In the 1870’s there was a mine at Cwmynyscoy, in which was a ghost who wanted assistance finding some treasure. They eventually found a bar of gold, and followed the request of the spirit and threw it into Glyn Pond (it must have been a popular spot for the spirit-world equivalent of fly-tipping!)

In the 1700’s, Francis Williams Watkin and William White were great friends. However, it seems that when White died he wanted to keep up the friendship and visit Watkin whenever he could! This proved too much for Watkin, so he eventually asked why he kept returning. The answer was simple – White had hidden something in a wall of a barn which he wanted removing before her could rest. The items were two razors…

To the west of Pontypool, the woods are reputedly haunted by a woman wearing a “high crowned hat” that is being followed by a spectral black dog.

Unexplained noises, strange smells, doors shutting themselves, footsteps and slaps to the face of one unfortunate individual were the phenomena once reported here.

Roderick recounts events at Oakdale Square in Pontnewynydd. However, maps indicate that there is an Oakdale Place here, constructed around a square patch of ground. It is believed to be the same place. There was once an oak tree in the middle of the green, and the felling of this great specimen apparently led to haunting phenomena in a number of houses here during the 1970’s. This may be purely coincidental, of course, but residents experienced various effects in their homes, including a piano playing by itself, the sounds of footsteps, and objects being moved.

In the mid 1980's, the occupier of a council house in James Street reported unexplained noises, doors and windows rattling, icy-cold sensations, crockery smashing and a shadowy figure was allegedly seen. The owners' dogs would not settle in the house.

The museum is said to be haunted by a strange figure and the sounds of footsteps have been heard when nobody else is in the building.

Pictured left is Pontypool Museum courtesy of Jaggery.

In the early 2000’s, a man walking his dog in Pontypool Park, noticed a strangely dressed man in old-fashioned clothes walking ahead of him. The dog began to cowl down on sighting this figure, so the owner comforted him. When he looked up a second later, the figure had vanished. However, there was no place he could have taken cover in that time.

Built in the late seventeenth century by local ironmaster, Major John Hanbury, the house is in a style popularised by the architect Inigo Jones. In 1923 the Hanbury Family sold the property to the Sisters of the Order of the Holy Ghost. It was initially reopened as girls' day and boarding school. In 1963, control of the school was passed to the Archdiocese of Cardiff to become St. Alban’s RC High School.

The school is said to be haunted by the ghost of a nun, who walks the main stairs and has been witnessed by a teacher. Nuns in its early history acquired the building, and it appears one of them wants to stay around!

A coachman travelling home at night was stopped by a ghost demanding him that they meet again at the same spot the following week. He did so, and the ghost instructed him to undertake some work to recover a bright piece of metal, before casting it into Glyn Pond.

Sources state that the face to face encounter with the White Spirit on Varteg Fawr will be the last thing you will ever see! Varteg Fawr is located on the highest hillside above Pontypool, and is a very desolate spot. So, how do people know if others have seen it, because if they have seen it, they should have died?