MARGAM CASTLE - Aug 10

Investigation Site

Margam Castle
Margam
Port Talbot

History of the Site

The first built castle in this location was actually pulled down 53 years before the current structure was built. We have been unable to understand the reason for this, but still look for the answer. The structure that is now known as Margan Castle is built upon what is believed to be an ancient Iron Age settlement, and was commissioned in 1830.

The castle was the home of a local wealthy family called Talbot's and their community of house staff, groundskeepers and workmen. This was the home for the Talbot family until 1939 and the outbreak of the war.

During the war, the grounds and castle where purchased by David Evans-Bevan, but he found it very difficult to maintain all the various out buildings, and so allowed the British and American forces to use the buildings and land. After the war the castle fell into disrepair and was left to fend for itself until sometime during the 1970's when Glamorgan Council acquired and began the restoration process. Today the castle is a popular tourist attraction and is visited by many. The house is also still staffed 24 hours a day like in it's prime to ensure that all aspects are kept to their highest standard.

Investigating Team

The members of the team present for this investigation:
Marlene
Sandra
Gill
Danny
Barry

Paranormal Activity Eyewitness Reports

As with most historic builds of this age, there are many rumours of unexplained happenings or stories of people seeing ghosts. The most heard of is the spirit of a Gamekeeper that is thought to have been murdered by a poacher. The name of the Gamekeeper was Robert Scott and his spirit is thought to still be raged by the poacher and has been confirmed by many different psychic investigators that have visited the castle.

Other noises that have been heard is the sound of children giggling through the long corridors and family rooms, some have said that they have seen the children dressed in Victorian clothing drifting throughout the castle, and others have reported seeing them moving objects in a mischievous manor. Another popular report is that of the figure of the Blacksmith. Many of the staff have reported seeing the figure moving around the walls, but there is no reports of a Blacksmith dying in the castle. Security guards have also reported the noise of footsteps whilst doing their evening patrols.

Due to the ever growing reports of strange happenings, it seems that Margam castle is becoming as popular for its paranormal investigations as it is as a tourist attraction. Many different teams are said to have experienced a wealth of unexplained happenings including cold spots and orbs throughout the vast and impressive structure.

Investigation Report

The team arrived at the castle at around 8pm where they were met by Wendy from BSPRI. Wendy had been responsible for arranging the investigation for the evening, and had also invited a second team known as "GHOSTSUK". There was a quick briefing for all parties followed by a tour of the castle so that everyone was clear on the area's that could be investigated, or others that were out of bounds.

The first place that the team went to investigate was the Grand staircase. Sandra and Gill started at the top of the staircase, whilst Marlene, Danny and Barry began at the bottom. Danny noticed a dark shadow moving around 1 of the large pillars that looked like a reflection of a person so he called out to the figure and switched on the EVP. He got no response so asked for the shadow to give him their name, around the same time, Barry noticed that there was also a similar black shape behind another pillar. Gill and Sandra also believed that they could hear noises coming from above. After a short while the figures disappeared. The team had their Camcorders running during this episode and are hoping that they were able to capture this activity.

For their second area, the team moved to the back stairs that where used by the servants and house keepers. The team started to ask out to the open space for anyone to come forward (whilst still having the EVP running) and all heard a door on the top floor open and close with a loud bang. This made the team jump as they had already checked to ensure that there was no-one in that area, and this was also one of the area's that had been marked as out of bounds. The team checked that the door was closed. Danny and Barry then found a cupboard that seemed to lead into another area that had been bricked up except for a small hole just big enough to crawl through. Being intrigued as to what could be on the other side, Danny decided to climb through. He found that there was another 3 rooms attached to this space, whilst he was looking around, and with Marlene and Barry kneeling down to try and see what it looked like, they started to hear footsteps moving around and then Danny screamed out because he had see a black shadow coming towards him. With this Marlene and Barry also screamed and ran through the doors leaving Danny struggling to get back through the small opening. Gill and Sandra had been able to watch the events unfold and could not contain their laughter. The team decided that this would be a good time to have a small break and a well needed cup of tea.

Moving to the West wing the team found a small table so decided to perform a seance. They all sat around and placed a torch in the middle. They all started asking out for someone to make contact and noticed that the table began to move but not enough to make the torch fall. Barry and Marlene both noticed a shadow of a small person moving in the room adjacent to them, Marlene turned her Camcorder to face the shadow but found that the shadow had gone and at the same time a really cold breeze went through their room and over the table.

They then moved into the East wing of the castle which is where the nursery used to be. Some of the rooms where blocked off. The team found an area to sit, and whilst they where sat quietly they started to hear footsteps running across the floor. It sounded like small child like footsteps. The name Nancy came to Marlene and so she called out for her to come forward. Whilst she was doing this, Marlene was getting visions of a small child with blonde curly hair. Again the team heard more noises coming from the locked rooms. It sounded like there was a moan followed by laughter and at the same time the EMF meter started to go crazy, followed by the shuffling sound but the team where unable to pin point where the sound was coming from. The team decided to end the investigation after this area as the time had passed so quickly.

Conclusion

When the team confirmed the date for their investigation of such a magnificent castle, they were all very excited and full of high hopes that it would be as they imagined. As the team arrived, they found the castle stood very proud and looked truly breathe taking raising there expectations further.

After completing the investigations, the teams all met up to swap stories and talk about all that had gone on. Most of the teams had shared similar experiences like the banging doors which was quite exciting to hear. Wendy passed around some drawings that a medium had done a few months previously, and the team where shocked to see a picture of a small boy with blonde curly hair, similar to what Marlene had picked up during the night, although she believed it was a young girl.

The team now are reviewing all their footage and pictures to find what they were able to capture during the investigation, but after their experiences, they are very positive that there will be many interesting items.

***We would like to thank Wendy & all the members of GHOSTSUK for a fantastic evening and hope to meet up again for another interesting vigil soon***

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