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.
� Andrew Green