In the house of Aberglasney with Catherine Cavendish
Haunted and Historic – the house and grounds of Aberglasney by Catherine Cavendish
Catherine Cavendish-– Many stories abound of haunted houses of all kinds – from ordinary terraced dwellings in unremarkable streets through to grand mansions and palaces. I have written about quite a few of them myself.
Catherine Cavendish –Yet there is often far more to these magnificent locations than purely bricks and mortar. They are frequently set in exquisitely landscaped gardens fashioned by such luminaries as Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Gertrude Jekyll. And some have developed their own personality, their own character –
and their own legends and ghost stories.
Such a mix of beauty
– and darkness –
can be found at the historic Aberglasney House and Gardens in Llangathen near Carmarthen in Wales.
The house itself is positioned at the grand end of the scale and the area it stands in has known some gruesome battles, including one particularly bloody conflict in 1257. Even the surrounding fields have names which hark back to their violent past – Ca Tranc (Field of Vengeance) and Cae’r Ochain (Groaning Field).
It is believed that a certain Bishop Rudd acquired the estate of Aberglasney in around 1600, during the final years of the reign of Elizabeth I. For the next 110 y ears, the house stayed in his family before being sold to the Dyer family in 1710, followed by another sale in 1798. This pattern continued until troops occupied it during World War II. Ten years after the war ended, the estate was split up and the house and home farm were bought by a local man called David Charles. Sadly he couldn’t maintain the building and the place was left to fall into decay and dereliction.
Then, it was bought in 1995 and is being fully restored to its former glory by the Aberglasney Restoration Trust. As far as the house’s ghosts are concerned, life appears to have gone on largely ignored by them. They had other agendas and there are reputed to be between 90 and 130 spectral beings.
In the 1630s, the first of a series of reports of ghostly happenings tells of a maid who saw five candles floating around, apparently of their own accord, in a newly plastered ‘blue room’. The next day, five maidservants were found dead in their beds. A stove left burning to dry the plaster had asphyxiated them while they slept.
To this day, this is one of the most active rooms in the house as far as ghostly sightings and experiences are concerned. Visitors have been touched, felt someone brushing past them and have generally been spooked by their time in that place. In the 1930s, a worker, clearing ivy from the window of that room almost fell off his ladder. He swore he saw five girls in old fashioned dress peering out at him. The house was empty and derelict at the time. Could it be that the ghosts of the five dead maidservants had made an appearance?
An East India Company surgeon, Thomas Phillips, who owned the house in 1803, has appeared to gardeners, servants and tradespeople over the years and has become more active recently when tour guides have heard his ghostly footsteps.
Another ghostly encounter has been with a young servant girl who stands in the corner of the basement, apparently cooking.
With ongoing restoration work, it seems the ghosts of Aberglasney have much to occupy them.
So, there is plenty to interest the ghost hunter inside the house, but what of outside?
Catherine Cavendish– And then we come to Pigeon House Wood,
at the rear of the building. It too is beautifully designed. Planted with deciduous trees, it offers a peaceful walk. But as visitors descend the earthen path, some have experienced an increasing sense of unease which intensifies until at the edge of the wood, it morphs into sudden fear and an icy coldness. So often was this reported that a reputable medium was consulted in 1999. She reported that a fugitive, on the run, had been chased through this wood and was shot, right at the point where those affected by the phenomenon had felt it most. Evidently meeting such a violent and sudden end released his emotions which were absorbed by the earth around him.
The landscape holds many secrets in my latest novel…
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‘Fear her now, fear the queen,
As in her stone she reigns supreme…’
When Jonathan agrees to accompany his girlfriend, Nadia, on a trip to Landane, he imagines a short relaxing break in the countryside. But he quickly discovers that Nadia isn’t just drawn to the ancient Neolithic stone circle, she is obsessed by the megaliths. One in particular. Within hours, her personality begins to change and it isn’t long before Jonathan starts to fear for her sanity.
Reaching far back into the past and up to the present day, those same stones have demonstrated powers beyond reason and, as Jonathan’s girlfriend becomes increasingly distant from reality, some of the ghosts of the past begin to reappear. Now it isn’t only Nadia who is in danger.
What is the secret of the prehistoric standing stones of Landane? What lies within them? And why does an ancient piece of folklore ring so true?
Publishing on January 14th, 2025
and/or wherever you shop for books
About The Author
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Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is the author of a number of supernatural, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories.
Her novels include: The Stones of Landane, Those Who Dwell in Mordenhyrst Hall, The After-Death of Caroline Rand, Nemesis of the Gods Trilogy, Dark Observation, In Darkness, Shadows Breathe, The Garden of Bewitchment. The Haunting of Henderson Close, The Devil’s Serenade, The Pendle Curse and Saving Grace Devine.
The Crow Witch and Other Conjurings is a collection of her previously published and brand-new short stories.
Her novellas include: The Darkest Veil, Linden Manor, Cold Revenge, Miss Abigail’s Room, The Demons of Cambian Street, Dark Avenging Angel, The Devil Inside Her, and The Second Wife
She lives by the sea in Southport, England with her long-suffering husband, and a black cat called Serafina who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue.
You can connect with Cat here:
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Images:
Flame Tree Press
Shutterstock
You can find out more about the glorious Aberglasney estate here
