If you’re going to pay a visit to Pembrokeshire this summer, then think well before venturing out after the hours of darkness as you may well encounter one of the county’s many ghosts and ghouls.

Stories of strange spirits and tales of blood and gore have long haunted Pembrokeshire from the  mystery of Carew Castle’s vanishing Barbary ape, to the cursed pirate of Tenby…

Roads, and particularly crossroads, are a common theme in Welsh ghost stories. The may reported sightings of the Waterston Lady is a classic example and said to be Pembrokeshire’s most prolific ghost sighting.

For decades, an old woman in a ragged dress emitting an eerie blue glow has been said to walk along Waterston Road between Llanstadwell and Waterston. She is sometimes seen holding a bundle of rags, most commonly between the hours of 10 pm and midnight on Saturdays. A ghostly horse and carriage has also been spotted on the same road, further west towards Blackbridge.

In recent years the well used A4076 which connects Milford Haven to Haverfordwest has also been cited as the most haunted road in Wales, with motorists reporting strange sightings of figures running in front of their cars before vanishing mysteriously

Haunted castles

The impressive Norman castle at Manorbier cannot fail to impress as it dominates the coast and overlooks the beach. The castle is the birthplace of Gerald of Wales (1146-1223), whose ghost is said to occupy his former home.

Over the years the dramatic has inspired literary greats like Virginia Woolf whose first novel, The Voyage Out, was conceived at Manorbier Castle in 1908. George Bernard Shaw often stayed here when writing his plays, and Siegfried Sassoon penned his poem about Manorbier in 1924 when he holidayed nearby with his friends the de la Mares.

There are thought to be several ghosts haunting Carew Castle from a Celtic warrior who said to haunt the undercroft to the ghost of a kitchen boy who may be responsible for the clanking sounds of pots and pans heard coming from the kitchen.

Probably the most frequently reported ghosts are that of a ‘white lady’ who has been witnessed drifting from room to room and that of a Barbary ape.

The kindly white lady is thought the be the spirit of Princess Nest said to have been the most beautiful woman in Wales, who still welcomes visitors to her castle just as she would have done 900 years ago.

The daughter of Rhys ap Tewder, the king of Deheubarth, Nest spent some time in the court of Henry I in London around the end of the 11th century and in true ghost story style, soon found herself pregnant with the King’s child. It is said that to avoid embarrassment within his court, Henry arranged that Nest would marry a Norman knight, Gerald de Windsor, Constable of Pembroke Castle something which did not go down well with the Princess.

This did not please Nest as she had never met Gerald and while Gerald was a bold, handsome knight who was well respected by all who knew him, he was less than happy with the match as he was mourning the death of his mistress.

Despite their misgiving the couple married and grew to love each other dearly. As part of her marriage dowry, Nest had some land at Carew and here they built a castle of earth and wooden stakes in which to bring up their family of at least five children.

Nest had many admirers, including her cousin Owain, who met her at a banquet. He was so overcome by her beauty that he laid siege to the castle in order to capture her. Gerald escaped through the sewers with the children, but Nest was taken hostage and was held ‘prisoner’ at Cilgerran Castle for six years bearing Owain at least two children during this time.

Eventually Gerald rescued Nest and killed Owain in battle, but sadly, Gerald died a year later. Princess Nest then married Stephen, castellan of Cardigan Castle giving birth to his son just a year later.

Nest died soon afterwards but it is at Carew, her true home, that her spirit can be seen walking the grounds of the Castle on a still night.

The slightly less kindly ghost of the castle’s famed Barbary ape is said to return on dark, stormy nights to the castle where it made its home after being rescued from a wrecked Spanish galleon, by Sir Rowland Rees, who is believed to be a tenant of the castle in the 17th century.

It is said he was able to train his devoted pet to respond to his every wish with a series of whistles, a relationship which went well until Sir Rowland’s ran off with the daughter of a local merchant.

On the fateful night of the elopement as the wind screamed around the castle and the rain lashed at the windows the girl’s father, a merchant by the name of Horwitz, demanded admittance, distressed and upset that his daughter had run away and keen to lay the blame at Sir Rowland’s son.

A fierce argument  ensued and a furious Sir Rowland released his ape from its chains and ordered it to kill Horowitz. The merchant fought off the ape and, although badly injured, managed to drag himself from the room.

Horowitz cursed Sir Rowland with an evil fate and, as he cursed, great piercing screams were heard from the tower room. The servants, who were terrified of their master, were unwilling to venture into the tower to find out what had happened.

At first light the following morning they summoned up the courage to enter the silent room. There, lying in a pool of blood was the body of Sir Rowland, but of the ape there was no sign.

Legend has it that the ghost of the ape returns to the castle on dark, stormy nights where he has been seen and heard by passers-by. Why does the ape return? Nobody knows…

The legend of Catherine’s Island

Visitors to Tenby will be familiar with St Catherine’s Island, the crag of rock at the eastern end of South Beach, its dramatic outline topped by a massive Victorian fort. Very few people know the ancient legend of the lonely soul who once lived there long before the building of the fort.

The story dates back to the early days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when the town was hit by a violent summer storm which forced the Tenby fishing boats back to safe harbour

Their families had gathered on Castle Hill, watching for their safe return and as the boats were counted in one by one, the watchers noticed that, far out across the bay, another, the larger ship was struggling to reach shelter. Nobody recognised it as a local vessel, but it was noticeable that strange lights played across its decks and ghostly shapes seemed to be clinging to the rigging and the masts.

There was no one at the helm of the strange ship, but something or someone seemed to be guiding it into the sands near St Catherine’s Island. As the horrified townspeople watched, the ship grounded  and those on Castle Hill rushed down to the beach to offer what help they could to the shipwrecked mariners… only to find no trace of either ship nor crew

Terrified, they fled back to their homes with the sound of anguished screams ringing in their ears.

By morning, the storm had died down and while there was still no sign on the wreck they did find a man wearing strange clothes, lying in a deep sleep near the top of the beach.

He was taken into the nearest house where he was nursed back to health, but would share little of his history. Slowly he began to reveal his story, saying that he had been a pirate operating around the coast of Wales until he had jealously murdered the person who loved him the most, and been condemned to a life at sea, haunted by the spirits of the sailors he had slain.

The stranger told his rescuers that  he was tormented by sea maidens, who rose from the waves with messages from his dead lover, assuring him that she was now happy and wanted him to join her. As he related this story, he suddenly sprang to his feet, shouting, “I come, I come. Let me be with her, let me be at rest.” Before he could be stopped the stranger leapt from the cliffs of St Catherine’s Island and was drowned in the waves below.