Bodelwyddan Castle – the most haunted building in Wales?

    Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales

    Pay a visit to Bodelwyddan Castle, one of the most haunted buildings in Wales and see if you can spot anything spooky going on…

    Bodelwyddan Castle
    Bodelwyddan Castle

    The castle has had many uses over the years. By the First World War, the property was being used as a recuperation hospital while the grounds were utilised by nearby Kinmel Camp as a training area for trench warfare. After this, the property passed into the hands of Lowther College, a private girls’ school which remained at the castle until the 1980s. It was at this time that the castle was purchased by Clwyd County Council which developed the site as a museum, gallery and visitor attraction. For this purpose, the property’s interiors were sympathetically restored to their former Victorian grandeur and partnerships were formed with several London museums to enable the castle to display important national treasures. It is in this function that the castle has remained a popular family attraction with plenty to see and do in the castle itself as well as its grounds where formal gardens house exotic plants and a centrally heated garden wall! The wall was also the brainchild of Sir John who was a keen horticulturalist and designed the brick wall to be inset with fireplaces and flues to keep the frost at bay.

    Watt's Hall, Bodelwyddan Castle
    Watt’s Hall, Bodelwyddan Castle

    For visitors particularly interested in the paranormal history of the property, a range of events take place at the castle, from Victorian séances to ghost walks that provide a tour of the castle’s rooms while revealing more about its history and spooky occurrences.

    Sculpture Gallery, Bodelwyddan Castle
    Sculpture Gallery, Bodelwyddan Castle

    Here are just six of the ghostly phenomena reported to have been experienced at the castle…

    Ghostly children
    Some visitors have claimed to have heard the sound of children playing when there have been none around. People entering the Toy Room have also said they’ve felt their clothes and hair being tugged as though by a mischievous child, while two Victorian girls have also reportedly been seen standing looking out onto the courtyard below.

    The blue lady
    There have been several sightings of the ghost of a woman wearing a flowing dark blue dress wandering around the castle’s Sculpture Gallery. She has been seen walking through a wall that was once a doorway into the adjoining corridor before slowly disappearing.

    Disembodied legs
    Not all of the castle’s ghostly inhabitants come as fully formed figures. A security guard doing his rounds one night claims to have seen a pair of disembodied legs as he opened a door leading from the Entrance Hall to the Watts Hall. The apparition wore black shoes with gold buckles and a pair of white stockings but having vanished just as quickly as it appeared this is all that is known of this particular paranormal visitor to the castle.

    The Soldier
    Seen in one of the castle’s galleries, the ghost of a soldier is also said to haunt the property. Based on the soldier’s uniform, this reported spectre is believed to have been part of the armed forces during the First World War when the property was used as a recuperation hospital for wounded military personnel.

    The Victorian lady
    The Sculpture Gallery seems to be a favourite spot for female phantoms, as another Victorian lady is also said to appear there. Manifesting as a two-dimensional image in a sepia tone, this apparition is also said to wear a long dark dress and disappears in a similar area to the blue lady.

    The Cellar Man
    While most of the paranormal beings at the castle seem happy to go about their ghostly business without disturbing the castle’s current staff and visitors, there is one more mischievous spirit, known as the Cellar Man, who is said to lurk in the labyrinthine basement of the property. Female members of staff are particularly weary of entering this area, which is also the oldest part of the castle, as the apparition is said to pinch and pull the hair of unsuspecting women.

    Bodelwyddan Castle, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire LL18 5YA. Tel: 01745 584 060 . www.bodelwyddan-castle.co.uk

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