castles

The man drove wearily home to his house in the centre of Cardiff. With some annoyance he noticed his wife had left all the lights on and the lawns by his front door were bathed in light as bright as day.

Once in the house he called his wife and asked her why every light was on upstairs. She looked at him blankly and laughed, she explained that she had put out every light upstairs an hour previously. Together they went upstairs to find everything in pitch darkness.

The man was Mr Derek Edwards, since 1964 the custodian of Cardiff Castle.

Ghosts, ghouls and "things that go bump in the night" have long been regarded by most people by more than a certain amount of scepticism.

EXISTENCE

If these supernatural beings do exist, it is widely excepted in most people`s mind`s that they haunt old buildings - like Cardiff Castle.
Mr Edwards took up the post of Custodian in the footsteps of his father-in-law, Mr Edgar Donne, who looked after the interests of the castle for more than 40 years

ODD HAPPENINGS

Mr Edwards is reluctant to place any great importance on the "happenings" that occur at the castle, but he does tell frankly of several odd things that have happened to both him and his family since he came to live there.

MIDNIGHT HOUR

"One night, about 12 o`clock. I went upstairs with a friend to show him the Banqueting Hall. Our wives were downstairs, when suddenly we heard footsteps in the passage. We thought they were playing a practical joke on us, so to teach them a lesson we switched off the lights.
When nothing happened and the footsteps ceased, we went back downstairs. Both, my wife and my friend`s wife swore they had not left the sitting room".

SEARCH

"We searched the upstairs apartments, but found no-one".
Although he is not so sceptical about the matter of ghosts as he was when he first came to the castle, Mr Edwards still feels theres an explanation for everything. Or nearly everything. Sometimes the family at the castle experience what they call "bad nights". Nights when Yvonne, Mr Edwards wife, his four children or himself cannot get to sleep. Mr Edwards says they all experience an eerie feeling that is difficult to describe, but it feels as though a wet blanket was cloaking them.

TERRIFIED ALSATION

The same feeling that perhaps affects Mr Edwards alsation dog. Generally a placid animal, he has been known to refuse to enter the Banqueting Hall or the Castle`s library on certain nights when accompanying Mr Edwards on his rounds. "Several times he has refused to go into the library with me", says Mr Edwards. "He starts shaking at the room entrance with his back up and his fur stands on end, he looks completely terrified".

SHADOWY FORMS

Asked whether he had seen a ghost or some supernatural being, Mr Edwards replied, "I have never seen what could be described as a "ghost", but I have seen shadowy forms. One night, my wife and I were in the guest room, I wasn`t asleep and suddenly noticed a form by the bed. I thought it was one of the children who had perhaps come to us because they were feeling unwell. I looked up and saw a grey form, it had no clear features and before my eyes it seemed to dissovle slowly into the air.
We never know when this sort of thing is going to happen and I certainly don`t worry about it. I suppose it comes with the job".

HISTORY

There has been a fort on the site of Cardiff Castle since Roman times and the castle has enjoyed an interesting and variable history.

Another Cardiff building with a rich history is The New Theatre.
Most theatres can boast a ghost or two, Drury Lane has its "man in grey" which has even been seen by the audience.

The New Theatre`s "ghost" takes the shape of an elderly lady. Their resident supernatural guest, so it has been claimed, is an old lady who has been frequently seen standing in the Royal Box, looking around as if searching for something.
She then walks down the stairs towards the stalls.
There is a story that many years ago at the end of a matinee a woman was found dead in that same box. The lady was last seen about 2 years ago.

The 2nd Marquess of Bute started the restoration of Cardiff Castle, but didn`t live to see it finished. He died in 1848. Since then he has been seen walking though the fireplace of the library then leaves through a six foot thick wall into the adjoining corridor then through the wall of the chapel where he died.

A young castle visited the castle and experienced a strange happening whilst entering the chapel. A tall man in a cloak, pushed past them in a great hurry. When this was mentioned to the chief architect, she pointed out that, that morning she had been standing on the top of the stairway, and on turning to her right she witnessed a tall figure in a red cloak. The man seemed to be scowling at her and then vanished. The figure was identical to the portrait of the 2nd Marquess of Bute.

OK, so its not necessarily Cardiff, but its not far out.

The castle was built in the 14th century and has, as you may expect a good number of spirits haunting its stately halls.

All f the castles ghosts are mentioned here, unfortunately with little informatio. A black panther has been seen roaming the corridors of the castle at night. There is a hideous old woman who haunts the armoury. A haunted piano that plays on its own, the Gwrach-y-rhibyn screeches(welsh variation of the banshee). around the castle to warn of an imminent death within the family. A single eye has been spotted, keeping an eye on a bedroom, and finally two female spirits bring this amazing collection of ghosts to a close. One is supposed to foretell disaster and the other appears once a year to search for the lost love.