The Haunted Doll's House and other ghostly tales from Gwent

The Haunted Doll’s House

 

When the Toy Museum at Abergavenny opened in 1992 it had a very special exhibit, a haunted doll’s house.
Built in Germany during the 1880’s the doll’s house was bought by a Welsh family in about 1910 while they were living in the United States where the father was working. When the first world war broke out the mother and her two children returned home to Wales and the father was supposed to follow a few months later.

One day the little girl told her mother that she had seen her father waving to her through the windows of the doll's house. The Mother laughed and thought it was just the child’s imagination. Then the terrible news came that the father had been killed while returning home. His ship had been torpedoed by a German U boat.


More tragedy followed when the mother and her children were killed in a fire. Miraculously the doll’s house survived.

Soon afterwards the new owners claimed to have seen two children waving from the windows of the dolls house. Since that time many people have claimed to see strange things through the doll’s house windows!

The toy museum has since closed. I wonder what happened to that doll's house.......

The Black Dog of Garndiffaith

When coal was still mined in Garndiffaith a ghostly black dog would sometimes appear to miners on their way to work. The wise man would turn around and go back home to safety, but if he was foolish enough to carry on to the mine an accident was sure to befall him.

If he was lucky and did not look into the dog’s eyes the miner might escape with his life but for those poor souls who met the creature’s gaze, death would surely follow.

The Pool of Avarice

There is a deep dark pool in the hills above Cwmbran called the Pool of Avarice where on dark stormy nights the voices of the dead can be heard crying in torment.

Long ago, a large house stood near this pool. The people who lived in the house were arrogant and puffed up with their own self importance. One stormy night they threw a lavish meal to impress their friends. A poor cousin, hearing about the wonderful feast called at the house to ask for some food for his family. He was turned away with nothing but angry words because the family were embarrassed to have such a poor relation.

Not long afterwards the storm grew fiercer and fiercer. The rain was so torrential that part of Twmbarlwm Mountain was washed down in a terrible landslide that engulfed the house. There were no survivors and it is said that this was a punishment for their greed and selfishness. 

Roman Footsteps

If you visit the Roman remains at Caerleon do not be surprised if you hear ghostly footsteps. The Second Augustan Legion of Roman soldiers can still be heard marching from time to time, particularly in the vicinity of the Amphitheatre.

The Blood Red Carpet

Tredegar House in Newport is believed to have a number of ghostly occupants including a nun wearing a grey habit, a young girl who died in 1726 and a lad called Roderick whose presence is accompanied by the smell of fuchsias.

Most bizarre of all though is the legend of the blood red carpet. On every Friday the thirteenth it is said that a carpet within the house is stained a deep blood red. Then the stain vanishes leaving no trace.

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If these stories have wet your appetite why not check out our supernatural and local history books for more ghostly goings on.