Spooky orbs captured on photo of the Grand Staircase

Today I received a copy of a photo taken by one of the conservators at Penrhyn Castle which appears to show two light orbs on the Grand Staircase. He showed me several photos taken at the same time which clearly showed orbs in different places on the photos. I would be very interested to hear what people think they could be. Please leave a comment below. Thanks.

Grumpy Grand Hall ghost!

Last Thursday I was playing Lady Penrhyn in the Library at the castle for the schools Christmas hands-on programme. The children came into the library with Wilson the butler, played by my friend's husband, with some of the volunteer helpers and school teachers. My friend (who works in the Learning Department) was late coming down to the Library and she decided that rather than walk all around the Grand Hall on the carpet she would save time by cutting across the middle of the room. She said that when she walked into the Grand Hall she felt very uneasy, as though she was being watched. She looked up at the Grand Hall Gallery but could not see anyone, and it was very quiet. She was dressed as a housemaid in a high necked black long sleeved blouse, long black skirt, white apron and lace cap. As she crossed the stone floor she heard a gruff man's voice, which seemed to be directed at her. She could not make out any words clearly as the voice was muffled, but felt as though she was being reprimanded for crossing the middle of the room, rather than going around the edge. She looked up at the gallery above the Grand Hall but could not see anyone there. She scurried to the Library door and tried to turn the large brass handle, feeling very spooked! She was very relieved when the door handle eventually turned and she was able to slip into the back of the room, where I was talking to the school children about the Christmas parties which used to be held at Penrhyn in Victorian times.

I did not know about this incident until a couple of days ago when we were at Bodysgallen Hall near Llandudno where we had our Volunteers and Staff Christmas lunch. She was convinced that it was not her imagination and that someone or something did call out to her. I will speak to the Conservators later as I am at the castle playing Lady Penrhyn in the Library for the last time this season today. I will ask if any of them was playing a trick on her. When I spoke to them last Thursday they were all downstairs in the Breakfast Room cleaning picture frames, so it is unlikely that they would have been upstairs when my friend walked across the Grand Hall. I will report back on here when I have grilled them!

                     Me as Lady Penrhyn in the Library with Wilson my butler

I spoke to the conservators this morning and they confirmed that they did not go into the Grand Hall last Thursday as they were busy working on  the picture frames in the Breakfast Room. They did not make any noises as they were aware that a school visit was taking place and did not want to disturb the children. I also spoke to my psychic friend today and she was certain that it was the last Lord Penrhyn, as she has also heard a similar sound whenever she she seen him in the castle. She said it is as though he is clearing his throat, which is how my other friend described it when she heard the noise last week. One of the conservators has a photo which he took of the Grand Stairs. It apparently shows an orb floating up the stairs. He has promised to email it to me so that I can put it on here. Sounds very interesting!

Ghost Tour of Penrhyn Castle booklet is now available!

Today I printed some copies of the Penrhyn Castle Ghost Tour booklet which will be sold at the reception desk in the castle from Monday 29th October. There are a lot of Dark Happenings activities during the week for Halloween. I am thrilled to have it completed and ready to sell and I hope that people will be interested enough to want to come and buy it! It is designed to take around the castle to read about the ghosts room by room as visitors do the tour. I hope that some of my readers will be able to come and see the rooms I have described and told stories about for themselves. I hope that people will tell me new stories about experiences they have had at the castle to add to this blog and for the book I plan to write in the near future.

Mysterious flying sign!

The exhibition in the Gallery

I went to the castle this afternoon to collect some of my paintings which have been on display in the Gallery in an exhibition for the past two weeks. While I was there I was told about a strange occurrence which took place this afternoon. Two of the ladies manning the exhibition were talking while there were no visitors, when suddenly the sign on the doorway of the gallery was ripped off the frame and thrown across the room! They said that it really made them jump. They looked around the area to check if anyone was there but there was nobody about. When they were telling me about it one of the ladies tried to pull the sign off the door frame to demonstrate what had happened. It took quite a bit of tugging to get it off as it was held firmly in place with Blu-tack. She said that if it had fallen off by itself it would have landed on the floor by the door, not halfway across the room! They said that it could not have been a draft as there were no open doors or windows in the area. Very spooky. Perhaps the grey lady who was seen recently on the Gallery stairs was trying to help dismantle the exhibition. I will definitely be watching out for any other signs of ghostly activity in the area. Watch this space!

Grey lady seen on stairs

Yesterday I went to the castle with a friend who is very psychic. I asked her to walk up the stairs to the gallery and tell me if she felt anything there. She walked up to the place where the member of staff had reported seeing a grey shape a couple of weeks ago. She told me that there was a woman standing on the stairs wearing a grey dress. She said that the dress had a high neck and a row of black buttons down the front of it. The waist came down into a point at the front. She was quite tall and was standing very straight with her hands clasped in front of her. I went to the office and spoke to the lady who had seen the grey shape and introduced her to my friend. When she explained what she could see on the stairs to the secretary she said that it fitted in exactly with what she had seen, although she couldn't make out the details.

I spoke to the manager of the Industrial railway museum yesterday morning. He asked me if I had ever heard of a "brindle coloured" dog being seen in the museum. I had only heard stories of dogs being seen in the Slate bedroom and in the Ice Tower, but not in the Stable area. He told me that a visitor had reported a dog running loose in the museum to the staff. It had been seen running next to the Fire Queen engine. The staff checked all around the museum but no dog was found in the area. Visitors who bring their dogs have to keep them on a lead at all times.

I am hopefully getting a graphic designer to help me with the layout of my Ghosts of Penrhyn Castle booklet, which I am hoping to have ready for sale by Dark Happenings week at the end of October. I will let you know when it is available. It will hopefully be on sale in the National Trust shop at Penrhyn Castle. I will be giving a guided ghost tour of the house at night on Saturday 27th October. Please phone the castle if you are interested in coming on the tour. (01248 353084) Last year's tour was very eventful with a white shape being seen by a visitor drifting across the King's bedroom and a pebble being dropped at our feet on the Grand Hall Gallery! I wonder what will happen this year?

Spooky grey shape seen on the Gallery stairs!

As I was collecting some keys this morning from the General Office at Penrhyn Castle one of the staff told me that she had recently encountered something strange on the Gallery stairs. I asked her to tell me the story. She explained that about three weeks ago she was locking up the gallery doors at the end of the day. There were no visitors around as the castle was closed. She stood at the top of the stairs by the door to the gallery with her back to the room. She was talking to the manager of the Industrial Railway Museum when she caught sight of something on the stairs below her out of the corner of her eye. She thought at first it was just her hair and she pushed it back. She looked over the rail at the top of the stairs and saw it was still there. It was a greyish shape, like a person, standing on the stairs. She could not see if it was a man or a woman. She looked away and back again to the stairs, but it had vanished. She told me that she has often heard footsteps in the corridor outside the office when there is nobody else in the building, but it was the first time she has actually seen anything. She said that the manager had not seen it, because he was standing by the lift doors and he could not see over the stairs.

         The ghostly grey shape was seen on this part of the Gallery staircase

I also spoke to John today, one of our conservators. He told me that he has often seen things moving about out of the corner of his eye, especially up in the Keep bedrooms. He said that he does not feel uncomfortable in any part of the castle apart from the Keep, where the family bedrooms are. He said that he feels especially uncomfortable in the Slate bedroom. He feels as though there is something watching him in there, as though he is not alone. He told me that a visitor recently commented that they had felt that there is a sadness in the house and that there was definitely something lurking on the Grand staircase, which made them feel very gloomy and sad.

I always wonder what people will tell me when I go there. I will keep you posted. Please leave me your comments. Thanks.

Man's voice heard in Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room

We have an exhibition at Penrhyn Castle for two weeks called "Penrhyn's Got Talent". It is an opportunity for staff and volunteers to show and sell some of their art and crafts. There is some excellent work on display. I was manning the gallery last week with one of the other artists who is a room steward. She told me that recently she was standing in Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room at about 4pm when the castle was very quiet and there were no visitors in the room. She heard an older man's voice saying "Owen, Owen," with a strong Welsh accent. She wondered who it could be, as there was nobody in the room. She went out of the room and looked in the corridor outside, but no visitors were there. She walked down the stairs from the Keep to the Grand Hall, which is quite a distance, but there was nobody around at all. It would be very difficult to hear anyone speaking from the Grand Hall to Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room.

She was convinced that the voice was just outside the door. She has often heard sounds in the room when she has been there alone as a room steward. She said that they are sounds of someone working, such as putting things down on the desk. The room next to the Sitting Room is the Valet's room which can only be viewed from the sitting room. There is no other access to the room, only one door in and out. A visitor could not have moved fast enough to get back down the stairs before the steward went to look. She said that she is not scared if she hears anything. It feels very peaceful in the room. I will let you know if she hears anything else in there. Watch this space!