Some of the haunted castles may fly the flag of Wales with the Red Dragon of Cadwaladr on a green and white striped background. The dragon symbolized the power and authority of Welsh Kings. Visitors might see daffodils, one of the emblems of Wales, in gardens surrounding the citadels. The Welsh wear the flower on patron St. David’s Day. Leeks are the other emblem because, according to legend, St. David ordered his soldiers to wear them on their helmets when they fought a victorious battle against the Saxons in a field of leeks.
Cardiff Castle
The second Marquess of Bute’s ghost walks through the library’s fireplace into the room and passes through a six-foot-thick wall into a hall, treads through the chapel’s wall into the room where he died. At 3:45 AM, the dining hall’s heavy doors open and shut by themselves and its lights flash. Items are moved and a faceless form in a light grey skirt is seen in a stockroom.
Conwy Castle
A descendent of original owner Robert Wynn went to war. While he was returning home, his wife and child were climbing down from the lookout tower and fell. They were taken to the lantern room and Dr. Dic was summoned. Nothing could be done to save them and a servant, fearful of his lord’s ire, locked them in the room. When the nobleman returned, the door was unlocked and he found his dead family in the room, but the doctor was missing. The lord went insane and his ghost haunts the castle.
Gwydir Castle
Sir John Wynn’s restless spirit haunts his former home. A young woman’s wraith haunts the north wing and the passageway between the Hall of Meredith and the Great Chamber. The shade of a grey lady, allegedly murdered by Wynn that emits a putrid odor and touches people haunts the Ghost Room which has cold spots. A phantom procession marches on the Great Terrace. Ghostly children cry. A spectral dog is another haunter.
Castell Coch
A spectral man guards his treasure in a subterranean tunnel. According to legend, eagles also guard the trove. Dame Griffiths was overcome with grief when her son fell into a bottomless pool of water on castle grounds and was never seen again. Her ghost has been seen in the citadel and the surrounding woods.
Eight Haunted Welsh Castles' Gaggle of Ghosts
Some of the citadels are home to spectral members of royalty, while others’ phantoms are anonymous. Caerphilly Castle has a spectral lady clothed in green who leaps from turret to turret. Ghostly soldiers patrol the parapets. The flag tower reeks of phantom perfume. Carew Castle is home to the ghost of Princess Nest, dressed in white, who waits for her husband to return from battle. The specters of Sir Roland Rhys and his pet ape haunt the northwest tower. Dunraven Castle features the spirit of an elderly lady in a blue dress smelling of mimosa haunted the structure before it was demolished after World War II. Llantwit Major Castle has an anonymous Dutch gentleman as its haunter. Powis Castle and grounds are haunted by a ghostly gentleman, a woman dressed in white and a spectral horse and rider. Roch Castle is where the shade of Lucy Walters, first mistress of Charles II, dressed in white, floats through locked rooms. There are sounds of loud noisy running footsteps. Ruthin Castle has a spectral form of a man in armor wearing only one gauntlet stalking its halls. There’s an eerie glowing ball of light. Lady Grey’s wraith wanders through corridors. St. Donat’s Castle’s Lady Stradling’s spirit, clad in a long trailing gown, warns people of impending disasters.
Visiting Haunted Welsh Castles
Some of these castles give tours and guides include tales of the citadels’ spectral residents in presentations, accompanied by historical facts and legends.
The paranormal activities presented in this article are hauntings, ghosts without intelligence. According to theory, the phenomenon is energy imprinted on time and space.
Articles Related to Haunted Welsh Castles
People who enjoyed this article might want to read Ghosts of Three British Castles, along with Ghosts of Hampton Court and The Ghosts of Windsor Castle.
Source:
Haunted Britain, Anthony D. Hippisley Coxe, (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1973).
Jill Stefko - I'd rather deal with the paranormal than human abnormal - having dealt extensively with both.
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