Folk-Lore of West and Mid-WalesDavies, Jonathan Ceredig
History
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig
Folklore -- Wales; Wales -- Social life and customs
The evening was far gone when a traveller of the name of Noe arrived at
an Inn in Pembrokeshire, and called for refreshments. After remaining
sometime he remarked that he must proceed on his journey. 'Surely,'
said the astonished landlord, 'You will not travel at night for it is
said that a ghost haunts that road,' crying out, 'The days are long
and the nights are cold to wait for Noe. O, I am the man sought for,'
said he, and immediately departed; but, strange to say, neither Noe
nor the ghost was ever heard of afterwards.
An old woman in Pembrokeshire informed me that the scene of the above
tale was a house in the neighbourhood of Letterston.
Another story of this class appeared in an interesting little Welsh
book entitled "Ysten Sioned," published by Hughes and Son, Wrexham.
There was a farmhouse in a certain part of West Wales, in which a
large and respectable family lived. But there was one room in the
house haunted by a troublesome spirit which often cried out in a
mournful voice, "Hir yw'r dydd, a hir yw'r nos, a hir yw aros Arawn"
(long is the day, and long is the night, and long is waiting for
Arawn). Things went on in this manner for a long time, and not one
hardly ventured to open the door of that room. But one cold winter
evening when every member of the family sat around the fire, before
supper, somebody called at the door of the house, and a stranger was
welcomed in to warm himself by the fire. The stranger asked for some
food and a bed for the night. He was told he was welcomed of food, but
that they were sorry they could not offer him a bed, as all the beds
were hardly enough for themselves, and that the only spare bed-room
in the house was haunted. Then the stranger begged to be allowed to
sleep in that room, as he felt sure that there was nothing to do him
harm there. The man appeared very tired, and spoke but little except
in reply to questions, and when it was found out that his name was
"Arawn," all the family looked into each's face in great surprise. The
stranger presently went to bed in the haunted room, and strange to
say everything was quiet in that room that night, that is, no spirit
was heard as usual crying and moving things about. When the family
got up next morning, the first thing was to find out what kind of
night the stranger passed in the haunted room, but to the surprise
of all the man was gone, and the ghost was also gone, for the room
was never haunted afterwards.
THE SPIRIT OF A LIVING MAN.
Good many people in Wales who laugh at the idea of a ghost, readily
admit the possibility of the appearance of a living man's spirit
(Yspryd Dyn Byw).
THE SPIRIT OF A LIVING MAN APPEARING TO A LITTLE GIRL AT PONTSHAN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account