Manylion a Disgrifiad y Llyfr | Book Details & Description
- Author: Richard Holland
- Publication January 2007
- Format: Paperback, 182x124 mm, 139 pages
A collection of stories about phantoms of all descriptions varying from Clwyd's rich heritage of folklore to first-hand accounts at the end of the twentieth century. Black-and-white photographs.
Gwales Review
With over 65 haunted sites included in this volume, it is hard to imagine a square mile in this corner of north-east Wales free from potential encounters with phantoms and all manner of ghostly apparitions. Clwyd is a mysterious place where, we are told, the boundaries between past and present are somehow less defined, particularly in its secluded vales and on its wide, lonely moors.
Drawing from folklore, popular myth and eyewitness accounts, corroborated by repeated sightings, even the author is surprised at how ‘disarmingly commonplace’ this myriad of ghost stories appears to be, and how matter-of-fact the witnesses.
In concise, sometimes spine-chilling passages, the author takes us alphabetically through a range of sites and buildings in Clwyd where the life beyond returns to brush shoulders with us mere mortals. Interestingly, from his research, Holland has established that the least likely haunt of a ghost is a graveyard. They seem to prefer cosier places, like your front room or the local bingo hall or a welcoming tea-shop (like the phantom monk of Rhos-on Sea). Indeed, a modern semi is just as likely as an ancient castle to house a prowling phantom. Worried now?
Well, there is no immediate cause for alarm. As we read through various encounters, it becomes clear that not all phantoms intend us any harm. In the home of Geoff Ellis, Mynydd Isa, his young child plays happily with a phantom dog; in Broughton, a clergyman, floating just above the ground, has passed many walkers, but never threatened anyone; the Ladies of Llangollen apparently still roam their beloved house at Plas Newydd without causing trouble – they just can’t bear to leave the place.
Other spirits are forced to roam without rest from a tragic end – these too don’t want to hurt us, they are still experiencing their own pain. The book includes such tragic cases as the ill-fated lovers united in suicide who loiter around the bus depot in Flint; or the pathetic figure of a young girl who drowned in the well at Plas Teg, Pontblyddyn and the sound of her lover’s footsteps (he hanged himself in his grief).
Far more disturbing are stories of phantoms with an evil intent. Edmund’s Hollow for example, is a dip in the road between Flint and Connah’s Quay where evil spirits operate – many motorists have found that invisible hands take over the wheel and steer them off the road, cyclists have experienced similar interference, and even pedestrians have found themselves overwhelmed with a dangerous and uncontrollable desire to walk into the middle of the road, despite busy traffic. You might also like to steer clear of Moel Arthur, Nannerch, a heather-clad hill in the Clwydian range, especially at night. Here, a phantom Grey Lady is said to guard King Arthur’s buried treasure, and has the power to kill whoever she regards as a would-be prospector with a single glance.
Finally, there is the chilling account of a ‘crisis apparition’, where a person’s image can be projected at the moment of death. This happened to a Mr Williams of Gresford, returning from the pub late one evening with his friend. As they walked home a pale, wild-looking figure appeared from the gloom, a woman they recognized as Mrs Williams. She had come, they thought, to search for her wayward husband. But she passed them by, saying nothing, then disappeared. When Mr Williams returned home he found his wife had committed suicide by hanging herself in the sitting-room.
This is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in ghosts of all descriptions and perhaps not recommended as bedtime reading for those of an overly sensitive or nervous disposition!
Jane MacNamee