Castell Coch, located in Gwaelod-y-garth near Cardiff, Wales, is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the ruins of a 13th-century medieval fortress. The original castle was constructed by Gilbert de Clare in the 1280s to defend his newly conquered lands. It fell into ruin by the 16th century.

In the 1870s, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, commissioned architect William Burges to rebuild Castell Coch as a country retreat. Burges created an elaborate fairy-tale castle with conical towers and lavish interiors, completed in 1891.

Several ghost stories are associated with Castell Coch. The most famous is the legend of Lady Gwendolen, wife of the 12th-century Norman lord Pain de Turberville. According to local lore, Lady Gwendolen’s spirit haunts the castle grounds, searching for her young son who drowned in a nearby well.

Another reported apparition is that of a cavalier, believed to be a Royalist soldier from the English Civil War. Witnesses have described seeing him patrolling the castle ramparts at night.

Staff and visitors have reported unexplained phenomena, including sudden temperature drops, the sound of footsteps in empty corridors, and doors slamming shut on their own. Some have claimed to hear the faint sound of medieval music echoing through the castle halls.

In the drawing room, people have reported seeing the ghostly figure of a woman in a white dress, believed to be Lady Bute, wife of the 3rd Marquess. She is said to appear seated at the piano, her fingers hovering above the keys.

The castle’s cellars are also reputed to be haunted, with reports of shadowy figures and disembodied voices heard in the dark, underground chambers.