Ghosts Of Aberystwyth
With halloween a mere few weeks away I thought i’d do a topical post.
With Aberystwyth being the best part of 800 years old, I thought there must be some Aberystwyth ghosts and local hauntings to accompany this towns long history.
So i’ve compiled a list of the spookiest and best Aberystwyth ghost stories I could find.
1. The Aberystwyth Mermaid:
In July of 1826, a party of twelve people had ventured part way up Constitution Hill at the top end of North Promenade. Looking down onto the beach below, the twelve people could see a beautiful young woman with creamy pale skin washing herself in the calm summer sea. It was only on looking closer at the half naked woman that they could see what looked like a black tail flicking at the waters surface where her legs should be.
2. The Beast Of Bont:
Not really a haunting or a ghost, but the Beast of Bont was responsible for killing over 50 sheep in the village of Pontrhydfendigaid near Aberystwyth from 1995. Many theories were raised as to what may have killed the sheep, including ghostly beings from the other side. However, the killings were eventually blamed on an escaped puma, although it has never been caught. Police marksmen were even sent to the Tywi forest to kill the beast, but long searches yielded nothing. Plans were also drafted to kill the big cat with a heat seeking helecopter. The injuries inflicted on the sheep were consistent with those inflicted by a big cat, and the Beast of Bont remains the most feared big cat in Wales to date.
3. Nanteos Mansion:
This old mansion house, which is thought to have once contained part of the Holy Grail is now a hotel and restaurant, located just outside of Aberystwyth and is reported to be haunted by a number of ghosts. Stories came to light when a TV crew, who were filming a number of scenes at the location experienced severe disruption to a video unit. The cloaked figure of a gentleman caused so much havoc that the crew became scared to the extent that they refused to work after dark. Other ghostly goings on include a phantom horseman, and the appearance of two spectral women, one of whom is said to appear before a death.
4. The Promenade Couple:
On July 23rd 1971, Phil Bishop and his wife were staying in Aberystwyth, at a hotel on the North Promenade. Unable to sleep, his wife decided to survey the view of Cardigan Bay from the hotel room window. Upon looking down she saw a young woman leaning out to sea from the promenade railings. It was only when she noticed a young male running towards her that she realised there was something amiss. Calling her husband to the window, they both stared in amazement at the couple who were floating silently above the promenade by around a foot. The ghostly couple ran towards one another and embraced, whilst not being in contact with the ground below them. The couple turned towards Constitution Hill and ran hand in hand up the promenade, descending down the steps and onto the beach. Continuing down the beach they ventured straight into the sea at high tide until they disappeared completely from view under the water. The following morning the couple talked with the hotel owner about what they had seen, and the owner was able to shed some light on the young couple. In the 1960′s a young couple had been tragically killed after becoming trapped by the high tide and rocks at the end of the promenade by the base of Constitution Hill. It is believed that this is the ghostly couple seen by Mr Bishop and his wife.
5. The Student Accommodation Ghost:
A number of Aberystwyth University students have reported sightings of a female ghost in the Pumlumon and Caerleon seafront residences. One student reported two sightings of the ghost in 2009. The first time, the woman was hovering above the students bed, simply watching over her as she slept. As soon as she woke, the ghoslty figure then recoiled and disappeared. The second sighting occured when the woman was seen silently floating across the students room, paying her no attention, as if on her way to somewhere. Another student from the mid 1970s reported seeing a woman, with nothing from the waist down, staring over him and slowly lifting a hand to point at him in a sinister manner, whilst he was scarred stiff and unable to move.
6. The Consti Woman:
There have been a number of sightings of a woman dressed in old style clothing roaming about on Constitution Hill. One sighting saw the woman playing in the games room at the top of the hill. When approached, the woman left the games room and headed for the edge of the cliff, where she promptly disappeared from view. Around the same time another woman of a similar description was seen floating down the grassy banks in the direction of Clarach. The figure then disappeared as she reached the edge of the woods by Clarach Bay.
7. Thats Not My Grandma:
When Olivia Clarke and her friend moved into their new home after finishing university in Aberystwyth they slept downstairs on the first night. However, their sleep was disturbed by their dog, who would not settle down, and continued to pace up and down the room. The second night, Olivia and her friend slept upstairs, and heard footsteps. Getting up to investigate, she found the dog at the bottom of the stairs whimpering, but with no physical injuries. Again the dog refused to settle down and sleep. The next day the girls took some flowers to their elderly neighbour nextdoor, just to introduce themselves. The old man thanked them and mentioned how well the three of them were settling in to their new home. Assuming he was talking about the dog, they mentioned how he was refusing to sleep and was very anxious. The old man replied that he did not know they had a dog, but had seen their grandma on the rocking chair in the front window during the night. The two left the house within days, and a year later found themselves living seperately. Olivia’s friend revisited the house thinking that someone was still living there. However, the house had been abandoned in the year since they had left, but she still saw the same old ghostly woman standing at the end of the hallway.
8. Dinas Terrace Ghost:
In 2005 a post graduate student at Aberystwyth University moved into a house on Dinas Terrace near the marina with her friends for the year. During her time there she reported hearing a playful little girl screaming in the middle of the night from inside the house. On several occasions she would get up in the morning and find that her keys had been moved. However, they were not just moved around the room, but around the house. Her housemates all sweared that they had never once removed her keys from her room.
9. Face In The Window:
A student living on Cambrian Terrace reported eerie goings on in his kitchen and utility room in his student house. On a number of occasions he would see housemates entering the kitchen in the corner of his eyes, and would begin to talk to them before realising that no one was there. After a month or so on a late night, he went to put his cup back in the kitchen and noticed someone standing by the window from the corner of his eye. Turning round the student was confronted by a man with sinister black eyes and hair, wearing a blue coat and blue hat with rim. Housemates checked the yard to no avail, and with no yard access other than through the house itself, no one could explain the mysterious man in the window.
10. Flying Over The A44:
The A44 road from Aberystwyth to Llangurig passes Pumlumon mountain, and on more than one occasion motorists have reported seeing a WW2 bomber flying silently above them, about 15 – 20 feet off the ground near Eisteddfa Gurig farm. One such person, Paul Jay saw the bomber and was expecting to see a crash in his rear view mirror, but there was no crash and no sound at all. A week later Mr Jay was watching Foyle’s War on ITV and saw the exact same footage that had been played out above the A44 as he drove past the week before. Looking into this further he was amazed to find that Foyle’s War had used actual archive footage in the programme, and that the scenes on the television had been real. In fact, on the walk from Eisteddfa Gurig farm up the mountain you pass an old mine working. Lying next to these mine workings is the wreckage of an old WW2 bomber, the very same bomber plane seen in the Foyle’s War footage.
11. The Boar’s Head Landlord
Found at the rear of Alexandra Halls is the old Boar’s Head Pub which has stood empty for a number of years, although a group of squatters did call it home for some time. Whilst staying there with friends one ex student reported hearing heavy footsteps on the stairs, along with the noise of keys jangling. It is thought that this goes back to when one of the pubs former landlords lost his fiancee in tragic circumstances. The inconsoleable landlord was so distraught that he climbed the stairs to the attic, placed a rope around his neck and hung himself from the wooden beams which support the roof. It is rumoured that if you follow his footsteps to the attic, you will catch site of his ghost getting ready to hang.
12. The Soldier By The Sea:
George Smith of Aberystwyth reported seeing a young man dressed in his brown army uniform on several occasions in and around the Aberystwyth promenade. The soldier can be seen floating one or two feet above the rock pools down by Aberystwyth Pier. He has also been seen in four other location by Mr Smith, including the Marine Hotels top windows, stood on the edge of Aberystwyth pier, by the lighthouse on South Beach and stood in the sea itself with the waves washing around his torso.
13. The Invisible Electrician:
This is my own personal experience, which I thought I’d add in for good measure. My wife and I used to live in the Cambria as students, opposite the pier. From the promenade facing south, look to the top floor, and to the window on the far left hand side. This used to be our room, and provided fantastic views over Aberystwyth and Cardigan Bay. On two seperate occasions we had gone out for the night and were returning along the promenade past the paddling pool. Looking up at the dark window of our room we looked at one another and agreed it would be rather scary if the light came on. Looking back up at the room the light came on. This happened on two seperate occasions and I have never found a reasonable explanation for this. On the one hand it could have been an electrical fault, but to happen twice, as we said those words was a bit odd to say the least. Our room was always locked, and only us and the receptionist had keys, and she wasn’t working at 4am on a Friday.
Have you had a ghostly experience in Aber? Tell us about it below!
My girlfriend Francesca lives on mill street with her flatmate and fellow student Kirsty. When they moved into the house in 2010 Kirsty reported hearing footsteps running up and down the stairs in the night and apon waking, seeing the figure of a young woman standing at the foot of her bed. Several weeks later I was showering before a night out when i heared the door handle move on the bathroom door, Thinking it was my girlfriend i spoke to tell her to stop messing about and it stopped. when i opened my eyes after washing my hair i saw the shadow of a woman on the shower curtain. I quickly opened it to catch my girlfriend in the act but there was no one there. We also found a scrap of paper with flatmate Johns name written on it on his bed later that day although we have no idea who wrote it.
At which end of Mill Street? I haven’t really heard any stories about the Mill Street area being haunted (although there is an undertaker!) but thanks for sharing! When ever someone rattled the bathroom door at my old uni flats it was the cleaner….
I live in Cwrt Mawr block H at the University. Since moving in in September 2010 me and several of my flatmates have experienced a number of odd occurrences. Objects such as a camera have disappeared from where they were placed and reappeared in other rooms in the flat, without explanation. One person returned to his room to find his window open, despite being certain that he had closed it properly before leaving. Also a figure has been seen on the landing, blocking the light from the flat opposite, only to rush down the stairs and disappear with no trace or sound. Another odd occurrence was when another housemate said she was going to give up smoking in a few days when her last pack of cigarettes had been finished. A few days later, before lecture, her hole punch fell from the back of her top shelf in her room, knocked her water over her laptop and desklight and more spookily drowned her lighters and knocked her last packet of cigarettes into the bin despite nobody being near to the shelf or the desk.
My wife lived in block H. Flat 3 room 36. We never experienced anything like that when we used to stay there, but apparently some people are more aware of it than others. Thanks for sharing!
Does anyone know of a house called Rockhouse? I have a friend who whilst a student lived there and on leaving the house was taken off the rental list. She still hates to recal what she thinks she saw there.
I don’t to be honest. Where about was it?
What happened to your friend?
It was a listed student acc. which has since been removed from the list.I believe it was near the front , maybe one street back. My friend had sightings of a figure hovering over her bed . She did not tell her house mates until another confided in her and he had had the same experience. The feeling in the house was hostile and cold and they soon moved out.
I know I’m late to this conversation but I’ve just found this post and wanted to add my experience.
I lived in Cwrt Mawr H Block in 1998 and I too became convinced it was haunted. I always used to think people were walking behind me in the corridor and often turned to speak to people to find no one there. The same thing happened several times in the kitchen while I was cooking or reading books at the table.
One night I woke in the middle of the night and as I came round I realised I was sitting on the end of my bed and felt like I had been talking to someone. As I awoke even more I realised there was some kind of dark shadow at the end of the bed in the shape of someone standing in front of me. I closed my eyes and leapt back into my bed under the covers. It all sounds ridiculous but I lay there for around 2 hours until it got light absolutely rigid with fear with the sense of being intensely watched.
I later heard that people who lived in the same block on the floor below me had said that strange things were happening. But I never spoke with them about it as I didn’t really know them. H block is definitely a very spooky place in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing Sarah!
My wife lived in Cwrt Mawr H in 2006 when we met. We always used to hear a lot of noises in the night, but unfortunately it was her flatmates!
I live in Penparcau,near Aberystwyth and was walking around there one day and saw a forest by garth dinas. I thought it looked interesting and decided to see what was it like. It is a beautiful site, but as I was walking through I saw a figure in the corner of my eye, as I looked I did see it but after
10 seconds it disappeared. I fled out of there straight home.
I stupidly decided to go again but with my dog. We walked quickly through and made it all the way around until the exit, I saw the figure again at the top of a mud bank, He looked cheerful.I looked at my dog and she was wining on the floor. When I got home we took her to the vet, she was fine. I don’t know anything else about this figure,But I’m not going in there again on my own