A spooky cold spot in Lord Penrhyn's Sitting room

On Thursday last week I was asked to take a group of secondary school teachers around the castle. It was the first time most of them had visited Penrhyn. I took them to see the newly opened Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room. One of the room stewards was a lady who helped to get the room cleaned and ready for opening to the public with me a couple of months ago. She spotted me as I came into the room with the teachers. After I had explained to them what the room was used for, she came over to me and asked me to walk along the floor between the settee and the huge marble fireplace. She said that there was something she wanted to show me. I was obviously very curious and walked to where she had directed me. As I got near to the right side of the marble fireplace the air became noticeably colder. It was freezing! I stepped out of the cold area and felt warmer. I walked back into the same spot and felt cold again. She asked me what I could feel there. I said that it was very cold. She said that she had felt exactly the same thing in that spot. We both wondered if there could be a draught from the fireplace, but I dusted and hoovered the fireplace a few weeks ago and had not felt a draught. The chimney is closed. We both felt that perhaps there was someone in the room, whose presence could be felt by the coldness we experienced there. I will be asking other room stewards in Lord Penrhyn's Sitting Room if they have had any comments from visitors or other staff about similar feelings in that spot. The school teachers were very interested to know what was going on and I explained about the cold spot. Some of them were fascinated to hear about the ghosts. I hope they will read this blog and comment on the stories I have collected so far!

Play it again Sam

On Monday this week I started my new job at Penrhyn Castle as  a Learning Assistant in the Education Department. As I have been a volunteer there for more than 10 years I thought it was about time I tried to get a paid job! I was lucky enough to be considered for the post when a vacancy was advertised. I was at Penrhyn on Monday for an induction meeting and as I was leaving one of the Conservators asked me if I had been told any new stories recently. He said that he had experienced something very strange that morning. I told him that I had not had any new stories for a few weeks and would be very pleased to hear about his experiences. He was in rather a hurry to get to a dentists appointment so I was told them very briefly. I will try to get more details when I next see him. He said that he had been in the Grand Hall playing the piano, when he felt that someone was watching him. He could see someone standing behind him out of the corner of his eye, but did not turn around straight away to see who was there because he presumed that it was one of the other conservation staff. As soon as he had finished playing the piece he turned to speak to the person behind him, but nobody was there. He looked around the Grand Hall but he could not find anyone in the area at all. 

John also told me that he had been upstairs in the corridor near the Nursery Bedroom in the Keep. He could smell alcohol very strongly, "as though someone had been drinking heavily in that area." He wondered if it could have been the last Lord Penrhyn who was very fond of his drink. He died on 26 June 1949 at the age of 54 in the Breakfast Room.

I will be keeping a close eye on things going on in the house now that I am going to be there four mornings a week. I wonder what interesting stories I will hear next time?