South Glamorgan Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Wellington
Location: Aberdare - Sky over Cwmbach estate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1979
Further Comments: A witness outside their home heard engines but could see anything. They stepped inside their doorway but as the sound of the engines grew louder the witness stepped outside again. Looking up, the witness spotted a twin engine, dark coloured Wellington bomber fly over and past, as 'real looking and sounding as any solid aircraft'. At the time, the witness thought nothing was strange about the encounter as they were unaware that there were no flying airworthy examples of a Wellington that existed.
Woman Standing in Corner
Location: Barry - Royal public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: The pub is said to be haunted by a female figure. The last time it was seen was in the men's toilets, standing by the wall.
Smiling Faces in the Curtains
Location: Barry - Unknown semi-detached council house
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Early 2000s
Further Comments: A woman living in the building set her curtains on fire after she became convinced they were possessed, causing her to lose her looks. She was jailed for 15 months for arson.
Wissie
Location: Boverton - Boverton Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: The ghostly lady in black who haunts the area was the wife of King John - he condemned her to exile here, though she apparently continued to love him dearly. Her tall, sobbing form was seen by a couple of workmen.
Vanishing Girl
Location: Broughton, Vale of Glamorgan - Unnamed Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s?
Further Comments: The ghost of a young girl is reputed to haunt this area, one story stating that a doctor driving through the area hit the figure - believing her to have been real, he jumped out his car to help her, but she had vanished.
The Murder Stone
Location: Cadoxton - Churchyard
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Stone still present, sighting of ghosts pre 1920s?
Further Comments: A stone monument was erected in the churchyard in memory of Margaret Williams, whose murdered body was found on nearby marshland in 1822. Because she was pregnant at the time of her death, it was widely believed her lover and her killer were the same man. Nonetheless, Margaret's killer was never caught. Two ghostly forms were reported by the stones, thought to be of Margaret and her former lover.
John Richards
Location: Caerau - Unnamed House
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Likely nineteenth century
Further Comments: While laying in bed, a witness claimed to see a former neighbour, John Richards, standing close by holding a dimly burning taper. Richards had died ten years previous; the witness died the following day.
Coach
Location: Cardiff - Cardiff Castle
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Coach last seen 1868
Further Comments: A coach is reportedly heard when a member of the Hastings family is due to die. At the castle it was heard by John Boyle, the night his cousin the Marquis Hastings died. Other ghosts reported to haunt the castle include the second Marques of Bute (who walks through several walls), a faceless woman in a long skirt who is known as Sarah, and a three metre tall giant who walks around the park.
The Smoking Man
Location: Cardiff - Cardiff Docks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: November 1962
Further Comments: A teenager who was fishing with a friend encountered a man smoking a pipe, wearing a trilby hat and either a trench coat or overcoat. The strange figure vanished in a large empty field of flat prairie grass.
Matron
Location: Cardiff - Cardiff Royal Infirmary Hospital
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: Several ghost stories have been reported from this hospital. A plumber observed a matron in old fashioned clothing and bonnet who vanished without warning. A local legend says that if the woman in grey offers you a drink, do not take it, otherwise you shall die within a week.
White Lady
Location: Cardiff - Castell Coch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A 'new' building on the site of thirteenth century ruins, the White Lady once haunted the older area, and now has set up shop in the replacement castle. The woman is said to have died of a broken heart after her son drowned in a local pond. There is also reported to be a buried hoard of treasure here, zealously protected by either three eagles or an entity who confuses any potential gold thieves, while an ethereal cavalier walks the castle grounds.
Woman
Location: Cardiff - Cathedral
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The female entity said to haunt this area is thought to be the same woman who is looking for her lost son close to the river.
White Girl
Location: Cardiff - Council house, Rumney
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1962
Further Comments: A family of seven moved from the site after the haunting, a white girl who would peer around the corner of doorways, became too much for them.
Gwrach y Rhibyn
Location: Cardiff - Cow and Snuffers Inn, Llandaff (no longer operational)
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: 14 November 1877
Further Comments: A guest staying close to the Cow and Snuffers watched a screeching old woman with wings, red hair, and pale face enter the inn. The guest believed the entity to be a Gwrach y Rhibyn, a death omen. The following day, the guest discovered the innkeeper had died during the night.
Young Boy
Location: Cardiff - Cowbridge Road area, Canton
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This area of Cardiff is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young boy.
Nurse
Location: Cardiff - Llandough Hospital
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: Manifestation of the living unknown, nurse in uniform December 2002
Further Comments: A member of the nursing staff told her friend that she had seen her own dead body lying on a bed - a week later she died of typhoid fever, her body placed in the location revealed in the vision. It is not clear whether the nurse who experienced this continued to haunt the hospital, but in 2002 a pregnant woman awoke in the hospital and found a nurse at the end of her bed. The nurse told her that everything would be okay and walked out. The woman then realised the nurse was wearing an old fashioned uniform with a Victorian nursing hat.
Dunbar Smith
Location: Cardiff - National Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Smith unknown, Lord Ninian on election night (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Dunbar Smith designed the museum, and after he died the building became home to his ashes. The ashes were moved from their location to make way for a new public toilet during the 1960s, after which Dunbar was said to have returned, complaining about his post-mortem treatment. Another ghost, that of Member of Parliament Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart who was killed in action during the First World War, is said to become particularly active on election night.
Older Woman
Location: Cardiff - New Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An older woman is reputed to haunt this theatre. Her ghost manifests in one of the boxes where she is said to have either dropped dead in or fallen from (depending on the version of the story you are told). Staff and visitors have also reported cold spots and the sensation of being watched.
Stamping Feet
Location: Cardiff - Private residence, King's Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1905 - June 1906
Further Comments: The family living here would be woken around midnight by the sound of stamping feet in the hallway and on the staircase. One of the occupants refused to believe the sounds had a paranormal origin, although was not able to find the source of the noise.
Limbs
Location: Cardiff - Private residence, Marcross Road, Ely
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2011-2014
Further Comments: The home of Lisa Way appeared in the local press after she exchanged her residence with a family member after seeing faces at the windows and disembodied limbs. After three years and a failed exorcism, Way and her cousin changed homes.
Grey Lady
Location: Cardiff - Queen Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom grey lady is said to walk along Queen Street. Once she reaches the bridge, the woman turns and waves towards Cardiff castle before vanishing. It has been speculated that the woman signals to someone in the castle tower, but who she was, and the identity of the person she waves to, is unknown.
Whirlpool
Location: Cardiff - River Taff
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A water monster was once thought to live in this river. A whirlpool would be seen to form as the monster consumed drowned bodies.
Grieving Woman
Location: Cardiff - River Taff close to Cloisters Hall, Llandaff
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1860s?
Further Comments: This female phantom is stricken with grief from the death of her son in the river. The ghost is said to sometimes drift up and down the banks of the river looking for her son's body. The river area is also home to Bella, another female ghost who is said to have committed suicide after her husband's method of running his tavern drove her slightly mad.
Jealous Sailor
Location: Cardiff - Rummer Tavern
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The sailor that haunts this public house died shortly after finding his wife in bed with her secret lover. He is reputed to have a fondness of the cellar and the toilets.
Victorian girl
Location: Cardiff - The Corporation public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Victorian girl is said to haunt the third floor of this public house, with another female spirit reputedly active around the pool tables.
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