Country and County: Dyfed

Llanilar Church

The following account from ‘Haunted Churches’ (1939) by Elliott O’Donnell (27 February 1872 – 8 May 1965) refers to a Devil tradition associated with three churches in close proximity, though he does not name the individual church.

Llangadock

Elliott O’Donnell gives the following description of a submerged town near Llangadock in his 1939 book ‘Haunted Churches’.

Rhos-y-garth Church

The following account from ‘Haunted Churches’ (1939) by Elliott O’Donnell (27 February 1872 – 8 May 1965) refers to a Devil tradition associated with three churches in close proximity, though he does not name the individual church.

Milford Haven

The following accounts appeared in ‘The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain by John Ingram (1897).

Alluring Stone

The following description of the Alluring Stone appeared in ‘British Goblins’ (1881) by Wirt Sykes. ‘In Carmarthen are still to be found traces of a belief in the Alluring Stone, whose virtue is that it will cure hydrophobia. It is represented as a soft white stone, about the size of a man s head, originally found on a farm called Dysgwylfa, about twelve miles from Carmarthen town.

Llech Lafar, St Davids

Llech Lafar, a speaking slab of marble by the River Alun is referred to by Wirt Sykes in his ‘British Goblins’ (1881). ‘The Talking Stone Llechlafar, or stone of loquacity, served as a bridge over the river Alyn, bounding the churchyard of St. David s in Pembrokeshire, on the northern side.

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The Undreamed Region: Barrows In Folklore & Archaeology

Hills, mounds and burial sites. Places which have a timeless allure. Such places can be seen and regarded as mythically liminal, a place that it is not a place. A place outside of time. A place where the living freely walk with the dead. Barrows are just such places.

Bryn Terrace, Llanelli

According to ‘Phantoms Legends, Customs and Superstitions Of The Sea’ (1972) by Raymond Lamont Brown; ‘In 1955 Jack Rees was a 26-year-old steel erector employed at Carmarthen Bay Power Station. At the time of his brush with this phantom he was living at a house in Bryn Terrace, Llanelly with his 23-year-old wife and son of seven.

St Canna’s Church, Llangan

The current church is thought to have been on the site of the original chapel founded by St Canna. It was rebuilt in 1820, but many references from the late 19th century refer to it as being dilapidated and unused. I am unsure of its recent history at the moment but what I am interested in is a legend attached to its construction.