Welcome back everyone, today were going to Wales - a country which I have many happy
childhood memories in.
Through all my visits though, I had no idea there were so many creepy stories.
Its a country steeped in history, mountains, castles and an air of mystery - the perfect
recipe for some creepy stories.
My name is Danny Burke and this is the Top 10 Scary Welsh Urban Legends …
Starting off at number 10 we have The Grim Prophecy[a].
In the village of Llangernyw stands the church of St Digain.
There, in the churchyard, lies a Yew tree thats said to be over 4000 years old.
Its life began around the time Stonehenge was completed - thats how old it is.
Within its old and twisted trunks, locals say a supernatural being lives called Agelystor.
According to legend, on Halloween every year, this being emerges to make grim prophecies
to those who will hear it.
In an ancient Welsh language, he slowly lists the names of the townsfolk who will die in
the coming year.
Theres a cautionary tale of why people should never scoff at this list.
Years ago, there was a local tailor in the town called Sio ap Robert.
In the pub one night, he told his friend he thought the list was nonsense and poured scorn
upon Agelystor.
His friends challenged him to go to the tree and prove his words.
He slammed his empty glass down and marched to the tree where he heard a deep voice reciting
the names of the soon to be dead.
Then, he heard his own.
In a panic he begged Angelyster to stop, telling him he wasnt ready to go yet - but sure enough,
within a year he was dead.
Now, many believe that a person will find their name on the list if they don't take
the story seriously …
Moving on now to number 9 we have The Hanging Judge[b].
Judge Jeffreys was a Welsh judge born in Wrexham who took charge of the Blood Assizes in the
17th century.
The gruesome trials involved thousands of people suspected of treason being burned alive
at the stake, hanged and beheaded.
Some still say he has the blood of many innocent people on his hands - and that these crimes
have left him tied to this Earth, unable to move on after his death.
In recent times, his story had become somewhat forgotten - but then, in December 2014 - a
British ghost hunter called Ian Alderton shared this picture taken in the Illchester Arms
in London.
He says it shows the ghoulish figure of Judge Jeggreys, still wearing his old powdered wig
- and staring right at the camera.
The Illchester Arms was known to be one of the Judges favourite places to drink.
The owner had allowed Ian to investigate the pub for ghosts after she kept hearing voices
in her bedroom upstairs.
- Mr Alderton said that she was so disturbed by the noises that at one point she hid under
her covers at which point she heard an old fashioned male voice say -Oy, you- … lets
hope she wasnt next in line for one of the Judges trials …
Next up at number 8 we have the Afanc[c].
In Welsh mythology, this lake monster was one of the most fearsome ever described.
Its depictions vary - some say it looked like a giant crocodile, a beaver or even a dwarf
like creature.
One thing they all agree on though is that the Afanc is a demon.
The Afanc was said to attack and devour anyone who crossed its path.
There are many tales of individual encounters with the beast but one of the most notable
ones was put forth by folklore writer Edward Williams.
This legend says that many years ago, a large Afanc thrashed its body in its lake so much
that it drowned all the people of Britain except for two people who went on to be the
descendants of everyone in Britain.
Coming from Britain myself, hearing this feels like quite a close call.
Moving on to number 7 now we have Cadair Idris[d].
Its one of Snowdonias most picturesque mountains.
In ancient times, they say this was the throne of a mythical giant.
The area is steeped in legend.
One story says that the lake by the mountain is bottomless and home to a welsh water dragon
that once terrorised the people who lives there.
King Arthur himself is said to have been the one who banished it to the bottomless waters,
but not before dragging it up to the top of the mountain.
Perhaps the most creepy legend to survive over the centuries is the belief that you
should never sleep on the mountainside.
They say if you do that, you will wake up as one of 3 things - either youll go mad,
youll be a talented poet, or youll never wake up again.
I think even poets would fancy the odds on that …
Moving on to number 6 we have Sker House[e].
The ghosts of Sker house are legendary in its corner of Wales.
For 800 years, its seen so much violence and bloodshed that locals believe every inch of
the place is haunted.
One of the most famous stories revolves around a woman who lived there years ago called Elizabeth
Williams.
She planned to run away with her lover, a young carpenter and harpist called Thomas
Evans of whom her Father did not approve of.
On the night of their getaway, they hired a coach and horses to help them escape.
When the coach arrived though, Williams dogs barked so furiously it woke the whole house.
Evan panicked and ran, leaving Elizabeth to face her Fathers wrath.
He locked her up in a room with blocked up windows and forced her to marry someone else
against her will, eventually dying of a broken heart 9 years later.
They say her spirit still haunts Sker house and is felt particularly strongly in the room
she was kept prisoner.
In 2002, its said that a film crew tried to film there during restoration work.
A high pitched noise emanated from the Great Hall and despite all efforts to trace the
source, none could be found.
A medium told them they had disturbed something evil - unable to work with the noise, they
packed and left as quickly as they could …
At the number 5 spot we have Canter Gwaelod[f].
This is the name of a legendary lost kingdom said to lie below the sea in Cardigan Bay.
The story goes that the land was extremely fertile but depended on steep embankments
to keep the sea at bay.
Special gates were periodically opened for agricultural purposes.
The King had left control of the gates to a local man who was always very trustworthy.
One night though, he had too much to drink and stumbled to his bed without closing the
flood gates.
When high tide came, the water poured in - in just a few hours the entire Kingdom was swallowed
by the sea - taking the many thousands who live there with it …
Next up at number 4 we have Devils Bridge[g].
Ceredigion is a Welsh county thats known as a hub of Welsh culture, attracting many tourists
to its scenic towns, castle and beaches.
However, in the 11th century, they say it attracted one visitor that nobody wants - the
devil himself.
The story goes that he went there after hearing about the stunning scenery and wanted to see
it for himself.
Down by the river, he saw a woman whos cow was stranded on the other side of the water.
He decided to help her - but for a price.
He told the woman that hed build a bridge for her in exchange for the soul of the first
living that crossed it.
He thought shed have to cross the bridge first, but when it was built, she threw a loaf of
bread over the bridge and her dog chased it.
He was so humiliated that he had been outsmarted, he left that very moment - not even stopping
to take the dogs soul.
These days, the towns people say the Devil has been too ashamed to return to Ceredigion
ever since then - but his bridge still remains …
Next up at number 3 we have The Traditional Dress Ghost[h].
In January 2012.
Paul Feehan took a trip to Abersoch in Wales.
He and his friend took some film while resting on a bench by a lake area.
It wasnt until they watched the video back that they saw something that didnt seem quite
right.
They discovered that there had been a dark figure standing just a few metres behind them
the whole time.
The figure barely moves during the whole video.
This shocked paul as he was certain there was nobody else around at that time.
After doing some research, he was surprised to see that the figures appearance seemed
to match up eerily well with that of a woman in Welsh traditional folk dress.
As you can see from these pictures, if that really was a person - they would be very close,
close enough for them to easily spot.
This has led some people to believe that its the long dead spirit of a Welsh woman, still
wearing the clothes from her long gone era …
Moving on to number 2 we have Merlins Oak[i].
According to legend, Merlins Oak stood in the centre of Carmarthen - thats Merlin as
in THE Merlin, one of the most famous wizards of all time.
Locals say that Merlin told them that Carmarthen would drown if the Oak was ever removed.
With this curse, they say that a strange pointed notch appeared in the trunk of the tree that
looked like the face of Merlin himself.
For centuries, the locals remembered Merlins words.
Then, in the 1850s, it was poisoned by a local who objected to people holding meetings beneath
it but its trunk was preserved with iron railings.
Finally, in the 1970s, it was removed when someone set it on fire.
Then, Carmarthen suffered its worst floods in many years - some say the legend held up
and that Merlin fulfilled his promise to drown the place if his Oak was ever removed …
And finally at number 1 we have Llandaffs Ghosts[j].
Some ghost hunters travel long ways just to experience a single ghost - well, Llandaff
has not one, not two, three or four but 5 famous ghost stories - and they all date back
to roughly the same time.
The first is the story of a young boy who wore blue and drowned while playing on the
banks of the river Taff.
He is also said to be joined by the ghost of his mother, with onlookers reporting theyve
seen the figure of a lady wading through the river late at night.
They say she is forever looking for her son and trying to save him from the water.
Another ghost is that of Bella, a woman who committed suicide in the area over 100 years
ago - shes regularly seen along the Taff trail in the woods.
The spirit of another suicide victim, this time a man, is also said to haunt the graveyard
there.
He has been known to give people a sharp poke while on the ghost tour and follow them as
they are guided through the area …
So weve done Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, I think its only Northern Ireland left now
in this corner of the world?
Lets go somewhere completely different perhaps for our next one?
Let me know, thanks for watching as always guys my name is Danny Burke and Ill see you
all in the next video!