among the most important of the superstitions of wales are the death portents and omens; and this is perhaps more or less true of every country. about a generation or two ago, there were to be found almost in every parish some old people who could tell before hand when a death was going to lake place; and even in the present day we hear of an old man or an old woman, here and there, possessing, or supposed to possess, an insight of this kind into the future.
mrs. lloyd, ffynnonddagrau, llangynog, carmarthenshire, told me five years ago that there lived at ffynnonddagrau, an old man named thomas harries, who always foretold every death in the parish as he possessed second sight. john thomas, pentre, who worked about the farms, called with my informant one day on his way home; he was in good health then, but on the very next day he was very ill and soon died. harries had foretold the death [193]of the poor man some days before he was taken ill. he had also foretold the death of one howells, who was buried at ebenezer chapel, and of an old woman known as rassie of moelfre fach, as well as the death of one thomas thomas about 35 years ago. people were almost frightened to see harries as he so often foretold the death of someone or other, and his predictions were always correct. my informant also added that harries only died about 20 years ago.
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the “toili” or phantom funeral.
with the exception of corpse candle, the most prominent death portent in west and mid-wales is the “toili” or spirit funeral; a kind of shadowy funeral which foretold the real one. in the very north of cardiganshire, such apparition is known as “teulu” (family); but throughout all other parts of the county it is called “toili.” toili, or toeli is also rather general in carmarthenshire; in north pembrokeshire, however, it is called “crefishgyn.”
there are tales of phantom funerals all over the diocese of st. david’s, and the following account of a twentieth century phantom funeral in pembrokeshire is interesting, as my informant himself was the man who witnessed the strange apparition, or a foreshadowing of a funeral which actually took place soon afterwards.
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a present day phantom funeral.
a young man who lives in the gwaun valley, between pontfaen and fishguard informed me in the beginning of november, 1905, that he had just seen a phantom or a spirit funeral only a few weeks previously.
a friend of his, a young porter at a railway station in the neighbourhood of cardiff, had come home ill to his native place in pembrokeshire, and his friend, my informant, one night sat up by his bedside all night. about three o’clock in the morning the patient was so seriously ill that my informant in alarm hurried to call the father of the poor sufferer to come to see him, as the old man lived in a small cottage close by. as soon as he went out through the door into the open air, to his great astonishment he found himself in a large crowd of people, and there was a coffin resting on some chairs, ready to be placed on the bier; and the whole scene, as it were, presented a funeral procession, ready to convey the dead to the grave. when the young man attempted to proceed on his way, the procession also proceeded, or moved on [194]in the same direction, so that he found himself still in the crowd. after going on in this manner for about a hundred yards, he managed to draw one side from the crowd and soon reached the house of his sick friend’s father, and nearly fainted. three days after this vision the seer’s friend died; and on the day of the funeral the young man noticed that the crowd stood in front of the house and the coffin resting on chairs exactly as he had seen in the apparition. i may add that my informant who had seen the phantom funeral was so terrified even at the time when i saw him, that he was too much afraid to go out at night. it so happened that i was staying in that part of pembrokeshire at the time, so i went to see the man myself, and a clergyman accompanied me.
i obtained the following account of a phantom funeral from the rev. john phillips, vicar of llancynfelyn, north cardiganshire. the scene of the story was cilcwm, carmarthenshire:—
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a phantom funeral.
though more than thirty years have run their course since the incident which is to be described here occurred, still the impression which it left on the writer’s mind was so vivid and lasting that he finds not the slightest difficulty in recalling its minutest details at the present moment. some experiences are so impressive that time itself seems powerless to efface them from the memory, and of such the following appears to be an instance:—
it happened in the early spring, just when the days were perceptibly lengthening, and a balmy feeling was creeping into the [195]air, and a glad sense of hope was throbbing throughout the whole of nature. a boy of ten, or may be a couple of years younger, tired out after a hard day of play and pleasure, sat resting on a log near a lonely house, in a sparsely populated district. as he sat, he gazed down a long stretch of white and dusty road leading away past the house. as a rule, few and far between would be the travellers who used that unfrequented road. the sole exception would be on a sunday, when perhaps a dozen or more of the neighbours might be seen wending their way, to or from the nearest place of worship. intense, therefore, was the boy’s surprise, when on this week-day, his eyes discerned a goodly company turning the corner in the distance, and proceeding in an orderly procession along the stretch of straight road which his vantage ground commanded. he watched it keenly, and wondered greatly. never had he before seen such a crowd on that particular road. as the people drew nearer and nearer, something of solemnity in their orderly and silent manner struck on the watcher’s imagination, but no sense of anything akin to the supernatural obsessed his mind for a second, still he failed not to mark, that for so large an assemblage, it was remarkably noiseless. twenty yards, more or less, from where the youthful watcher sat, a footpath leading over a piece of wet and barren land joined the road. this path, which could be traversed only in dry weather, terminated half a mile away, at the door of a solitary cottage inhabited by a farm hand named williams, who dwelt there with his wife and several young children. when the crowd arrived at the spot where the path ran on to the road, there seemed to be a momentary hesitation, and then the procession left the road and took to the footpath. the watcher strained every nerve, in an effort to recognise some one or other in the crowd, but though there was something strangely familiar about it all, there was also something so dim and shadowy, as to preclude the possibility of knowing anyone with certainty; but as the tail end of the procession curved round to gain the path, something he did observe, which caused a thrill, for the last four men carried high on their shoulders a bier,—but it was an empty bier. soon as the multitude was out of sight, the boy rushed to the house, and related his curious experience. no thought of anything weird and uncanny had so far crossed his mind, and his one desire at the time was to gain some information as to where the people were bound for. neither could he just then understand the manifest consternation, and the hushed awe, which fell upon his hearers as he unfolded his tale. amongst these there happened to be a visitor, an old dame of a class well known in many parts [196]of rural wales in those days. it was her habit to stroll from farm to farm along the country side, regaling the housewives with the latest gossip. in return she would be sure of a meal, and also something to carry home in her wallet. naturally, such a character would be shrewd and keen, knowing well not only what tales would suit her company, but also the truth, or otherwise, of any tales which she herself might be a listener to. in addition, the old dame in question was generally supposed to be immune from all fear, and cared not how far from home she might be when the shades of night overtook her. on the present occasion, although a few minutes before, she had been on the point of starting, and was indeed only waiting to be handed her usual dole of charity, no sooner had she heard the lad’s strange tale, than she flatly declared that no power on earth could move her to travel an inch further that evening, and so at the expense of much inconvenience to the household a bed had to be prepared for her. however, she started early on the following morning, and long before noon, owing mainly to her assiduous diligence, the news had travelled far and near, that a phantom funeral had been seen on the previous evening. her tale made a deep impression throughout the country-side. those prone to superstition,—and it must be confessed, they were many,—lent a ready ear. a few,—and these prided themselves on their commonsense,—doubted. the latter class were not slow to point out, what they considered to be, a fatal flaw in the evidence. the supposed funeral was travelling in a direction, which led away from the churchyard. had it been going down the road instead of up, they argued, that there might be something in it. then again, it took the footpath, and it was pointed out, not only that funerals kept to the high roads, but that this particular path, could not by any stretch of imagination be said to lead to any burial ground. this seemed a reasonable view to take, and as one day succeeded another, without anything unusual happening, the excitement cooled down. however, within a few weeks williams, who lived in the cottage across the marsh was taken ill. at first, it was thought that he had contracted a chill, and it was hoped that he would soon be well again. the nearest medical man lived six miles away, and that caused further delay. on the fifth day the doctor came, but he came to find that it was too late for his skill to be of any avail. a glance at the patient had satisfied him that it was a case of double pneumonia, and that the end was rapidly approaching. a few hours later and williams had drawn his last breath. three days more and the funeral took place. as is the custom in country places, the neighbours [197]from far and near attended, and on their way a group of men called at the burial place for the bier. this group was joined by others so that long before the house of mourning was reached the procession was a large one. it travelled up the long stretch of road where the lad had watched that mysterious crowd, in the twilight six weeks before. the same lad watched again, and when the procession reached the point, where the footpath branched away across the fields, the man who acted as leader stopped, and raised his hand, while the procession hesitated for a moment, then looking at his watch, the leader spoke in low clear tones, “men,” said he, “it is already getting late if we go round by the road, it will get very late; we will take the path.” he led the way and as his followers swept round the curve, the lad saw that the last four men carried on their shoulders an empty bier. it was being taken to fetch the body.
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the neuaddlwyd “toili.”
john jones, coed-y-brenin, near neuaddlwyd, was going home one evening from derwen-gam; and as he walked along he found himself suddenly in a phantom funeral, and was so pressed by the crowd of spirits that he nearly fainted. at last he managed to escape by turning into a field. he then noticed that the phantom funeral proceeded towards neuaddlwyd, and soon there was a light to be seen in that chapel through the windows. a few weeks after this a real funeral took place. the above j. jones, who had seen the apparition only died about twelve years ago. my informant was mr. thomas stephen, near mydroilyn, in the parish of llanarth.
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a horse seeing a “toili” or phantom funeral.
the following tale was related to me by mr. jones, bristol house, talybont:—
a farmer’s wife, who lived in the northern part of cardiganshire, had gone to machynlleth market one day riding a pony. on her journey home that evening she met a “toili” on the road. the pony was the first to notice the spirit-funeral, and the animal refused to go forward, but turned back and stood trembling under the shelter of a big tree till the “toili” had passed. the woman was quite terrified, and as soon as she reached home she rushed into the house and asked her husband to go out and put the pony in the stable, and stated that she felt unwell that night. soon after this, one of the family died. [198]
some persons have such clear vision of a phantom funeral, that they are able even to recognise and give the names of the persons that appear in the spectral procession.
owen shon morris, of pant’stoifan, llanarth, who died 85 years ago, saw a “toili” passing his own house in the direction of llanarth, at 1 o’clock in the morning. he even discovered that among the crowd was his own friend, evan pugh, the tailor, and a woman wearing a red petticoat. when the “toili” had gone as far as a certain green spot on the road, after passing the house, the tailor and the woman with the red petticoat left the procession, and returned to their homes. twelve months after this a funeral took place, and in the procession were the tailor and the woman with a red petticoat, both of whom returned home after accompanying the crowd as far as the green spot.
my informant was an old farmer, named thomas stephens, near mydroilyn.
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spirit funerals carrying people to churchyards.
i obtained the following account from an old man in north pembrokeshire:—
about seven o’clock one winter evening, david thomas, henllan, eglwyswrw, went to the village shop to get some medicine for a sick animal. when he was returning home, it was a fine moonlight night. all of a sudden, however, he found himself in utter darkness, being carried back to eglwyswrw almost unknown to himself by a “crefishgyn” as such an apparition is called in north pembrokeshire; and when he got his feet on the ground once more, he discovered himself taking hold of the iron bars of the churchyard gate. in his adventure with the apparition he had passed a blacksmith’s shop, where several men were working, without seeing or noticing anything.
a farm servant, named david evans in the parish of llandyssul, cardiganshire, had visited his brother who was ill one night, but whilst going home at two o’clock in the morning, a “toili” carried him all the way to llandyssul churchyard. my informant was rees, maesymeillion.
i have also heard of an old woman at cilcennin, near aberaeron, who was also carried by force to the churchyard by a “toili,” and there are such tales all over the country.
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an old woman who saw the apparition of her own funeral.
miss martha davies, a housemaid, at fishguard, pembrokeshire, informed me that her family possessed the peculiar gift of [199]second sight, and that her mother had seen the phantom of her own funeral before she died.
when she was out walking one night, the old woman was terrified by seeing a funeral procession meeting her on the road and which passed on towards caersalem, a nonconformist chapel close by. the rev. jenkin evans, vicar of pontfaen, was walking behind the procession, and she even took notice of his dress and what kind of hat he had on his head. she was taken ill the very next day, and in a very short time died, and every one in the neighbourhood believed that she had seen an apparition of her own funeral. the deceased was buried at caersalem; and as her daughter, martha, was at the time a maid-servant at pontfaen vicarage, the vicar accompanied the girl to her mother’s funeral in his carriage. when he arrived in the neighbourhood where the funeral was to take place, he left his horse and trap at a public house, and proceeded to the house of mourning on foot, as the distance the funeral procession had to go from melin cilgwm to caersalem burial place was very short. strange to say, when the funeral did proceed, it so happened that the vicar of pontfaen walked behind the procession, and his clothes, and even his very hat were in exact accordance with the description which had been given by the dead woman of the vision.
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a phantom train.
a few years ago an old man named james, 75 years of age, living at nantgaredig, in carmarthenshire, told me that he had seen a phantom train on one occasion.
some years ago when he happened to be out about midnight once, he saw a train passing, which came from the direction of carmarthen, and went towards llandilo, and as no train was to pass through the station of nantgaredig at that hour he enquired of the stationmaster next morning what was the special train that passed at mid-night. in reply, he was told he had been either dreaming or had seen the spirit of a train, as no train had passed at that time of the night.
a few days after this a special train passed through the station conveying a large funeral from carmarthen to llandilo; and james and his friend were convinced that the train he had seen in the night was nothing but an apparition of the real train with the funeral!
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a “toili” seen in the day-time.
like every other apparition a “toili” is supposed to be seen in the night time only; but according to the late mr. lledrod [200]davies, people working at the harvest near llangeitho many years ago, saw a “toili” at mid-day in the churchyard of llanbadarn odwyn; and a funeral took place soon afterwards.
the following story of a phantom funeral in the day-time was related to me by an old woman in pembrokeshire, a farmer’s wife in the parish of llanycefn:—
an old man named john salmon saw an apparition of a funeral in the day-time, and he even recognised most of those who were in the procession, but was surprised to find that the minister was not amongst them.
a few days after this the funeral took place, and the minister was prevented from being present as he had been called away from home at the time.
sometimes a “toili” is heard without being seen.
an old woman who lived in a little cottage at dihewid, in cardiganshire, forty-five years ago, heard every phantom funeral that passed her house; she could tell even the number of horses in the apparition.
an old woman who only a few years ago lived close to llanafan churchyard, in the same county, heard from her bed one night the vicar’s voice, the rev. w. j. williams, reading the burial service quite distinctly, and soon after a funeral took place.
the vicar was informed of this by the old woman herself.
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singing heard twelve months before death.
about sixty years ago, the mother of one david hughes, cwmllechwedd, was one day standing outside the house, when all of a sudden, she heard the sound of singing. she recognised the voice of the singer as the voice of the curate of lledrod, but when she looked round she could see no one anywhere. the maid servants also heard the same sound of singing.
twelve months after this her son, david hughes, a young man of 22 years of age died, and on the day of the funeral, the curate of lledrod, standing near the door, gave out a hymn, and conducted the singing himself, just as the funeral was leaving the house.
my informant was thomas jones, pontrhydfendigaid.
a woman at aberporth, informed me that she had heard a “toili” singing:
“gwyn fyd v rhai trwy ffydd,
sy’n myn’d o blith y byw.”
three weeks before the death of her aunt.
mr. john llewelyn, rhos-y-gwydr, somewhere on the borders of carmarthenshire and pembrokeshire, when he went to the door [201]of rhydwilym chapel one evening, he was surprised when he listened, to hear his own voice preaching a funeral sermon.
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a day-dream.
another remarkable instance of second-sight seeing appeared in “notes and queries” for july, 1858. the contributor, mr. john pavin phillips, gives the following account of what occurred to him himself in the year 1818, upon his return home to pembrokeshire, after many years’ absence:—
“a few days after my arrival, i took a walk one morning in the yard of one of our parish churches, through which there is a right of way for pedestrians. my object was a twofold one: firstly, to enjoy the magnificent prospect visible from that portion; and secondly, to see whether any of my friends or acquaintances who had died during my absence were buried in the locality. after gazing around me for a short time, i sauntered on, looking at one tombstone and then at another, when my attention was arrested by an altar-tomb enclosed within an iron railing. i walked up to it and read an inscription which informed me that it was in memory of colonel ——. this gentleman had been the assistant poor law commissioner for south wales, and while on one of his periodical tours of inspection, he was seized with apoplexy in the workhouse of my native town, and died in a few hours. this was suggested to my mind as i read the inscription on the tomb, as the melancholy event occurred during the period of my absence, and i was only made cognisant of the fact through the medium of the local press. not being acquainted with the late colonel ——, and never having seen him, the circumstances of his sudden demise had long passed from my memory, and were only revived by my thus viewing his tomb. i then passed on, and shortly afterwards returned home. on my arrival my father asked me in what direction i had been walking, and i replied, in —— churchyard, looking at the tombs, and among others i have seen the tomb of col. ——, who died in the workhouse. ‘that’ replied my father ‘is impossible, as there is no tomb erected over colonel ——‘s grave.’ at this remark i laughed. ‘my dear father,’ said i, ‘you want to persuade me that i cannot read. i was not aware that colonel —— was buried in the churchyard, and was only informed of the fact by reading the inscription on the tomb.’ ‘whatever you may say to the contrary’ said my father, ‘what i tell you is true; there is no tomb over colonel ——‘s grave.’ astounded by the reiteration of this statement, as soon as i had dined i returned to the churchyard [202]and again inspected all the tombs having railings around them, and found that my father was right.
there was not only no tomb bearing the name of colonel ——, but there was no tomb at all corresponding in appearance with the one i had seen. unwilling to credit the evidence of my own senses, i went to the cottage of an old acquaintance of my boyhood, who lived outside of the churchyard gate, and asked her to show the place where colonel —— lay buried. she took me to the spot, which was a green mound, undistinguished in appearance from the surrounding graves.
nearly two years subsequent to this occurrence, surviving relatives erected an altar-tomb, with a railing round it, over the last resting place of colonel ——, and it was, as nearly as i could remember, an exact reproducing of the memorial of my day-dream. verily, ‘there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’
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the corpse candle.
the “canwyll corph” or corpse candle, was another death portent often seen in west and mid-wales, about a generation or two ago. indeed there are several persons still alive who have told me that they had seen this mysterious light themselves. it was a pale light moving slowly and hovering a short distance from the ground. some could tell whether a man, woman, or child was to die. the death of a man was indicated by a red light, that of a woman by a white light, and a faint light before the death of a child. if two lights were seen together, two deaths were to take place in the same house at the same time. if the light was seen early in the evening a death was to take place soon, but if late it was not to take place for some time.
like the “toili” or phantom funeral, the corpse candle also was seen going along from the house—where death was to take place—to the churchyard along the same route which a funeral was to take, whether road or path.
sometimes the light was seen carried by a spectral representation of the dying person, and it was even thought possible to recognise that person by standing near the water watching the apparition crossing over it. another way of recognising the dying person was to stand at the church porch watching the candle entering the building. there are some instances of people seeing their own corpse candle.
there was an old woman living at llanddarog, in carmarthenshire, named margaret thomas, who always saw every light or [203]corpse candle going to the churchyard before every funeral. she only died about 27 years ago.
another old woman who also saw the same death portents was mary thomas, dafy, who lived close to llandyssul churchyard in cardiganshire. she was buried sixty years ago.
there is a tradition that st. david, by prayer, obtained the corpse candle as a sign to the living of the reality of another world, and according to some people it was confined to the diocese of st. david’s, but the fact of it is there are tales of corpse candles all over wales.
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a corpse candle seen at silian.
owen evans, maesydderwen, near llansawel, carmarthenshire, who is over 90 years of age, gave me the following account of a corpse candle which had been seen at silian, near lampeter.
when evans was a boy, his father lived in an old house close to the churchyard walls, and kept the key of the church door. at that time singing practice was often conducted in the church, especially during the long winter evenings. one evening a certain young man entered the churchyard with the intention of going to the church to attend this singing-class, though it was a little too early; but he could see light in the church through one of the windows. so on he went to the church door thinking that the singing had commenced, or at least that some one was in the church. but to his great surprise he found the door closed and locked, and when he looked in through the key-hole there was not a soul to be seen inside the church. the young man then went to the house of owen evans’s father and informed the old man that there was light in the church, but that he did not see anyone inside. “you must be making a mistake,” said my informant’s father to the young man, “there cannot possibly be any light in the church; no one could have entered the building to light it, for the door is locked, and i have the key here in the house.” “but i am positively certain,” said the young man again, “that there is light in the church, for i took particular notice of it.” both of the two men now went to the church together, and as they approached, they noticed a light coming out from the church. this light moved slowly towards a certain part of the churchyard, and the two men followed it and watched it until it suddenly disappeared into the ground. that it was a corpse candle they had no doubt in their minds. the young man had a walking stick in his hand with which he made a mark or a hole in the ground on the spot where the light had sunk. soon after this a death took [204]place in the neighbourhood, and the dead was buried in the very spot where the corpse candle had sunk into the ground.
my informant told me also that he had seen a corpse candle himself before the death of an adopted son of one mr. john evans, who lived at glandenis, in the same neighbourhood.
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a corpse candle seen two hundred and fifty years ago.
there is a tradition at llanilar that a young woman got drowned long ago in attempting to cross the river ystwyth during a flood; and that a short time before the melancholy event took place, people in the neighbourhood had seen a corpse candle hovering up and down the river. according to the rev. edmund jones, the young woman had come from montgomeryshire to see her friends at llanilar.
there is also a tradition in carmarthenshire of a three-flamed corpse candle which had been seen on the surface of the water near golden grove a short time before three persons were drowned near the spot.
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a corpse candle seen near conwil.
an old man named james, living at nantgaredig in carmarthenshire, gave me an account of how he himself and his father and others had seen a corpse candle in the parish of conwil elvet.
when james was a boy, he was sent one day by a farmer’s wife on a message to llanpumpsaint, about three miles off, to fetch a pair of clogs from the blacksmith, and a few small things from a shop in the village. when he arrived there he went first to the blacksmith, but he had to wait there as the clogs were not ready. then he went to the village shop, but, unfortunately, the woman who kept the shop was not at home, and he had to wait several hours; so that when he returned to the farm with his message it was quite dark. but the farmer’s wife gave him plenty to eat and a present of a waistcoat. then he went home to nantglas, where his father and mother lived. it was now getting late in the evening, and he was only a boy going along a lonely road. when he was between yetyffin, and cwmgweren, he noticed some light coming after him nearer and nearer, and it even passed him at last. it hovered within about two feet from the ground as it went slowly along. the boy, who was a little bit frightened, now knocked at the door of a house he was passing and called the attention of the inmates to the strange light on the road.
on he went again, and he even passed the light on the road; but when he reached home and told his parents about it, his father [205]would not believe that he had seen a light. but the boy opened the door just as the light was passing and he called his father to come out and see it. the whole family now came out, and both his father and the other children saw the light, but his mother and one of the children did not see it—not possessing second sight.
soon after this, a child died at a house called yet-y-ffin; and my informant’s father and his neighbours were convinced that the light which they had seen was his corpse candle.
sometimes a corpse candle was seen coming into the chamber of the person about to die.
a woman, who was a native of gwynfi in carmarthenshire, told me about five years ago that when her child was dying, she took particular notice of a pale bluish light coming in through the window and standing right over the bed. i have also heard several other persons saying things of this kind.
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a pembrokeshire tale of a corpse candle.
the following story was contributed to the “pembrokeshire county guardian,” may 11th., 1901, by mr. joseph davies, glynderwen:
“it happened not many miles from tenby where a certain young school mistress lodged at a farm house where she was very happy in every respect. one night after retiring to rest, the light having been put out, and she was lying awake, she suddenly noticed a peculiar greyish light like a little star moving towards the foot of her bed from the doorway. the light came to a stand-still by her bed and gently lowered to her feet. almost paralysed with fear, she called with all her strength for help, and in a few minutes the whole of the household were together in the room listening in amazement to the frightened girl’s story, and all sorts of means were used to pacify her and to induce her to go to sleep, but without avail. she would not stay in that room for the world, and her bed had to be removed and fixed on a temporary bedstead in the room where the mistress slept. time passed, and the story spread abroad; some made light of it, and some looked serious, and all tried to get the young lady to shake off all thoughts of it. but to no purpose—let them laugh or chaff, she bore the same sad expression, and said something would certainly follow to clear up the mystery. about six weeks or so had passed, and one night the mistress, who was a strong healthy woman, suddenly took ill, and quite unexpectedly died. the young schoolmistress happened at the time to be away on her holidays, and on hearing of the sad news she hurried back to attend the funeral. when she arrived at [206]the house she was taken upstairs to see the body, she again became almost paralysed on finding that the corpse had been laid out on the spare bedstead on the very spot where she had six weeks previously pointed out where the light had lowered and disappeared. no one had thought of the incident until reminded of it. the body had been laid out there for convenience at the time; no one ever thought of the young lady’s fright until she now pointed it out herself.
“so after that it can be easily imagined the whole neighbourhood became convinced that there was something in it after all, and the old superstition got strengthened in the minds of the young people that it remains to a great extent to the present time.”
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a llangathen tale.
the following appeared in “apparitions in wales” by rev. edmund jones, and it is a story of long ago:
“some years ago one jane wyat, my wife’s sister, being nurse to baronet rudd’s three children, and his lady being dead, his house-keeper going late into a chamber where the maid servants lay, saw five of these lights together: while after that chamber being newly plastered, a great grate of coal fire was kindled therein to hasten the drying of it. at night five of the maid servants went there to bed as these were wont, and in the morning were all found dead, and suffocated with the steam of the new tempered lime and coal.”
this was at llangathen, in carmarthenshire.
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the corpse bird.
the most common death prognosticator throughout wales in the present day is a peculiar bird known as “deryn corph” (corpse bird)—a bird flapping its wings against the window of the room in which there is a sick person. this was considered an omen of death. even in the present day most people dread to see or hear a bird flapping its wings against the window when there is a sick person in the house; but every bird is not a corpse bird.
an old woman in pembrokeshire, miss griffiths, henllan, near eglwyswrw, told me this bird is a little grey one and that it came flapping against her own window before the death of her father, and also before the death of each of her three uncles.
i have met with people in almost every district throughout the country who have heard the flappings of this mysterious bird before a death. [207]
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a bird coming into a house before a death.
mr. rees, maesymeillion, llandyssul, informed me that many years ago there lived in that part of the country an old woman known as nell gwarnant. the old woman at one time had an only son, a young lad who was very dear to her. one day a certain bird came into the house quite suddenly, and descended on the rim of the spinning wheel, flapping its wings. the old woman feared that the bird was a precursor of death, and to her great sorrow her only son soon died. a bird coming into the house is also a sign of a storm.
birds as precursors of death seem to follow welsh people to all parts of the world. a few years ago a corpse bird appeared in perth, western australia, before the death of a welsh lady in that city; and this reminds me of a strange incident which happened in patagonia, 30 years ago, when i was there. two welsh gentlemen, mr. powell, who was known as “helaeg,” and mr. lewis jones, a friend of the late sir love jones parry, m.p., were returning to the welsh colony, from buenos ayres, in a sailing vessel. when the ship came within a few miles of the mouth of the river chubut, the captain found it necessary to remain in the open sea that day, as the tide was too low to enter the river over the bar just then. mr. jones and mr. powell, however, left in a small boat manned by italian sailors; but when they were within a certain distance of the land the sea was very rough, and a certain bird appeared suddenly on the scene. mr. powell pointed out the bird to his friend and said, “do you see that bird, that’s the bird of biam! we shall be drowned this very moment.” just as he spoke, the boat suddenly turned over, and the unfortunate speaker got drowned on the spot. the other men were saved. mr. powell, who, unfortunately, got drowned, was a gifted welsh roman catholic gentleman, who knew about twelve languages, and was a friend of the president of the argentine republic.
it was reported in the “aberystwyth observer” twenty-two years ago, that before the death of mrs. fryer, lady pryse (now dowager), noticed a bird hovering around gogerddan, and at times flapping his wings at the windows.
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bird singing heard before death.
in the excellent welsh magazine “y brython” for january, 1860, page 40, the following remarkable incident is given in connection with the death of the famous poet and clergyman, tegid, which, being translated is as follows:— [208]
“in his absence from church, when lying on his death-bed, in the morning of the lord’s day, whilst a neighbouring clergyman was taking the service for him in llanhyfer church, the voice of the reader was suddenly drowned by the beautiful song of a thrust, that filled the whole church.... it was ascertained on leaving the church that at that very moment the soul of tegid left his body for the world of spirits.”
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music of angels heard before death.
it is stated in the “cambro-british saints,” page 444, that previous to the death of st. david “the whole city was filled with the music of angels.”
the rev. edmund jones in his “apparitions in wales,” says that at the death of one rees david in carmarthenshire, “a man of more than common piety,” several persons who were in the room heard “the singing of angels drawing nearer and nearer; and after his death they heard the pleasant incomparable singing gradually depart until it was out of hearing.”
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cyhyraeth: or death sound.
the cyhyraeth was another death portent. it has been described as a wailing or moaning sound heard before a death, and it was thought to be a sound made by a groaning spirit. this spirit was never seen, only its sound was heard.
according to “british goblins” by sikes, one david prosser, of llanybyther, heard the cyhyraeth pronouncing the words “woolach! woolach!” before a funeral.
according to the same book “this crying spirit, especially affected the twelve parishes in the hundred of inis cenin, which lie on the south-east side of the river towy, ‘where some time past it groaned before the death of every person who lived that side of the country! it also sounded before the death of persons ‘who were born in these parishes, but died elsewhere.’
“sometimes, the voice was heard long before death, but not longer than a quarter of a year. so common was it in the district named, that among the people there is a familiar form of reproach to any one making a disagreeable noise, or children crying or groaning unreasonably was to ejaculate ‘oh’r cyhyraeth!’ a reason why cyhyraeth was more often heard in the hundred of inis cenin, was thought to be that non, the mother of st. david lived in those parts where a village is called after her name llanon.” [209]
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the tolaeth.
the tolaeth is also a sound heard before death or a funeral.
it is represented as superstitious rappings, or knockings, strange noises, or sounds of footsteps or of carriages, etc.
this superstition is common in all parts of the country at the present day; and i have met and heard of many carpenters who always know when they are to have an order for a coffin, as they hear strange knockings in their workshops resembling the noise or knockings made by a carpenter when engaged in coffin-making. an old lady who lives at pontshan, llandyssul, told me three years ago, that when she was a young woman, she and two other young women were on one occasion sitting near the fire all night watching and nursing a sick old woman of 80 years of age. about four o’clock in the morning, to their great surprise, they heard the door open, and the sound of someone or something entering the house and going about the room, but nothing was visible, nor did the door open as a matter of fact. the aged patient also heard the sound and enquired who had come in. at four o’clock next morning the old woman died. the same woman also told me that before the death of a prominent esquire in carmarthenshire, she remembered hearing the sound of a carriage before the front entrance of the mansion, when no carriage was near.
sound of carriages before the death of one of the gentry is a thing that we often hear of even at the present day everywhere in west and mid-wales.
sir edward w. p. pryse, gogerddan, informed me that he was told that people had heard the sound of carriages before the death of his grandfather, who died in 1855, and was a member of parliament for cardigan. nanteos, another ancient family in the same county, has, or had, not only a phantom coach, but even a tutelary guardian; but whether this welsh “banshi” was a woman under enchantment, or a fairy, is not known.
it was formerly believed that the church bell was tolled by a spirit or some other supernatural agency, before a death in certain families. i wonder if the word “tolaeth” is derived from toll?
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the tolling of blaenporth church bell before a death.
several old persons living in the parish of blaenporth, south cardiganshire, informed me that it is a fact that in former times a death in certain families in that parish was always foretold by the church-bell in the steeple tolling three times at the hour of [210]midnight unrung by human hands. one old woman gave me the following tradition concerning the origin of this tolling:—
once upon a time a spirit came at midnight and knocked at the door of a farmhouse known as tan-yr-eglwys, which is close to blaenporth church. “who is there?” enquired the farmer from his bed. “mair wen (white mary) of blaenporth,” was the reply; “the silver communion cup has been stolen from the church.” then the spirit begged the farmer to get up from bed and proceed at once on a journey to the town of cardigan, as the man who had committed such sacrilegious act was resting that night on a sofa in a certain public house in that town with the silver cup under his waistcoat. the farmer went to cardigan, and when he arrived at the public house named by the spirit, and entered a certain room, a strange man who was lying on the sofa got up, and the stolen cup from under his waistcoat fell to the floor. the farmer took it up in an instant, and returned with all speed to blaenporth, and placed the sacred vessel in the church once more. for his kindness and trouble in thus restoring the sacred cup, the good spirit or guardian angel of blaenporth church told the farmer that the bell would toll three times before his death, and before the death of his descendants till the ninth generation.
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a remarkable account of knocking and wailing before death.
a few miles from newcastle emlyn there is a farmhouse called pen’rallt-hebog, which is situated in the parish of bettws-evan, in cardiganshire.
besides pen’rallt-hebog there is also—or there was—another house on the same farm known as pen’rallt-fach. and there lived at this penrallt-fach about 25 years ago a tailor named samuel thomas, and his wife.
about that time a very strange incident occurred, and the following account of it was given me by mr. s. thomas himself an intelligent middle-aged man who is still alive i believe.
one morning, very early, thomas beard a knocking at the door of his bedroom, and he enquired from his bed “who is there?” but there was no reply, and everything was quiet again.
the next morning again he heard knocking at the door, though not the bedroom door this time, but the front door of the house. my informant exclaimed from his bed, “alright, i am getting up now.” but when he did get up, and opened the door, not a single soul could be seen anywhere. thomas was quite surprised, [211]and perplexed as to who could have come to disturb him at five o’clock in the morning, two mornings one after the other, and disappear so mysteriously. no voice had been heard, nor the sound of footsteps, only a knocking at the door. after this there was no further knocking for some time.
twelve months to the very day after this a brother of thomas who lived in some other part of the country came on a visit, and to spend a day with him, and this was in the first week of january, 1883. some day during this week the two brothers went out with their guns to shoot some game, but soon returned to the house again, and in the evening thomas went to his workshop to do some “job”; but as he was busily engaged in making a suit of clothes, he heard a knocking at the window quite suddenly—two knocks. he thought that some friend outside wanted to call his attention to something; but when he looked at the window there was no one to be seen after a while the knocking went on again, and continued for about ten minutes.
the second night the knocking at the window continued as the previous evening between ten and eight o’clock, but nothing was to be seen.
on the third night there was a knocking at the window several times, and it was much louder or more violent than it had been on the two previous evenings. the tailor and the young man who was his assistant decided now to keep their eyes on the window, and as soon as they did so there was no more knocking; but the moment they ceased looking and resumed their work, the knocking was heard again. there were several young men present in the room this evening, and they heard the knocking, and even the wife heard it from another apartment of the house.
these “spirit knockings” had been now noised abroad everywhere, and amongst others who went there in order to hear them was the farmer on whose land the tailor lived. the farmer did not believe in superstition, but when he heard the knocking he was convinced that there was something supernatural about it.
on the fifth night a very loud knock at the door was heard as if some one attempted to break through; and on the sixth evening when my informant went out for a short walk he heard such noise as if two hundred horses were rushing by him.
on the seventh and eighth evenings the knocking still continued; and on the ninth evening, thomas went out with a gun in his hand, and found that there was no one to be seen anywhere, but he heard some groaning voice in the air, and doleful wailing. the man returned to the house quite frightened. [212]
there was no more knocking after this evening.
in the beginning of january, 1883, at the very time when these strange knockings, sound, and wailing were heard at pen’rallt fach cottage, a woman whose old home had been this very house before she had left her native land was dying in america; and her crying on her death-bed in that far-off land was heart-rending, when she found that she was too ill to return to wales, to die at her old home in cardiganshire, and to be buried with her husband, who had died before she had left for america. one mr. lloyd, from newcastle emlyn, happened to be at her death-bed in america, when she was longing in vain to die in her old home in wales. this solves the mystery of the “spirit knockings,” and it also confirms the truth of the old belief that death makes his presence known by knocking at the door of the relatives of friends of those he is about to strike.
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lledrith—wraith.
lledrith is an apparition or the spectre of a person seen soon before his death or about the time he is dying.
a most remarkable tale of an apparition of this kind is given in “ysten sioned,” an interesting welsh book written by the late rev. chancellor d. silvan evans, and mr. john jones (ivon).
about seventy years ago a young french sailor at aberystwyth in cardiganshire, had fallen in love with a servant maid in that town, and she with him. one evening, when this young woman was preparing to go to bed she heard her lover calling to her by her name. it was a bright moonlight night, and when she went to the door there she saw the young man approaching and offering his hand to her; but to her great surprise he disappeared again without speaking a single word. soon after this, news came to the town that a ship from aberystwyth got lost on the coast of spain, and that amongst others of the crew, who were drowned, was the young frenchman. the young woman discovered that her lover was drowned on the spanish coast in the very same hour that she saw his apparition at aberystwyth!
the young earl of lisburne ten years ago saw a wraith at havod, on the night his father was dying at crosswood park. of this i was informed by mr. inglis-jones, derry ormond, and by his lordship himself.
it is well-known that the great lord brougham saw an apparition of this kind when a friend of his was dying in india, about one hundred years ago. [213]
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tanwedd.
another death portent was the “tanwedd,” so called because it appeared as a fiery light. the rev. edmund jones says in his “apparitions”.—“when it falls to the ground it sparkleth and lightens. the freeholders and landlords upon whose ground it falls, will certainly die in a short time after.”
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gwrach y rhibyn.
gwrach y rhibyn was an ugly old hag with long flowing hair, glaring eyes and face as gloomy as death itself. the shriek of the old hag was supposed to foretell a death or some misfortune. she appeared, as a rule, only before the death of a person who had lived a wicked life; at least this is the saying in west wales, especially in carmarthenshire and cardiganshire.
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cwn annwn—hell hounds.
cwn annwn were supposed to have been supernatural hounds whose yelling or howling on dark nights foreboded a death. if the howling was faint, it meant that the pack was close at hand, if loud, the hounds were only hunting at a distance. these hounds were supposed to watch for the souls of notoriously wicked men about to die.
an old farmer, named mr. thomas stephens, llwyncelyn, llanarth, cardiganshire, informed me that his brother once heard the bark of these hounds on the road near bronwen.
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other death omens.
the cock.—it was once thought in all parts of wales that the crowing of a cock before or about midnight was a sign of death; but whether one of the family or one of a neighbour’s family was going to die, it depended on the direction of the cock’s head whilst crowing.
the hen.—a hen crowing like a cock is also supposed to indicate a death in the family or some very near relation; or if not death, some very bad luck.
a hen laying two eggs in the same day was also a sign of death. a hen laying a small egg was also a bad sign.
an owl persistently screeching near a house or a raven croaking hoarsely also indicated a death.
the dog.—a dog howling, which is called in welsh ci-yn-udo, is a sign of a death.
the death watch.—a sound made by a small insect like the ticking of a watch was once considered a sign of death. a few [214]years ago a sound of this kind was for a long time heard at a house in the parish of llanddewi brefi; but as no one died in the house, the family was cured of the superstition.
the sound in the ear as of a bell, is a token of death in the family.
clothes burning.—a farmer’s wife near aberystwyth, informed me that a few years ago she placed a servant boy’s wet trousers on a chair to dry before the fire. then she went out to milk the cows, but when she returned to the house she found that the trousers was burnt. a few days after this her mother died.
the untimely blossoming of a tree is another sign of a death.
yarrow and heather.—bringing either yarrow or heather into a house is a presage of death; white heather, however, is a sign of good luck.
death-pinch.—this is a mark that cannot be accounted for, appearing suddenly on any part of the body, and is a sign of the death of one of the family or a relative.
a funeral procession moving too fast is a sign that another funeral will soon follow.
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missing a butt.
a writer in “bye gones” for 1892 says:—
“the other day in going through mid-cardiganshire on election business, i observed one row of turnips growing in the middle of a field of potatoes on a farm occupied by a nonconformist minister. when asked how it happened that that solitary row of turnips came to be there, the minister explained that by accident the planters missed putting down potatoes, and the idea prevailed in the district if the vacant row was not filled in by sowing something in it, some one would die in consequence in the neighbourhood.”
this superstition is also found in carmarthenshire as well as in cardiganshire.
i have met with many ministers of the gospel, professors of universities, and other enlightened and educated men who are convinced that there are death portents.
