Carew Castle

The haunting

Imagine standing beside Carew Castle on a stormy night. The wind sweeps across the millpond, and rain lashes against the ancient stone walls. The castle rises out of the darkness, its broken windows resembling empty eyes watching the surrounding countryside. Then you hear a sound from high above. A scream. You look towards the battlements and see a dark shape moving along the stonework. At first, you assume it is an animal sheltering from the storm. But the shape is too large. It moves with an unnatural speed, climbing where no ordinary animal should be able to climb. For a moment, two eyes seem to catch the faint light. Then it disappears behind the tower. As you turn away, a pale woman appears between the ruined walls below. She is dressed in white, her figure almost luminous against the darkness. She looks towards you. You blink — and she is gone. For those who believe Carew's legends, the castle is more than a reminder of Wales's medieval past. It is a place where the White Lady may still wander in search of her lost life, while the ghost of a tortured animal is said to return whenever the storms arrive.

Historical background

Perhaps the strangest of Carew Castle's legends concerns a ghost that isn't human at all. According to the castle's traditional story, Sir Roland Rhys kept a Barbary ape that he had brought back from his travels. The animal was said to obey his commands, and the tale paints Sir Roland as a cruel man who used the creature to frighten and attack others. One stormy night, a local merchant named Horwitz came to the castle in distress. His daughter had eloped with Sir Roland's son, and he wanted answers. An argument followed, and Sir Roland allegedly set the ape upon the merchant. Horwitz survived the attack, but before leaving he cursed Sir Roland, wishing that the same terrible fate would befall him. Later that night, piercing screams reportedly echoed from the castle tower. When servants finally entered the room the following morning, they discovered Sir Roland dead. The ape had disappeared. In one version of the tale, the animal had turned on its master. In others, the circumstances of their deaths differ — a reminder that this story has been passed down in several forms.

References & research

Sources & background

These sources document the location, story or claimed activity. They do not prove paranormal activity.

• Ghosts of Carew CastlePublic dataset · Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

  Official castle history and paranormal account

• The White Lady of Carew CastleHistoric record · Pembrokeshire Archives & Local Studies / People's Collection Wales

  Collection item HDX/164/15/22

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