The Paranormal Database

Bully Dean

Location: Cardiff - Herbert House (demolished 1958) and Greyfriars
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1754
Further Comments: This house and surrounding area was haunted by a terrifying figure known as the Bully Dean, though little more is known.

Wallaby?

Location: Cardiff - Lisvane and Llanishen areas
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: October 2004, March 2013,
Further Comments: In both 2004 and 2013, wallaby flaps in the Cardiff suburbs were said to have been caused by an injured fox with mange, evidenced by photographs taken by witnesses.

Nurse

Location: Cardiff - Llandough Hospital
Type: Manifestation of the Living
Date / Time: Manifestation of the living unknown, nurse in uniform December 2002
Further Comments: A member of the nursing staff told her friend that she had seen her own dead body lying on a bed - a week later she died of typhoid fever, her body placed in the location revealed in the vision. It is not clear whether the nurse who experienced this continued to haunt the hospital, but in 2002 a pregnant woman awoke in the hospital and found a nurse at the end of her bed. The nurse told her that everything would be okay and walked out. The woman then realised the nurse was wearing an old fashioned uniform with a Victorian nursing hat.

Victorian

Location: Cardiff - Millennium Centre
Type: Other
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The ghost of a Victorian lady which appeared on a Google street view image was later found to be a cast member from the centre.

National Museum Cardiff, Wales.

Dunbar Smith

Location: Cardiff - National Museum
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Smith unknown, Lord Ninian on election night (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Dunbar Smith designed the museum, and after he died the building became home to his ashes. The ashes were moved from their location to make way for a new public toilet during the 1960s, after which Dunbar was said to have returned, complaining about his post-mortem treatment. Another ghost, that of Member of Parliament Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart, killed in action during the First World War, is said to become particularly active on election night.

New Theatre, Cardiff.

Older Woman

Location: Cardiff - New Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An older woman is reputed to haunt this theatre. Her ghost manifests in one of the boxes where she is said to have either dropped dead in or fallen from (depending on the version of the story you are told). Staff and visitors have also reported cold spots and the sensation of being watched.

Stamping Feet

Location: Cardiff - Private residence, King's Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1905 - June 1906
Further Comments: The family living here would be woken around midnight by the sound of stamping feet in the hallway and on the staircase. One of the occupants refused to believe the sounds had a paranormal origin, although was not able to find the source of the noise.

Limbs

Location: Cardiff - Private residence, Marcross Road, Ely
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2011-2014
Further Comments: The home of Lisa Way appeared in the local press after she exchanged her residence with a family member after seeing faces at the windows and disembodied limbs. After three years and a failed exorcism, Way and her cousin changed homes.

Woman in White

Location: Cardiff - Private residence, Montgomery Street, Roath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1897
Further Comments: A family moved out of their home after being plagued at night by phantom knocking. Footsteps were heard crossing the roof of the stables, a strange shadow spotted on a wall, and one of the family's sons encountered a woman in white who glided silently across the ground before vanishing into a wall.

Torn Clothes

Location: Cardiff - Private residence, Seymour Street
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa April-June 1906
Further Comments: One visitor staying with friends found her clothing torn while ornaments were pushed around. A police officer watched three carpets roll themselves up before being moved unaided, while another officer observed an unseen hand take a teapot and place it on the floor. One of the family's children were blamed for the disturbance, although it did not explain what the police officers had witnessed.

Queen Street, Cardiff.

Grey Lady

Location: Cardiff - Queen Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom grey lady is said to walk along Queen Street. Once she reaches the bridge, the woman turns and waves towards Cardiff castle before vanishing. It has been speculated that the woman signals to someone in the castle tower, but who she was, and the identity of the person she waves to, is unknown.

River Taff, Cardiff.

Whirlpool

Location: Cardiff - River Taff
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A water monster was once thought to live in this river. A whirlpool would be seen to form as the monster consumed drowned bodies.

River Taff, Cardiff.

Grieving Woman

Location: Cardiff - River Taff near Cloisters Hall, Llandaff
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1860s?
Further Comments: This female phantom is stricken with grief from the death of her son in the river. The ghost is said to sometimes drift up and down the banks of the river looking for her son's body. The river area is also home to Bella, another female ghost who is said to have committed suicide after her husband's method of running his tavern drove her slightly mad.

Rummer Tavern, Cardiff.

Jealous Sailor

Location: Cardiff - Rummer Tavern
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s
Further Comments: The sailor that haunts this public house died shortly after finding his wife in bed with her secret lover. He is reputed to have a fondness of the cellar and the toilets.

Whispering

Location: Cardiff - St John's Gardens
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twenty-first century
Further Comments: Part of a former graveyard, the gardens are reputedly home to whispers and fleeting shadows.

Sitting Figure

Location: Cardiff - Stone cross near the church, St Mellons
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: A ghostly figure was said to sit on the cross.

Victorian girl

Location: Cardiff - The Corporation public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Victorian girl is said to haunt the third floor of this public house, with another female spirit reputedly active around the pool tables.

Black Dog

Location: Cold Knap - Beach, between cave and mini golf course
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: February 1997, 23:00 (approximately) and September 2013 around midnight
Further Comments: This witness, who would often sit on the pebbles with their two dogs, watched another dog, black in colour, move silently across the beach some fifty metres away. The witness's curiosity was raised by the fact that despite the rocks and stones underfoot, the hound moved smoothly, and their own dogs remained oblivious to the strange canine. Sixteen years later the same witness reported their second paranormal event on the beach - a nebulous black cloud which formed around their feet. After tolerating the cloud for several minutes, the witness left the area.

Screaming

Location: Colwinston - Pwyllywrach Manor
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: August, first Monday of the month (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Cries and screams can be heard from a man torn into small pieces by hell hounds. The echoes can be heard once a year.

Fat Man Rolling

Location: Corntown - A48, Crack Hill area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The strange sight of a short tubby man rolling down the hill only to vanish into a quarry has been reported here.

Unlit

Location: Cowbridge - Nash Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: The site was once believed to be haunted by a ghost which would extinguish a light in a certain room. Another legend said that a spot close to the house contained buried treasure.

Man in Gold Laced Suit

Location: Dinas Powys - Dinas Powys Castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: This shade appeared to a poor spinning woman and guided her to a hidden box. She was instructed to send it to the Earl of Powys (in London) without opening it - she did so, and in return the Earl paid her rent for the rest of her life. The contents of the box were never revealed.

Wreakers

Location: Dunraven - Cliffs near the castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Once a year (exact date unknown)
Further Comments: Once a popular place for wreakers to work, one is said to haunt the area after he mistakenly killed his sister after drawing her ship onto the rocks below.

Sir Thomas Button

Location: Dyffryn - Dyffryn House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Windy nights (possibly last seen nineteenth century)
Further Comments: Former owner Button was said to walk through the garden and occasionally pop up in the cellar.

Spinning Top

Location: Dyffryn - St Lythan's Cromlech
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 23 June (or Midsummer Eve) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The capstone on this cromlech is said to rotate three times on Midsummer Eve. In addition, anyone who makes a wish here on 31 October will have it granted.