Llandegla Spirit
:
STORIES OF SATAN, GHOSTS, ETC.
:
Welsh Folk-lore
The tale of this Spirit was given me by Mr. Roberts, late Schoolmaster of
Llandegla. A small river runs close to the secluded village of
Llandegla, and in this mountain stream under a huge stone lies a wicked
Ghost. The tale is as follows:--
The old Rectory at Llandegla was haunted; the Spirit was very
troublesome; no peace was to be got because of it; every night it was at
its work. A person of the na
e of Griffiths, who lived at Graianrhyd,
was sent for to lay the Ghost. He came to the Rectory, but the Spirit
could not be overcome. It is true Griffiths saw it, but in such a form
that he could not approach it; night after night, the Spirit appeared in
various forms, but still the conjurer was unable to master it. At last
it came to the wise man in the form of a fly, which Griffiths immediately
captured, and placed in a small box. This box he buried under a large
stone in the river, just below the bridge, near the Llandegla Mills, and
there the Spirit is to remain until a certain tree, which grows by the
bridge, reaches the height of the parapet, and then, when this takes
place, the Spirit shall have power to regain his liberty. To prevent
this tree from growing, the school children, even to this day, nip the
upper branches, and thus retard its upward growth. Mr. Roberts received
the story I have given, from the old Parish Clerk, John Jones the weaver,
who died a few years ago.