Well you join me on Sker Point as I walk across the dunes
towards the old village of Kenfig. On a sunny summer's afternoon this
rugged windswept area has a natural beauty but on a cold
autumn night as you walk alone and the sights the
sounds of the 21st century fade into the background
it's easy to imagine yourself back in those dark medieval days
when life was influenced by superstitions and folklore.
And over there that's Sker House the most infamous
haunted house in the area. Let me tell you more about that.
It's said that Sker House is haunted by two ghosts
one being Elizabeth Williams whose father locked her in a room to stop her
running away with her lover and she died of a broken heart. A spectre
has been seen in the window and roaming the grounds and the second.
The second, a more sinister ghost is of a sea
captain whose ship went aground on the unforgiving black rocks of Sker Point.
His ship probably lured onto the rocks by local wreckers.
Wrecking was a sinister practice which took place during heavy storms
the wreckers would deliberately lure ships to the doom
the lights pretending to be other ships safely at anchor.
There's a story of a merchant ship from Portugal being wrecked on the point
in 1753 the group behind the wreck was said to be led by Isaac Williams the
former owner of Sker House and the father of the tragic
Maid of Sker
The wreckers descended on the ship like vultures.
They plundered its cargo and stole from the still warm bodies of the dead
sailors
So as the sun goes down we're going to continue a walk
across the dunes towards old Kenfig and as we do so listen to the sounds
of the Cyhyraeth, these are spine chilling banshee-like wails
that are said to be heard before a shipwreck
or some other impending doom
it's also said that if you ever catch sight
of these evil creatures with their corpse like appearance
and sharp teeth then death would follow you
or someone very close to you.
And another premonition of death is the appearance
of eerie hovering lights lights known as the corpse candles
sometimes a skeleton or even the features
of the person who would shortly die the lights have also been seen tracing
the exact route of the victim's funeral procession.
My last stop of the day before I do actually, walk across the dunes
is Sker Point as the sun goes down
the sight of many shipping disasters and deaths.
Personally, I don't believe in ghosts I think it's a lot of rubbish.
But saying that now I have to walk across the dunes in the dark so
wish me luck.