Thursday, 25 August 2011

Ghosts of Carew Castle

In the 17th century Carew castle's lord, Sir Roland Rees, a former pirate catptain, kept a Barbary Ape, inside the castle. Rees had acquired the creature on one of his many voyages. Rees was a very ill-tempered and mannered individual, and would host banquets at the castle just to shout insults and laugh at his guests. The ape, whom he named Satan, would mimick him and laugh at the guests too.
One stormy night, when there was strong wind and rain, the ape grew restless while Rees drank heavily in the dinning hall. There was a knock at the door and a Flemish tradesman appeared to deliver his rent, but had only half the money needed. Rees was already upset at the man because he did not approve of his son's relationship with the man's daughter. In a drunken rage, Rees loosened the ape’s chains and goaded it to maul the tradesman close to death. The tradesman escaped but, weak through loss of blood and struggling to make his way out, collapsed in semi-consciousness.
The tradesman was rescued by a benevolent servant who tended to his wounds and hid him away in his quarters, intending to let him go when the violent storm past. As the two men talked a violent cry and mad laughter was heard coming from the dinning hall. They rushed to the scene to find Sir Rees dead on the floor, his throat gashed open, and the ape burning in the fireplace. The ghosts of the ape and its master are said to haunt the castle to this day. Footsteps are reported reguarly, objects throw themselves, and the mad cackling laughter of an ape echoes through the halls.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Steven. Just found you through Thomas Haskett's blog. Thought you might be interested in my husband's blog: http://westcountryfolklore.blogspot.com/
    - another collector of the wonderfully weird and weirdly wonderful.

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