a corner at the side of Chippenham House. Some
claim that it is an invisible highwayman. others that is the aural
phenomena associated with an ancient battle. The noise is usually
heard late in the afternoon and more frequently during the autumn.
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PARC TERRACE
Llangoed
Anglesey
Gwynedd
Wales
Through Beaumaris travel north towards Penmon and the visitor arrives
in the small village of Llangoed. In the local paper, the 'Holyhead
and Anglesey Mail'in April 1975, a report appears stating that residents
have been scared by, `The ghostly apparition of a white dog which
races along the lane`. Among the witnesses to this phantom animal
in 1978 were Mr. & Mrs. B. Jones of Bangor who where visiting friends
in the village and became `slightly concerned` at seeing what they
thought was a `normal sheep dog, suddenly disappear`. One can only
assume that such an animal, owned by a very devoted pet lover, was
killed in the lane within the last few years. Top
PENHOW CASTLE
Near Newport
Gwent
Wales
Perhaps it is the restoration work that is the cause of the haunting
which has only recently been reported her. Mr. and Mrs. Simmonds
of Richmond told me that when visiting this castle, the oldest inhabited
castle in Wales in 1977, they saw the figure of a young girl `in
her teens` scurrying from the Great Hall. She was short and wearing
a blue-grey apron. They asked one of the attendants as to the function
that they assumed was going to be held later and were told that
none had been planned. Commenting on the appearance of the maid,
they were a little surprised to hear that she has been seen by one
or two other visitors during the year only then did they realise
she was an apparition. Top
PLAS MAWR
High Street
Conwy
Gwynedd
Wales
Owned by the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, this mansion is rather
over-shadowed by the massive castle with 15 feet walls built in
the shape of a Welsh Harp but perhaps surprisingly, no one has so
far published any tales recently of it being haunted. Plas Mawr,
however, does contain a couple of ghosts, though unfortunately none
clearly visible. Derek Jones of Surrey assured me that when visiting
the house in 1977, two other visitors were discussing the sound
of heavy footsteps that they had heard on evening a few days earlier
in the Lantern Room, It is in this room in which legend has it that
a former owner in the sixteenth century killed himself on discovering
the dead bodies of his wife and small son. The inexplicable sounds
are supposed to be those of the man searching for the remains of
the doctor who was supposed to be treating the couple in his absence.
The other phantom is 'rather like a misty shape'seen at the bottom
of the stairway. Experienced at the same time is a remarkable drop
in temperature which cannot be accounted for, though the few who
have commented on the phenomena believe it is where the mother and
child lay after falling down the steps which resulted eventually
in their death. Their unconscious bodies were taken to the Lantern
Room for treatment but neither recovered from the accident. Top
ST MARY'S CHURCH
Church Street
Tenby
Dyfed
Wales
Residents of Tenby are reluctant to discuss the matter or may even
dismiss the haunting here as that of `imagination`. However, some
visitors staying with friends or relatives in the area and an occasional
tourist, have remarked about the `peculiar and rather uncomfortable
feeling` in the sacristy. On three occasions during the last 20
years, enquiries have been made as to the identity of the priest
standing in the corner who, 'is there one minute and not the next'.
Witnesses seem even more puzzled by his style of clothing than his
sudden and inexplicable disappearance. One local historian believes
that the robes are those of a member of the clergy to the Reformation
but can offer no further information. Top
TINTERN ABBEY
Tintern Parva
Gwent
Wales
Little remains of the original Cistercian Abbey founded in 1131
for in the thirteenth and fourteen centuries a massive development
scheme extensively enlarging the building was completed. Yet Tintern
has been called the finest relic of Britain's monastic period. It
is unusual to hear so little of the haunting in the ruins for a
number of visitors have seen the ghost. Perhaps, they assume, understandably,
that the figure is of normal flesh and blood. Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright
of Sutton are two who have witnessed the monk who they saw on his
knees near one of the arches on the west side. They thought he was
a devoted worshipper but as they were about to pass, he vanished.
Top
TREARDDUR BAY
Near Holyhead
Anglesey
Gwynedd
Wales
Only a few yards from the popular caravan site and a nearby cricket
pitch the apparition of an elderly woman dressed in a `long period
dress` has been witnessed by a number of visitors. She has also
been seen just after cricketers have pulled stumps for the day's
play and, so clearly that she had been identified by local residents
as the ghost of a woman who was drowned over 50 years ago. She appears
right at the edge of the field nearest the sea and then vanishes
as if falling. Top
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