Waunlwyd beast seen on the prowl by dog walker

Nov 29 2007 by Jamie L. Robins, Gwent Gazette

A MYSTERIOUS large black cat has been spotted in the Waunlwyd hills for the second time in two weeks.

Last week we reported how father and son Peter and Gareth Whittle spotted an unusual beast as they were travelling to the Silent Valley rubbish tip on Wednesday, November 14.

Exactly a week later cat lover Denise Selway spotted a similar cat while walking her dog George not far from her home in Hillside Terrace, Waunlwyd.

Ms Selway was unaware of the Whittles’ sighting, featured in last week’s Gazette, until her friend Caroline Road, tried to play a practical joke on her.

“I couldn’t believe it when she told me,” Miss Road said.

“I was laughing for ages so when I went home I decided to play a joke on her.

“I went on the internet and tried to find a story about a sighting somewhere in Wales and I was going to change the name to Waunlwyd to wind her up.

“When I typed it all in and the Gazette story came up from last week I couldn’t believe it.

“Denise still thought it was a wind up but I didn’t have to change anything – it was a mad coincidence.”

Over the years Ms Selway has rescued and rehomed hundreds of cats, she keeps several at her Waunlwyd home and as a result she is very familiar with the shapes and sizes of domestic and feral cats.

“I know exactly what I saw,” she said picking up one of her bigger cats.

“This is a big cat, cats do not grow much bigger than this but the one I saw was much bigger and a different shape.

“It was totally black and it had a long tail, I would say it was about four foot long.

“I was less than 30ft away from it and walked past quite slowly, I feel quite privileged to have seen it.”

Good luck for builders as big cat crosses their path

Nov 22 2007 by Jamie L. Robins, Gwent Gazette

A LARGE black “mountain cat” has been spotted prowling the hills overlooking Waunlwyd.

Shocked father-and-son builders Peter and Gareth Whittle caught sight of the unusual beast at 11.40am on Wednesday, November 14.

Peter, aged 55, and Gareth, 28, are self-employed and at the time they saw the creature they were making their second trip of the day to the Silent Valley refuse tip.

As they crossed the cattle grid outside Cwm cemetery the big cat walked out in front of them.

“We were driving up the mountain as normal and all of a sudden we saw this cat,” Gareth said.

“It walked in front of us and jumped over the fence without any effort – like it was stepping on to a kerb on the side of the road.

“We both looked at each other, we just couldn’t believe it.

“I phoned my missus and she said ‘Don’t be so stupid’ – but I know what I saw.”

The father and son, who say they were cynical before the sighting, are no strangers to the Waunlwyd mountainside.

“I have been walking these hills for 40 years and me and the boy go hunting most weekends – I know what animals look like.

“I’ve heard there have been sighting before and I have always been cynical but now I believe it after seeing with my own eyes.

“I’ve got nothing to gain from making it up.

“If it was 12 o’clock at night or I was walking home from the pub I would doubt myself, but this was 11.40am and it was a very clear day.

“There was no mistaking it – it was about four foot in length, black and had a big tail.

“It was very, very agile but the head was quite small so I think it would have been a female.

“It was big, too, not as big as a lion or panther but it was still very big.

“It was one big lump of a feline.”

Have you seen this mystery beast? Ring our newsroom on 01495 304589.

Exploring the paranormal at Margam Park - icWales

Exploring the paranormal at Margam Park - icWales

Nov 15 2007 by Emma Pengelly, Port Talbot Guardian

PEOPLE who went ghost-hunting in Margam Castle last Saturday had a frightful night.

Up to 300 people wanted to attend the annual Hallowe’en event put on by Geraint Hopkins of Ghost Watch Wales.

He was able to allow only 25 people on the ghost hunt on Hallowe’en night itself, so he decided to hold a second hunt on Saturday.

Deleine Hitchens from Margam went to the event with her daughter Lisa and partner Simon Williams.

“It was action from the word go,” she said.

“I went with an open mind because it was my first time, but I was nervous about the whole thing.”

Although Mrs Hitchens did not personally see anything, she saw other people experience things, including her daughter who felt her hair being touched.

“There is definitely something out there,” she said.

Mrs Hitchens described her night as a “wonderful experience” and is looking forward to her next paranormal investigation with Ghost Watch Wales.

The group is one of the longest-running paranormal investigation teams in the country, and it has used Margam Park as a location for numerous television appearance on programmes such as Most Haunted, I Love Wales and Weird Wales.

One of the most famous ghosts believed to haunt Margam Castle is the “White Lady”, who Geraint believes to have seen on several occasions.

He said: “I once saw a woman walking down the stairs in period costume, and as she walked down it went really cold in the room.”

To find more about Ghost Watch Wales visit www.ghostwatchwales.co.uk or call Mr Hopkins on 07879 021348.

TV celebrity is lined up for a ‘spooktacular’ - icWales

TV celebrity is lined up for a ‘spooktacular’ - icWales

Oct 23 2007 by Katie Norman, South Wales Echo

A CELEBRITY paranormal investigator will be joined by psychics for a spooky show.

Richard Felix, from television’s Most Haunted, will be joined by South Wales psychics for a paranormal show in a giant marquee on Newbridge Fields, Bridgend, from 2.30pm on Sunday.

Admission is £12, of which £2 goes to charity.

The event is part of the town’s Spooktacular Halloween Festival, which also features a themed market from Thursday until Saturday in Bridgend town centre.

Felix is also expected to attend an evening of entertainment with live music and a licensed bar at the marquee from 8pm until 1am on Saturday.

Admission is for those aged over 13 and costs £5.

Other activities include a children’s fancy dress parade for youngsters aged six to 12.

It begins at Peacocks, Brackla Street, Bridgend, at 4.30pm on Friday and ends at the marquee in Newbridge Fields for a children’s party with stories, games, competitions and a disco from 5.30pm.

Admission is £2 or £1 for parade participants.

Cursed Pitch

AFTER Cardiff City considered employing a white witch to remove a rumoured curse at Ninian Park, Inside Sport looks at some of the most infamous bewitchments in sport

Sporting curses - a spooky history - icWales
Oct 14 2007

CURSE OF THE VETCH

SWANSEA fans have often cursed the performances of their side through the years – but could the club’s rollercoaster history be down to evil spirits?

Celebrity physic Uri Geller claimed he could feel the presence of black spirits lurking in their former Vetch Field home in 2001. Michael Jackson’s spoon-bending buddy also insisted the mysterious presence was the reason why Tich Evans, Swans star of the 1920s, committed suicide at the ground.

The club took his words seriously, hiring Kenyan dancers to perform a voodoo act on the pitch – but the curse won as the ritual was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

THE ghosts of Llancaiach Fawr Manor are always around but during the summer months visitors are denied the opportunity to meet them. - icWales

THE ghosts of Llancaiach Fawr Manor are always around but during the summer months visitors are denied the opportunity to meet them. - icWales

Oct 4 2007 by Gerry Holt, South Wales Echo

Now that the dark nights have returned the ghost tour season has started and places are available on Ghost Tours, Ghost Tour Extra and, for hands-on paranormal investigation, Ghostwatch.

For full details visit www.llancaiachfawr.co.uk or call 01443 412248 for bookings.

North Wales' most haunted road - Daily Post North Wales

North Wales' most haunted road - Daily Post North Wales:

Sep 6 2007 by Roland Hughes, Daily Post


A TEAM of ghostbusters spent the night at the side of a road dubbed North Wales’s “most haunted” looking in vain for spooks.

Drivers on the A541 between Wrexham and Mold have reported strange sightings for a number of years.

As a result, the crew of scientifically-minded ghost investigators decided to probe the claims.

The team shivered through the small hours peering into the darkness and monitoring their specialist ghost-detection equipment but got nowhere.

Despite the setback, the crew have promised to return for a second attempt.

A group from the Ghost Hunters Anonymous (Ghanon) group spent around eight hours overnight at the road, near the Plas Teg country house near Pontblyddyn.

Using specialist equipment, they attempted to explain numerous strange sightings – with little luck."

Co-ordinator Kevin Griffiths-Boden said: “It is well-known that this road is supposedly haunted, going back years and years.

“There have been a lot of crashes on this road, usually involving one vehicle, and what people have said is they saw white shapes coming out of the road.

“They feel they have run something over, they stop, and there is nothing there. And it is next to Plas Teg, which is a notorious haunted spot.”

Ghanon have investigated a number of locations in North Wales and North West England in recent years.

They use equipment including a digital CCTV system triggered by movement, and an electromagnetic sensor which registers changes in magnetic fields.

Kevin, an IT support manager by day, said: “We don’t want to disprove anything – we really want something to be paranormal, but we have to be realistic.

“We go looking for a temperature change or any anomalies.

“None of us found anything, but the reality is that, most of the time, nothing will happen.

“The more we do though, the more likely it is we will spot something.”

Kevin is now appealing for anyone who may have witnessed something paranormal on the A541 near Plas Teg to contact him.

Ghanon can be reached through their website, www.ghanon.org