New ghostly experiences email received today!

Today I received an email from someone who used to work at Penrhyn Castle. He said, "I worked in the Castle in the early Seventies when there was a pottery in what is now the kitchen. I remember there was a series of servants bells along a very low corridor where we kept pots for sale.  At times the corridor and the kitchen area would become icy cold at any time of the day and I was always looking behind me as I got the feeling someone was with me. Often the hairs on the back of my neck would rise and I would rush to lock up and get away at night."

How interesting! I have replied to him and hope to hear some more details of his experiences soon. Please contact me if you have had an similar spooky experiences or feelings in the castle. Thanks.

Alice Douglas Pennant's etchings story in newspapers

I recently discovered this article about the etchings on the windowpane in the Nursery bedroom in the keep at Penrhyn Castle. The story about Alice being in love with a gardener and her father locking her in her bedroom started here with a story I wrote in November 2010 after an elderly lady visited the castle and said that she saw Alice in the room. It is from BBC News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-20048410

Penrhyn Castle Alice Douglas-Pennant 'love story' uncovered

The writing etched on to the glass pane was thought for many years to be in Latin

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Staff at a castle believe they may have shed new light on a decades old mystery and uncovered an aristocratic Victorian love story.

For several generations workers at the 19th Century neo-Norman Penrhyn Castle in Gwynedd have been aware of writing etched onto the glass pane of a window in one of the towers.

It was long believed the graffiti was a confused jumble of Latin words.

However, an Italian named Resi Tomat was taken on to the staff at the National Trust landmark and promptly came up with another explanation.

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The story goes that he forced her to stay in the nursery to keep her away from her love”

Clare TurgoosePenrhyn Castle steward

"Resi pointed out that the graffiti, 'essere amato amando', was actually in Italian, albeit with a few grammatical errors, and it actually reads, 'to be loved, whilst loving'," explains Clare Turgoose, house steward at the castle near Bangor.

The realisation encouraged Ms Turgoose and others at the castle to try to uncover more about the circumstances in which the graffiti came to be written.

In the late 1800s the castle, situated between Snowdonia and the Menai Strait, was inhabited by the second Lord Penrhyn, George Douglas-Pennant (1836-1907).

Formerly the Conservative MP for Caernarvonshire, Lord Penrhyn became prominent for his battle against trade unions at the Penrhyn slate quarry at Bethesda.

Lady Alice Douglas-Pennant was one of 15 children

This battle culminated in one of Britain's largest industrial disputes, The Great Penrhyn Strike of 1900-1903.

But, as Ms Turgoose discovered, it may not have been Lord Penrhyn's only conflict.

As she delved into the family's affairs she heard rumours of a falling out between Penrhyn - twice married with 15 children - and his second daughter, Lady Alice Douglas Pennant (born 1863).

'Gardener'

"We knew the nursery had once been Lady Alice's bedroom, and that she'd scratched her name on another window pane so it was fair to assume that the writing was probably hers," says Ms Turgoose.

The Douglas-Pennant family rebuilt the castle with money from sugar plantations and slate

"And when we began to dig a little we kept coming across the same story, or perhaps rumour might be more accurate, that as a young woman Lady Alice had fallen for one of the castle staff, possibly a gardener.

"Such a crush would not have gone down well with her father… and the story goes that he forced her to stay in the nursery to keep her away from her love."

The National Trust says it has discovered no documentary evidence as yet to corroborate the story and is undertaking further research into family diaries in a bid to do so.

And it may be that this story of a lovelorn young woman hidden away in a castle tower by her domineering father remains no more than a latter-day fairy tale.

True or otherwise, it had a sad ending. Lady Alice, who became an artist, died in London at the age of 76 in March 1939.

She was unmarried.

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?