My native Wales is a land full of ghosts and ghouls. With Halloween creeping up on us, let’s explore a few of the most famous weird Welsh ghosts!
Hanging Judge Jeffreys
George Jeffreys was born in Acton, Wrexham in 1645. As it turns out, he was also my 14th times great-grand uncle.
Uncle-Judge Jeffreys earned his bloody moniker for his brutality and bloodlust which became apparent during trials known as “The Bloody Assizes” of 1685, where he sentenced over 200 people to death for their role in the Monmouth Uprising.
Little did he know his judicial role durning the uprising would come back to bite him in the end. Jeffreys eventually attempted to flee the country to follow James II, but was caught in na pub in Wapping (now Ramsgate). Although he was disguised as a sailor and had shaved off his “ferocious eyebrows”, he was recognised by a survivor of the Uprising that had been spared his life. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London “for his own safety” where he eventually died of kidney disease that had plagued him most of his life.
According to some, Uncle-Judge Jeff’s notoriety followed him in the afterlife, and his ghost is said to be particularly prolific, haunting a number of locations in and out of Wales.
His spirit is said to frequent his old lodgings in Dorchester, now a restaurant, opposite of which the heads of executed rebels were displayed on spikes. The nearby museum, which holds a number of Assizes related artifices is also said to be haunted by Jeffreys.
Jeffreys’ ghost has also been spotted in the Ilchester Arms pub in London, said to be one of his favourite watering holes in life, as well as on the grounds of Lydford Castle in Devon. Although evidence that Jeffreys ever visited the castle is sketchy, delivers say he roams the grounds in the guise of a black pig.
He is also said to be one of the many ghosts who haunt the Skirrid Inn, Abergavenny.
The Waterston Ghost Lady
Waterston Road may seem just like any another stretch of road in Pembrokeshire, but at night, the locals beg to differ.
For years, the ghostly figure of an elderly woman in a tattered dress walks this quiet road. She is said to emit a strange blue light, and is often seen to carry a bundle of rags in her arms.
She is most likely to be seen between 10pm and midnight, and mostly on Saturdays. There seems to be little speculation to the woman’s identity, but some suspect the bundle of rags she sometimes carries is a baby. Could it be a child of her own? Perhaps she was a diligent grandmother searching for help for her sickly grandchild?
Whatever her story, drivers are warned to take special care on Waterston Road.
Newton House, Carmarthenshire
Newton House in a National Trust-owned country house in the sprawling hills on Carmarthenshire. According to the aforementioned National Trust, it’s supposedly one of the most haunted houses in Britain.
Ghosts and ghouls are said to walk the halls, particularly the servants’ basement, which is said to be home to Walter, the house’s former butler, but one of the most prolific ghosts of Newton House is The Lady in White.
The Lady in White is thought to be the spirit of Lady Elinor Cavendish, who rejected the suitor her parents chose for her and fled to Newton House, which belonged to her cousin. Unfortunately, Elinor’s instincts proved correct, as the suitor tracked her down and murdered her. Visitors have reported a choking sensation whilst on the house’s staircase. She is also thought to have been seen gliding across rooms and disappearing into walls.
The house is also said to be home to a handful of sinister spirits, including a hag-like old woman and an angry man who both seem to give off an air of negativity.
The spirits of the house have featured in paranormal-reality programs including Most Haunted. During one particular production, crew members fell sick one after the other. Coincidence or paranormal influence? You be the judge.
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