The Paranormal Database

Black Monk

Location: Caldey Island - Priory and all over Island
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1920s, though no sightings since 1929
Further Comments: Standing taller than six foot, the monk dressed in black was said to rise from the graveyard at the old priory before drifting off. Though reported on the land immediately around the priory, some islanders encountered him further away, in their homes or on the roads. The ghosts of a white lady and of a madman were also said to haunt the island at some point in the dim and distant past.

Three Men

Location: Carmarthen - A40 between Carmarthen and Llangathen
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Summer, 1981
Further Comments: A heavy goods vehicle driver spotted a parked pickup truck and three men standing on the side of the road ahead of him. Moments before he was now about to pass them, one of the men was pushed onto the road, falling under the cab. There was no bump or sound, and as the truck driver gazed in his rear view mirror, truck and men had vanished.

Misty Shape

Location: Carmarthen - Book shop, Trinity College
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: November 1994
Further Comments: A staff member who spotted a humanlike mist at the bookshop at opening time had to be calmed by a chaplain.

Merlin's Prison

Location: Carmarthen - Bryn Myrddin (Merlin's Hill)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A legend says that the great wizard Merlin was caught by a woman (possibly Nimue) and is kept as a prisoner under this hill to this day. He can be heard working in his cell late at night. At least one legend names Carmarthen as Merlin's birthplace.

An old photograph of Carmarthen, Wales.

Merlin's Oak

Location: Carmarthen - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old prophecy, reportedly spoken by Merlin, states that one day the entire town will sink beneath the ground when a sacred tree falls. The tree in question, known as Merlin's Oak, was dug up from its location on the corner of Oak Lane and Priory Street and placed in the Civic Hall in 1978.

Figures

Location: Carmarthen - Lyric Theatre, King Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s onwards?
Further Comments: Several figures, both male and female, are reported to haunt this building. One former member of staff claimed that the phantoms have been making themselves known since the 1940s, while in 1996 a tall man in a suit was spotted in the projection room.

Man in Dark Suit

Location: Carmarthen - Porthyrhyd, between Cross Hands and Carmarthen
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 28 October 2020
Further Comments: A person walking their dog spotted a man in a dark suit and top hat walking a few metres ahead. The man vanished. The witness noticed their dog had not barked, which it would have normally have done at a stranger.

Fiery Water Horse

Location: Carmarthen - River Towy
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The water horse which would wait by the banks of the Towy had balls of fire for eyes, and breath of a furnace.

White Boy

Location: Carmarthen - Unidentified road passing an old paper mill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: A man walking into the town spotted a white clad figure, the size of a twelve year old boy, standing by the roadside. As he approached the figure, it moved across a field before promptly vanishing. The man was able to walk home before collapsing through shock.

Grey Water Horse

Location: Carmarthen Bay - Shore line
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This water horse waits on the shores of the bay for a gullible person to approach. One man took the horse and used the creature to drive his cart. Shortly after, the horse dragged man and cart into the sea where they were never seen again.

Sleeping Owain

Location: Carreg Cennen - Owain Llawgoch's Cave
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Regional hero Owain and fifty one other men lay sleeping somewhere in this cave system. When they awaken, peace shall fall all over the Earth.

A cockatrice.

Multi-eyed Cockatrice

Location: Castle Gwys - Exact area not known
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The body of this cockatrice was covered with eyes, and it was said that the estates of Winston belonged to anyone who could see the creature before it could see them. One man managed to win the lands by hiding in a barrel which rolled into the monster's lair.

Wood engraving of a merman by the sea.

Teenager

Location: Castlemartin - Off the coast in the area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1782
Further Comments: Henry Reynolds spotted a merman off the coast which he initially believed to be a pale skinned teenager before noticing its brown tail which waved about. While the body and arms looked human, the arms and hands looked too short and thick, while the creature's nose was long and sharp. Reynolds went to find other witnesses, but by the time he returned, the merman had gone.

Long Light

Location: Cors Caron (aka Tregaron Bog) - Area around the old railway line
Type: Other
Date / Time: Circa 1980s?
Further Comments: A woman and man walking through the area at night watched a long light moving along the top of the marshy land. The man ran back to their car to grab a camera but while there the woman watched the light break into smaller glowing parts which moved in different directions before fading away.

Dancing Sheppard

Location: Crymch - Freni-Fawr mountain
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A youth tending to his sheep was convinced to dance by a small group of fairies - when he did, he was transported to fairyland, but returned to the mountain once he stopped his jig.

Tiny Soldiers

Location: Crymych - Frenni Fawr (mountain)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A young shepherd spotted small, uniformed fairies dancing to a harp on the mountainside. He joined them and was instantly transported to fairyland. He was told he could eat or drink anything, but not to touch the water in a certain well. As expected, the shepherd did so, and was instantly teleported back to the mountain.

Fairy Circle

Location: Cwm (Carmarthenshire) - Unknown meadow in the area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown, likely pre-nineteenth century
Further Comments: A child was warned to stay away from a meadow containing three rings made with grass that looked like 'weaved around the edges', as fairies had created them. Anyone foolish enough to enter the rings could never escape.

Winged Snake

Location: Cwmamman - Colliery
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 19 June 1852
Further Comments: A three-foot (ninety centimetre) long winged snake was spotted by men leaving a colliery. It disappeared into a pile of coal and could not be found.

The Devil, from Benjamin Christensen's Hexan.

Cheated Devil

Location: Devil's Bridge - Lowest of the three bridges
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This bridge was built by Old Nick by the request of an old woman who needed to cross the water to reach her livestock. In return for his work, the Devil demanded the soul of the first living creature to walk over it. The old woman was not prepared to lose her own soul and sent her dog over the bridge first; the Devil left angry and empty handed.

White Monster

Location: Felinfach - Private residence, Bro Henllys
Type: Other
Date / Time: 03 June 1955, 02:15h
Further Comments: A large white object with a tentacle which awoke a couple from their sleep made its escape through the bedroom window. A sketch made of the entity apparently resembled an octopus with a black spot. Strange sounds had been heard throughout the house in the months leading up to the encounter, including knocks on doors and windows, and breaking glass.

Lost Village

Location: Ferryside - Estuary
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An ancient village is submerged under these waters, and sometimes the toiling of the old church bell can be heard from within the estuary.

Bluebells

Location: Fishguard - Wintern Day Centre
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa May 2010
Further Comments: The Sun newspaper reported that staff at this site refused to work after dark, having experienced poltergeist activity such as unplugged printers printing and furniture moving. The smell of bluebells was also reported. One story said that two maids had committed suicide in the attic during spring, at the time local bluebells bloomed...

Laughing Children

Location: Garnant - Trecynllatch Farm, Llandeilo Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The Carmarthen Journal reported that Leyigh and Anthony Vobe, owners of the farm, had encountered figures walking up and down the stairs, and had heard children laughing and people talking when no one else was around. It is believed the criminals were once hanged in the area.

Woman in the Water

Location: Hafod Uchtryd, aka Hafod Estate - Waterfall on the estate
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 20 October 2018
Further Comments: Dave Newnham, the estate manager, spotted a woman standing in the waterfall. He realised that the figure was not a physical being and managed to take a photograph before the figure merged with the water. The photograph does show what appears to be the legs and torso of a blurred figure standing in the water.

Black Panther

Location: Haverfordwest - Road just outside the town
Type: ABC
Date / Time: March 2005
Further Comments: Witness Dixie Tilley was cycling near the town when he saw what looked like a black panther. Dixie said the creature disappeared under a fence when he cycled within thirty metres of its location.