Deep in the Indian mountains, Charleville Mansion in Shimla is said to be so haunted with an evil poltergeist activity that even the owners had to leave it and it has since then changed hands many times.
India, with its rich culture and history, is also home to some of the most haunted places in the world like the Charleville Mansion, located in the picturesque hill station of Shimla. The city is the capital of Himachal Pradesh, a mountainous region north in India.
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This historic mansion or dâk-bungalow, has long been the subject of chilling tales and inexplicable phenomena that continue to send shivers down the spines of those who dare to step into its shadowy past.
A Victorian Era Abode
Constructed during the colonial era in the late 1800s, Charleville Mansion stands as an architectural relic of its time. The grand facades, intricate woodwork, and sprawling gardens exemplify the opulence that defined the Victorian period. However, behind the mansion’s splendid exterior lies a history marred by a series of mysterious events that have perpetuated its eerie reputation.
Even Rudyard Kipling, the author of the Jungle Book, mentioned how he saw a ghost in his writings “My Own True Ghost Story”, a story about a charecter hearing a ghost playing pool in the room next to him when he is staying at a dâk-bungalow in India.
The Poltergeist’s Haunting
The legend of Charleville Mansion traces back to the early 20th century when Victor Bayley, newly appointed as the Assistant Secretary of the Railway Board, arrived in Shimla with his wife in October in 1913.
Charmed by the prospect of affordable rent, the couple chose to make this stately mansion their residence. Unbeknownst to them, the mansion harbored a chilling secret. The previous owner, an army officer, had abandoned the mansion due to a malevolent poltergeist that roamed its halls.
The Sinister Upper Room
It is said that it is the ghost of a British gentleman that is haunting the house. The haunting is that of a poltergeist with breaking and crushing objects inside the house, although no one is said to have been physically hurt by it.
The heart of the mansion’s malevolence seemed to reside in one of the upper rooms, leading the owner that stayed there before the Bayleys to lock it away. The army officer that lived there before them didn’t really believe in ghosts, but wanted to test it out because of the haunted rumors.
However, to his dismay, the room lay in ruins the following morning and everything was turned upside down. Frightened and unable to rationalize these bizarre events, the owner swiftly vacated the mansion, leaving it to bear the sinister legacy of the supernatural.
When Victor Bayley and his wife moved in, they did not encounter any strange occurrences and stayed there for over a year. The unsuspecting couple lived a peaceful life in the mansion, but it was their domestic help who was in for an eerie surprise.
An Unnerving Encounter at Charleville Mansion
One evening, while the couple was attending a dinner party, their domestic help remained in the mansion. As he waited, an eerie feeling washed over him, and he was compelled to investigate a room upstairs. His blood ran cold when, to his astonishment, he witnessed a spectral figure and asked if he wanted something. The figure, looking British, didn’t answer and only passed through a closed door.
Soon after this incident the Bayleys vacated the home.
Following Victor Bayley’s departure, the mansion changed hands and underwent a significant renovation and most of the people staying in the mansion had a story or two to tell and Charleville Mansion continues to be regarded as one of India’s most haunted places, its haunting past woven into its very walls, forever shrouded in an eerie mystery.
The last British living there was an old lady called Mrs A. She sold it after India’s independence to an Indian, telling him it was a haunted place. Today it is owned by an Indian gentleman who has renovated the whole mansion. Still, the locals claim to see the ghost of the British gentleman haunting the mansion in the hills.
It has long been said that there are ghosts haunting the Ship Harbor Trail on the Mount Desert Island in Maine from the victims from a shipwreck in the winter months that left few survivors. We will have a closer look as to why this is most likely wrong.
There are not only ghost roaming the Southwest side of the Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park, but there is also a part of the park that are thought to be possible cursed after a shipwreck in 1739 with over 200 people, costing the life of most of the crew.
Ship Harbor Trail is today seen as a family friendly hike forming a figure-8 loop through thick spruce woods and rocky headland in the Maine park, but once it was a death sentence, especially during the winter months.
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Along the Main coastline the unruly waters caused many lives and wrecked a lot of ships, and although we don’t really know why it is called Ship Harbor as it is a very misleading name in this story, it could be that it used to be place for small ships to seek shelter in the cove. Or it could be in reference to the very shipwreck the story is about.
Ship Harbor Trail: The trail in Acadia National Park is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the passengers that got shipwrecked on the island. But how true is the story? // Source: Flickr
The Shipwrecked Grand Design
The most circulated story about the Ship Harbor Trail goes like this:
In 1739 there was a ship that wrecked and the surviving sailors sought refuge in the area now called Ship Harbor. The ship was an English vessel called Grand Design that was carrying Irish Immigrants to Pennsylvania that October month everything went wrong.
They reached the mainland swimming through the frigid water, but saw the area was uninhabited. Their supplies ran low and food was scarce and sickness spread among the crew. Half of the original group perished because of this before finally a ship from the English settlement in Thomaston in Maine came and rescued the few survivors.
The bodies of those that perished were buried in unmarked graves around the area, although exactly where? Who knows, although the hiking trails probably goes right over them. What happened to the ones seeking help remains a mystery, perhaps even a haunted one.
Historical Inaccuracies of the Shipwreck
How much of this story is true though? It happened so far ago in such a remote area, and there is not much that we really know about it except from hearsay. Despite of this, the legend is retold in many haunted legends from the area.
In 2008 a maritime study even put forth a theory and a debate among historians about whether or not the Grand Design disaster even happened in this area. This legend is based on the research of historian Cyrus Eaton.
The Grand Design was actually the program of relocating Scots-Irish people prosecuted by the Church of England, luring them away from their land in hopes of a new place with religious freedom.
One of the reasons there is not much written record about it is the war between England and France at the time, and to go discreetly, they sailed off record under the corrupt Captain Rowen. A man despite being the direct cause of so many deaths became the governor of North Carolina in 1758.
The Real Story of the Shipwrecked
Turns out though this story is mostly connected to the ship Martha & Eliza that wrecked at Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy, today a part of New Brunswick in Canada. It was a 90 foot, two misted bark, often used to transport passengers and goods from Ireland to the colonies. It set out from Londonderry in Northern Ireland July in 1741, going to Newcastle in Pennsylvania.
The ship had perhaps 200 paying passengers, a heavy overload for the ship, and four weeks into the journey, the ship caught caught up in a hurricane and drifted in the North Atlantic for weeks overcome with starvation, fever and death. 28th of October they drifted ashore on one of the islands around Grand Manan that has over 250 shipwrecks there according to local lore.
Read More: There are plenty of stories of haunted ships. Have a look at our archive of tales of them around the world.
The captain and his crew left the passengers there and left to drink at Fort Frederick at Pemaquid. 35 of the men tried to get to the mainland in search of help, but never returned.
The captain together with his crew returned a month later to loot the ship, and when the survivors asked for rescue, they only took 48 of them to Cushing where they stripped them for whatever possession they had as payment for their rescue.
The people of Cushing, many of them Irish themselves welcomed them though and rescued the almost the rest of remaining wrecked in late December after one group complained to the Governor in Boston.
Grand Manan Island: The real ship actually wrecked on one of the islands around Grand Manan in Canada.
The Native American Rescue on Holy Land
The last few dropped off another place on the island were found in April by the Native Americans, Passamaquoddy and arranged their rescue as they risked their own life crossing 100 miles on open boats.
Among the last survivors were nine women as well as a mother and her infant child that had survived on shellfish and dulce.
The island was sacred to them as they worshiped Dawn, the daughter of sea and sky deities. She had been chased by a pack of wolves and ran into the sea before transforming to the island where the shipwrecked spent the cold winter on.
Perhaps it was this that made them rescue them instead of selling them to the French, believing that Dawn herself had protected the women through the winter.
The Haunted Rumors on Ship Harbor Trail
Today the place is not so remote and it is said that as many as 300 to 400 hike the Ship Harbor Trail every day. Historical accuracy or not, the legends about the ghosts are still alive and well. Some of them claim to have seen or heard something that they reckon must be the ghost of the shipwrecked people that didn’t make it out alive.
The ghost left behind by the rest of the crew is said to haunt the park and people hiking the trail claim to have heard ghostly howling, desperate, cold and hungry still.
But the question remains. If there were no shipwrecked that ended up on the island, what is it that people claim to see haunting the Ship Harbor Trail?
Renvyle House was said to be haunted long before the poet Yeats stepped into the hotel and decided to hold a seance. What they experienced staying there though almost sounded as fantastical as one of his stories and today it bears the fascinating history of modern spiritualism and occult seances.
Midnight has come and the great Christ Church bell And many a lesser bell sound through the room; And it is All Souls’ Night. And two long glasses brimmed with muscatel Five bubble upon the table. A ghost may come; For it is a ghost’s right, His element is so fine Being sharpened by his death, – W. B. Yeats, “All Souls’ Night”
Amidst the picturesque landscapes of Galway in Ireland, Renvyle House stands as a charming rural hotel today, exuding warmth and hospitality. But it hasn’t always been like this, and there is a dark story of the occult ricocheting in the many rooms.
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Within its inviting walls, guests, including renowned Irish poet and spiritualist William Butler Yeats, have encountered spine-tingling encounters with the supernatural, and who knows, perhaps even summoned some?
Renvyle House, a low, sprawling gray structure on Ireland’s western coast, boasts a storied history marked by construction, destruction, and rebirth. It has withstood the tumultuous shifts in Ireland’s fate, serving as a testament to the nation’s enduring spirit.
A Hotel with an Eventful Past
Originally, this site was inhabited by the formidable Gaelic clan of Donal O’Flaherty since the 12th century. In 1689, the Blakes, one of the 14 Tribes of Galway, acquired 2,000 acres of O’Flaherty land and eventually took up residence in 1822. They transformed the modest thatched cabin into a grander dwelling.
Major renovations, including the addition of a shipwreck-sourced timber extension and a slate roof, took place under Henry Blake’s ownership. In 1883, his widow, Caroline Johanna, converted it into the area’s first hotel, opening its doors to guests seeking Connemara’s natural beauty.
In 1923, during the Irish Civil War, the IRA set the house ablaze, erasing the structure along with Gogarty’s priceless library. Surgeon, poet, and statesman Oliver St. John Gogarty, who had acquired the property in 1917, embarked on its reconstruction in the late 1920s.
The new design reflected the aesthetic of that era, restoring Renvyle House as a hotel. It was during his stewardship that the first eerie tales of spectral encounters began to surface as his guests often included those with a keen interest in the paranormal.
A Haunting Presence at Renvyle House
Oliver St. John Gogarty: Owner of Renvyle House and a writer. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses and often entertained his literary friends at his house.
Even before Yeats came for a visit, the Renvyle House was said to have had a haunted reputation about it. Servants working at the Renvyle House often spoke in hushed whispers of unsettling “presences” that seemed to lurk within the shadows of the home. Bedsheets would inexplicably take flight from their resting places, doors would open and close with no human hand to guide them, and the atmosphere was charged with an otherworldly energy.
One night, the owner himself, the writer Oliver St. John Gogarty experienced something he claimed had to have been something paranormal. In the middle of the night he was jolted from slumber by a haunting disturbance. As the midnight hour approached, he was roused by the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway outside his room coming closer and closer.
Gogarty lit a candle and ventured out to confront the source of the disturbance. Perhaps it was a guest, maybe a servant walking in the night? Yet, as he stepped into the corridor, a chilling gust extinguished the flame he was carrying. In that moment, he described an inexplicable heaviness in his limbs, as though “exercising with rubber ropes.” The spectral presence had vanished, leaving him in solitude in the pitch dark.
The Arrival of William Butler Yeats
The supernatural activity at Renvyle House reached its zenith when Gogarty’s close friend, the renowned poet William Butler Yeats, and his wife, Georgia, came to stay. Yeats grew up in Sligo, a part of Ireland known for its hauntings and fantastical fairy tales that blended into the locals’ everyday life.
Yeats believed that when you spoke of a dead man you conjured his ghost, and together with his wife that acted as a medium for them, they had a habit of chasing ghosts and exploring the afterlife.
Together, they embarked on a journey into the realm of the paranormal. The couple was highly interested in the occult, as it was both new and fashionable in that area, and they took part in many seances.
One evening, while gathered in the library, the Yeatses and their companions were startled by the creaking of the library door, which slowly swung open of its own volition. Fear swept through the room, yet Yeats, resolute and unyielding, raised his hand and boldly declared, “Leave it alone, it will go away, as it came.” Remarkably, the door obeyed, slamming shut with an unsettling finality.
The Yeats Couple: At the age of 25, Georgie Hyde-Lees received a marriage proposal from the 52-year-old poet W.B. Yeats. This proposal came shortly after Yeats had been rejected by Iseult Gonne, whom he had loved for a long time. Surprisingly, Georgie accepted Yeats’ proposal, and the two were married just three weeks later. During their honeymoon, Georgie began automatic writing, a practice that greatly intrigued Yeats and eventually led to the creation of “A Vision,” which played a significant role in their marriage. Within a year of their marriage, Yeats found Georgie’s name insufferable and began calling her George instead.
The Yeatses decided to delve deeper into the mysteries of Renvyle House through automatic writing, a popular way of communicating with spirits in that era. In a séance, they hoped to unlock the secrets of the house’s restless spirits with a seance.
There was in particular one room Yeats claimed to get in contact with an entity that said he didn’t like when strangers came to the house.
His wife told about seeing a red-haired, pallid-faced boy of about fourteen. “He had the solemn pallor of a tragedy beyond the endurance of a child,” recalled Georgia Yeats. They learned that this melancholic figure belonged to the Blake family, the original proprietors of the house.
A Catholic Exorcise
According to the gathered people in the room there was one of them that had just converted to catholicism named Evan Morgan. He felt confident in his abilities to perform an exorcism in the room of the ghosts that resided in there.
Spiritualism: Spiritualism is a belief system that holds spirits can communicate with the living through a medium. The term was first recorded in 1796 and was associated with 18th-century spiritualist Emanuel Swedenborg. It has evolved to encompass various meanings. In a broad sense, spiritualism includes beliefs in a vital life force within living beings, supernatural or divine entities, and the idea that spirits of the deceased continue to exist after death and can interact with the living.
According to them, he was thrown to the ground by a thick fog and had to get help to get to safety. When he calmed down he claimed to have encountered the same young man that grabbed his throat and threw him down.
The Rest of the Ghost Haunting the hotel
This ghost from the seance is not the only ghost that is said to have been recognised though. Some claim that there are children haunting some of the rooms, and apparently one man haunting the hotel strangled himself.
According to those who have stayed there there is a female ghosts known as Old Mrs. Gogarty that have been seen in the hotel
There is also a man that is all dressed in tweed reported to haunt the place and is known to appear in room 27. There have also been complaints about him watching women in their rooms when they are putting on makeup. When some psychics visited in 1965, they claimed that the ghost had to be that of Yeats himself, and this theory has been passed around as fact ever since.
A Fiery End, and Lingering Spirits
Despite its fiery end at the hands of the IRA, Renvyle House rose from the ashes, rebuilt and resolute. However, the passage of time has not dissuaded the restless spirits from roaming its corridors. To this day, guests and staff have reported uncanny encounters and inexplicable phenomena within these historic walls.
Renvyle House remains not only a haven of hospitality but also a portal into the enigmatic world of the supernatural, where the echoes of the past continue to whisper their secrets.
On the scenic route in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the ghost of Lucy of Roaring Fork is said to roam the road of Roaring Fork Motor Trail through the historic part of early settlers as a vanishing hitchhiker.
On the outskirts of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail winds its way through the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, offering a scenic journey by car through the remnants of early settlers’ homesteads of cabins, mills and historic buildings along the way.
Named after the fast-moving mountain stream it parallels, the trail offers a captivating drive through lush forests, vibrant wildflower meadows, and historical log cabins that paint a picture of early Appalachian life. Visitors can enjoy a leisurely drive while making stops at various points of interest, including cascading waterfalls, like the popular Grotto Falls, and old-growth forests teeming with wildlife.
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Amidst the beauty of this historic trail, a haunting legend unfolds – a tale that has earned Roaring Fork a reputation as one of the most haunted roads in America. At the center of this spectral narrative is the enigmatic figure known as Lucy of Roaring Fork.
Roaring Fork Motor Trail: In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park the Roaring Fork Motor Trail by Gatlinburg will take you through the historic parts of the mountains where the early settlers lived and the ghost of Lucy remained.
Lucy the Ghost of a Girl
But who is Lucy of Roaring Fork? There are many legends, but some say she was a young girl or woman who died when her family cabin burned down and is now haunting the surrounding roads and forest. Exactly when this was supposed to happen is uncertain, but it is mostly said to be around the turn of the century or early 1900s.
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The story of Lucy of Roaring Fork is told as a vanishing hitchhiker story, an urban legend that spread in the latter part of the 20th century, but if there was any tales about her haunting the area before turning into an urban legend, is uncertain.
The Cabin: In the story, Lucy died in a fire Roaring Fork Motor Trail is filled with little cabins as pictured along the way.
Lucy as the Vanishing Hitchhiker
As the legend goes, at the turn of the twentieth century, a young man, sometimes given the name Foster, traveled the trail on a chilly autumn evening. To his surprise, he encountered a young woman clad in rags, wandering barefoot through the ancient forest. Driven by kindness, he extended an offer to drive her home, a gesture she graciously accepted. After safely depositing the mysterious woman at her doorstep, the young man continued on his journey. Yet, the memory of the beautiful hitchhiker lingered, a ghost in his thoughts.
Unable to shake the enchantment, the man returned to her home the next day, seeking to reunite with the captivating Lucy. When he inquired about her with Lucy’s mother, he received a chilling revelation that sent shivers down his spine.
“I gave Lucy a ride home last night, and I would very much like to see her again,” the young man explained.
“That’s impossible!” exclaimed the mother. “Lucy passed away many years ago.”
The Tale of Lucy of Roaring Fork
The tale of Lucy, the vanishing hitchhiker, echoes through the decades, a classic tale heard many places in the world with its own local twists and lore being added to this phenomenon known as the vanishing hitchhiker.
Lucy of Roaring Fork’s ghostly presence lingers, weaving through the mist-laden trees, eternally hoping for a journey home that transcends the realms of both the living and the departed.
A trail of ghost children passing the road, the sight of a shining woman in the middle of the road are just some of the strange tales about the haunted stretch of road close to a military base in Andalucía.
Over the course of 19 years people claimed to see strange apparition on the stretch of road from Seville to Moron de la Frontera in Andalucía. It was built to connect the towns of Arahal, Utrera, Montellano and the Moron air base and strange things are said to happen here in the dead of the night.
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There is not only one ghost story connected to this place, but several. And the ghost stories told about this place is not even the strangest thing told about this stretch of road.
The Ghost of Children Crossing the Road
Some of the strange apparition seen along this road is what appears to be the ghosts of school children.
Drivers along this road saw lines of children wearing what looked like school uniforms as they were crossing the road while holding hands before they suddenly vanished into thin air.
This was told by 4 young people in a car when one night 20 years ago a man jumped out from the ditch and stopped the traffic in the middle of the night by standing in the middle of the road to let the ghost children pass.
Read more: Check out all of our ghost stories from Haunted Roads all around the world.
A line of children, boys and girls holding hands dressed in their school uniforms appeared. They crossed the road and disappeared without a trace.
If there have been a particular accident involving young school children that ended their life in a car accident is unclear. However, the legend about the ghost children crossing the road had been told for years now and has cemented itself as a part of the road lore.
There has been talk that it used to be a rural school in the place a long time ago, but what happened to it, no one really knows.
The Shining Woman in the Middle of the Road
Another ghost legend told about the place is what appears like the ghost of a woman. She is said to be appearing in the middle of the road who shines so bright that they first think she is some sort of traffic signal.
One of the witnesses of this strange thing was seen by Pedro Luque and his wife when they came driving on this road. It was dark and winter and when they approached what they thought was a traffic signal, they realized it was a woman.
He described her as at least 50 years old tall and skinny, with a serious look on her face like she was scared.
They didn’t stop for her, but when they passed her on the road and looked in the rearview mirror, she was gone.
Whether this is some sort of classical vanishing hitchhiker story is likely, but it could also pass as some of the more strange rumors going on about this road.
UFO’s and Humanoid Figures Close to the Military Base
As mentioned earlier, ghost stories are far from the strangest things people talk about when talking about this road. There have also been talks about seeing UFOs and other otherworldly things here.
Even the military have taken action to investigate the strange things that seemingly keep happening here.
A fair point about the strange things happening around these parts have been attributed to the proximity to the military base, especially since it is close to the base of the secretive Spanish air force in Moron.
In the quaint Saligao Village in Goa, there is a Banyan Tree by the road. According to legend, the tree is haunted by the ghost of Cristalina, waiting for those passing by to possess.
One Sunday morning in January in 1953, the villagers of Saligao in Goa, India, sat waiting on the priest leading the mass.
The missionary Padre Inácio Lourenço Pereira had come to this quaint little village from Portugal in 1951 to be the supervisor when the Saligao-Pilerne Seminary went under construction in 1952. The Saligao village is around 15 kilometers outside of Panaji known for its beautiful churches.
Pereira was at least said to have gone missing under mysterious circumstances on a Saturday night in January, 1953 when he went for a walk down the Seminary road that took him past the banyan tree at night.
This particular banyan tree in Saligao Village with its deep roots casting long shadows was known to be haunted though, by a woman named Cristalina, and avoided by the locals. But did Pereira know this as he used to walk past it to get to church?
He didn’t return that night and didn’t show up for mass the next morning. When Pereira was eventually found by some workers the next morning, it was under this banyan tree where he lay unconscious. When his helping hand, Frank and the other workers that looked for him found him, he laid flat on the ground, his face buried in the mud.
Pereira was in a state of shock when he finally woke up, covered in scratches and wounds, unable to recall the full details of his ordeal.
The locals of Saligao Village took him to a doctor, or at least his house, but he didn’t speak for four days. They even brought a priest to take care of him and Frank and the other workers attached a cross in one of the Banyan Trees branches.
When he first started to speak, it was said it was in a female voice and in Konkani, one of the Indian languages spoken along the western coast of India. One of the things he repeated over and over again, was the name, Cristalina.
After the whole ordeal he was admitted to a hospital and then sent back to Leiria in Portugal in 1953. He never returned to Saligao Village or Goa, but his legend certainly remained there.
Cristalina Haunting the Banyan Tree
For over sixty years, her spectral presence has been associated with a particular banyan tree in the Saligao Village. It is said that still to this day, people are avoiding walking past this tree after dark, as it is said that Cristalina can possess you, as she once did.
From testimonies from locals, it looks like the banyan tree was already rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Cristalina before the possession of the priest. But how much of it actually happened, and how much of it was gossip and fear mongering from the locals?
Who actually was Cristalina? One of the most told versions of the Banyan tree is that she hanged herself from it. But no further details about who she might be has been found.
Further Haunting of Cristalina’s Banyan Tree
It was especially when the horizontal part of the cross went missing from the branches in the tree that the legend resurfaced and breathed new wind into it as something more than a one time haunting. Ever since then it has become a local legend in Saligao Village.
There have also been talks about the tree glowing in the dark, and the tree itself has been the case of scientific studies. What really happened to it? According to the scholars, they claimed the lights were from carts of petromax lights that were parked near the tree.
Banyan Tree and why they are Haunted
But what about the tree found in Saligao Village? How come so many ghost stories are connected to the majestic looking Banyan Trees as well as Peepal Trees in India?
For one, they have spiritual connection with mythology, both Hindu and Buddhist, and are seen as sort of divine places. There are also many legends attached to the old trees with its twisting branches, often found in secluded areas
One popular legend is that you are not supposed to sit under one of these trees at night because ghosts and other supernatural things live there.
It is also worth noting the scientific reason for the spiritual things that are said to happen when staying at one of these trees at night and that it can be explained by simple biology. During the day the tree absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen because of the sun. During night however, it releases the carbon dioxide that lowers the levels of oxygen human needs to breathe.
This process can feel suffocating, lead to hallucinations, and in worst case scenarios, even death. Could this be the reason why there are so many stories connected to seeing ghosts, hearing voices and even reaching some sort of enlightenment? Could this have a connection to what happened to Padre Inácio Lourenço Pereira?
The Haunted Saligao Village
The eerie tales of Saligao Village have made it a point of interest for paranormal enthusiasts and curious tourists. Despite the fearsome stories, the Saligao Village remains a beautiful example of Goan heritage, with its well-preserved churches and traditional houses.
The Cristalina Banyan Tree: The haunted tree in the Saligao Village is now a very known landmark. // Photo by Frederick Noronha (FN)
Visitors to Saligao often report strange occurrences near the banyan tree. Some have felt an inexplicable chill in the air, while others have heard whispers and seen fleeting shadows.
The locals practicing both various Hindi and Christian rituals have tried to appease the ghost of Cristalina by having built a small altar where they offer gifts to her. According to the Hindu villagers living close to this haunted tree, they call the spirit, Ximecho Devchar or Boundary Devil.
In splendid colors and festive celebration the Día de los Muertos in Mexico welcomes the dead with a party and a smile. But how did it originate and how does it differ from the Halloween celebration from its neighboring country?
Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a vibrant and deeply spiritual celebration with roots in ancient Mesoamerican traditions. Most will preface this with saying that this is not the Mexican version of Halloween from the United States, although the celebrations do share similarities and also how it originated.
It is a time when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is said to thin, allowing families to reunite with their departed loved ones. Far from a mournful event, Día de los Muertos honors death as a natural part of life, celebrating the memories and spirits of the dead with offerings, altars, and joyful gatherings. The part of it being a humorous and fun aspect often sets it apart from other celebration focusing on death and the dead.
The Origins of Día de los Muertos : From Mesoamerica to Modern Mexico
Today, the Día de los Muertos celebration is an old one, but just how old is still debated. Some argue that it have its origins in ancient pre-Hispanic traditions, particularly among the Aztecs and other indigenous civilizations as well as the Roman Catholics and the European Danse Macabre imagery.
Mictēcacihuātl: A drawing of Mictlancihuatl, one of the deities described in the Codex Borgia. She was the goddess of the dead and the underworld and today an imagery for those honoring the Aztec heritage during Día de los Muertos.
Some claim that close to all traditions could be traced back to medieval Europe and to the time when the Spanish Conquistadors colonized the land. They argued that what would be mistaken as indigenous traditions on the countryside was simply an archaic Spanish tradition from the early days of the conquest. Some would argue it is rather a Spanish tradition born out of Mexican nationalism to express themselves through this Aztec identity to remove themselves from Spain after independence.
But did the Aztec indigenous have a similar celebration? After all, a harvest celebration during the fall is a very global thing and could have existed parallel with others. These ancient peoples believed in the cyclical nature of life and death, viewing death not as an end but as a part of the journey of the soul.
The closest celebration is perhaps the Quecholli is the name of the fourteenth month of the Aztec calendar and was between October 20 and November 8 where the hunting deity Mixcoatl was central as it was hunting season. It had a similar tradition of placing food on altars close to the burial grounds of fallen warriors to help them reach the afterlife. It was a huge feasting time and they would also dress up as the deity as well as sacrificing a man and a woman to him at his temple.
The goddess Mictēcacihuātl, Queen of the Underworld, played a central role in ceremonies honoring the dead. She was often represented with a crown of skull and flowers, and people would often give offers to her in order to help the dead reach Mictlán.
Altars and Ofrendas: Welcoming the Spirits
At the heart of Día de los Muertos is the creation of altars, or ofrendas (offerings), that serve as a beacon for the spirits of deceased family members. These altars are elaborately decorated with candles, flowers, photos, and personal mementos of the deceased. Every ofrenda also includes the four elements: water, wind, earth and fire. A drink (water) for their thirst, food (earth) for their hunger and candles (fire). It is believed that the light from the candles guides the souls back to the world of the living, allowing them to briefly visit their families.
The big and adorned alters is a central part of the Día de los Muertos celebrations.
The altars often feature marigolds—known as cempasúchil—whose bright orange color and distinctive fragrance are thought to attract the souls of the dead and are often called Flor de Muerto or the Flower of Dead. It is often planted in cemeteries and in Honduras the flower is also used to wash corpses.
Sugar skulls, pan de muerto (a special bread made for the occasion), and favorite foods of the deceased are also placed on the ofrendas, as offerings meant to nourish and comfort the visiting spirits.
Each element of the altar has symbolic meaning and is different in different regions. The papel picado in Michoacan, intricately cut paper banners, represents the fragility of life, while the salt helps purify the souls during their journey. Water is placed on the altar to quench the thirst of the spirits after their long voyage. In Oaxacada they are decorated with colorful paper mache called alebrijes.
Further to the sea like Veracruz, seashells, seaweed and fish. In big cities like Mexico City they also use more urban and modern things. At the altars they adorn them with pictures of the deceased as well as statuettes and images of saints and the virgin Mary. They sometimes offer shots of tequila or mezcal to adults or toys for the children. Most iconic though is perhaps the sugar skull.
Calacas and Calaveras: The Dance of Death
La Catrina:Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central by Diego Rivera. Both him and Frida Kahlo is depicted together with La Catrina.
One of the most iconic images of Día de los Muertos is the calavera, or skull, often depicted in the form of brightly colored sugar skulls. These Alfeñiques sugared skulls, adorned with intricate designs, represent the dead but in a playful, lively way. The calacas (skeletons), whether in art or costume, are often shown dancing, playing music, or engaging in joyful activities. This imagery reflects the belief that death is not to be feared but rather embraced as a continuation of life.
Perhaps the most famous depiction of the calavera is the La Catrina figure, created by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada in the early 20th century. La Catrina is a skeletal figure dressed in elaborate European clothing, a satirical commentary on Mexican society but also a reminder that death comes for all, regardless of status or wealth.
Whereas Posada’s print intended to satirize upper class women of the Porfiriato, the famous Mexican artist, Diego Rivera made a huge mural where she was the centerpiece. There he molded her into a Mexican national symbol by giving her attributes that referenced indigenous cultures.
La Catrina has since become a symbol of Día de los Muertos and a popular costume during the celebrations. People are now dressing as her as a tribute and her imagery is known far outside the Mexican borders. The face painting of a human skull was not really a part of the tradition, but has become popular in recent years, especially in urban areas.
The Journey of Souls
Día de los Muertos is often celebrated over two days. November 1st, Día de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels), is dedicated to the souls of deceased children where they are reunited with their family for a day. This is perhaps a more somber day for obvious reasons than the following day. Because November 2nd, Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead), is for honoring adults who have passed away and the night is more festive.
Families visit cemeteries, clean the graves of their loved ones, and often spend the night by the tombs, sharing stories, playing music, and sometimes even hosting feasts at the gravesite. These traditions ensure that the dead are never forgotten and remain an integral part of the family.
Other traditions children will go out in the street, knocking on the doors for a calaverita, which is a small gift like candy or money. The difference between this and the Trick or Treat is that there is no threat if they don’t give anything.
They also write a particular literary form called Calaveras literarias that are lighthearted and often mocking epitaph to their friends and family. In recent years, parades in the streets with people dressing up have become more and more popular. Inspired by the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, which featured a large Day of the Dead parade, Mexico City held its first-ever parade for the holiday in 2016.
From Ancient Rituals to a Global Tradition
Over time, Día de los Muertos has gained recognition beyond Mexico’s borders. Thanks in part to the efforts of Mexican-American communities, the holiday is now celebrated in various parts of the United States, particularly in regions with large Latino populations. Schools, community centers, and cultural organizations build ofrendas, host parades, and teach the significance of the holiday. Movies such as “Coco” (2017) have introduced the spirit and meaning of Día de los Muertos to global audiences, further embedding it in the popular imagination.
Read Also: Check out all ghost stories from Mexico
This didn’t go without its controversies though, as when the American Halloween became popular through popular culture through the North American Free Trade Agreement some saw as a form of U.S Cultural Imperialism. In the 1990 the phrase “Día de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween” became more of a political statement
But as much as the cultural conservatives saw Halloween as a ‘cultural pollution’, there is no denying that the two holidays have influenced each other in the later years. A write posed the question, when children are wearing a costume from the Disney movie, Coco, is the Mexican child wearing a Halloween costume or Día de los Muertos costume? Could it not be both?
Día de los Muertos and the Beautiful Dance with Death
The candles get lit as the Monarch butterflies that holds the spirits of the departed arrive in Mexico in the fall for the celebration. Día de los Muertos is not just a day of remembrance; it is a celebration of the beautiful, mysterious connection between life and death. It teaches that death is not the end but a continuation of the journey, one that is marked with love, color, and family. As the marigolds bloom and the candles flicker in the cool autumn air, families gather to welcome their ancestors and celebrate the timeless dance between the living and the dead.
Bonfires to ward off evil and leaving food for the ghost; the Celtic pagan celebration of Samhain slowly morphed into what is now the modern Halloween with the Trick or Treat, horror movies and costume parties. But how was the celebration done in the olden days, really?
Samhain, pronounced “sow-win”, is a festival that originated in ancient Celtic culture throughout Europe, and is the precursor to the modern Halloween. Celebrated on the night of October 31st, Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter, a time traditionally associated with darkness and death. The Celts believed that during this liminal period, the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to return to the world of the living.
But what happened to this ancient celebration, and just how much of the modern Halloween tradition is really rooted in the pagan holiday?
Samhain Bonfire: Neo pagans celebrating Samhain in Ireland.// Source: Wikimedia
The Ancient Celtic Context of Samhain
The festival of Samhain was not merely a celebration; it was a deeply spiritual time for the Celts, who inhabited regions that are now part of Ireland, Scotland since pagan times. It was at least a part of the Gaelic Celts. Although something similar would be celebrated by the Brittonic Celts in Wales as Calan Gaeaf.
The Celtic people were a big and diverse group of people settled throughout Europe in the Iron and Bronze age, as far as Turkey at one time. In the 3rd century BC they were more or less absorbed into the Roman Empire, and most of the remains of the Celtic culture exists in the northernmost parts of Europe in the west.
Ancient records indicate that Samhain was one of the four major Gaelic festivals, alongside Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. These festivals were pivotal in marking the changing seasons and agricultural cycles, providing a connection to the earth and the spirits that inhabited it.
Some believe that this was the Celtic New Years, but it is a much disputed theory. Samhain signified the beginning of the darker half of the year, end of the harvest, a time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the hardships of winter. According to the Celtic calendar, the Celtic days started and ended on sunsets, so that the evening of 31. October to 1. November.
This day was believed to have the veil between our world and the Otherworld be extra thin and the portals or the sídhe were open. We were much closer to the supernatural beings called aos sí and ghosts than the rest of the year. And in contrast to its summer counterpart, Beltane which was a feast for the living, this was supposed to be a feast for the dead.
Although the festival itself was not recorded in detail until the modern era, the way history remembers it is from the fragments of the living culture and traditions still alive today.
Samhain Human Sacrifices
It is often considered a rather sinister holiday, but just how dark could the Samhain celebration be? In pagan times, Samhain is believed to be connected to the Irish Crom Cruach who was given human sacrifice and was some sort of fertility God or a solar deity. It was claimed that a first born child had to be sacrificed at the stone idol in Magh Slécht, today the plains around the south-eastern part of the Parish of Templeport.
Also the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, corn and milt to the Fomori monsters. The Nemed people were thought to be a third group of Irish settlers from the Caspian Sea, before dying of the plague and the Fomorians.
Fomorians: There are many variants of the scary tales about the Fomorians. They were often considered sea creatures, even pirates as the threat from the vikings came from the sea. Here is John Duncan’s interpretation of the sea gods of Irish mythology.
How much of the Nemed people that are true though, is up for debate. But their dark and grim legends certainly fit right into the mystical and dark Halloween legends where evil is at play.
Samhain Monsters
It wasn’t only the Fomori monster that was connected with Samhain. It was everything. The Pukah that receives the harvest from the field, the headless ghost of The Lady Gwyn in her white dress chasing the children. There is also the Dullahan, small imps or headless men on their red eyed horses carrying their heads, a deadly omen.
The Headless Horseman: A staple of Halloween lore, even today. The story of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving really cemented it in American culture, like many of the Scottish and Irish stories did.
The Sluagh or the fairies were also said to kidnap people on Samhain, transporting them to the Otherworld they perhaps never would escape from.
The Otherworld: In many fairytales there is a story about people being spirited away by the fairies to the Otherworld. The Otherworld is usually called Annwn in Welsh mythology and Avalon in Arthurian legend. In Irish mythology it’s called Tír na nÓg, Mag Mell and Emain Ablach. Here from The ‘Land of the Ever Young’ depicted by Arthur Rackham in Irish Fairy Tales (1920).
As the pagan religion passed over to the Christian one, the monsters we saw changed. From fairies and pagan creatures, the devil, witches and other demons took their place. One could perhaps wonder in our more secular societies, how the Halloween costume tradition still reflects the monsters lurking in the dark.
The Samhain Bonfires Warding off Evil
The Celts honored their ancestors and the spirits of the dead by lighting bonfires, often known as Samghnagans. They were believed to provide protection and guidance. In ancient Celtic times with the druid priest in holy places, and later in the local communities. Through the middle ages, the fires were lit up closer to the farms to protect them and their harvest.
In Ireland there are many places that are still linked to Samhain, you have the Cave of Oweynagat in Country Roscommon where a being from the Otherworld would come from and host the festivities. The Hill of Ward in County Meath was also a place where people gathered to light the bonfires. The Mound of the Hostages at Tara Hill in County Wexford is a 5,000-year-old Neolithic passage tomb. There, the rising sun illuminates the inner chamber at both Samhain and Imbolc. These were often the places the Celts would gather to light up their bonfires.
Bonfires: Neopagans celebrating Samhain as they have tried to recreate the bonfire traditions that were more important in pagan times.
These special fires with special protective and cleansing power as the sun itself, and were a focal point for gatherings, where communities would come together to celebrate, feast, and partake in rituals designed to appease both the living and the dead.
Today, the act of lighting up fires isn’t connected to the Samhain celebrations as it used to. Instead the Jack-o-lantern tradition can perhaps be seen as the modern version to keep the evil at bay with the help of light.
The bonfires were also used for divination, like the 18th-century tradition in Ochtertyre in Scotland. A ring of stones were laid around the fire and people ran around the fire with a torch. The stones were checked on the next day, and if some of them were misplaced, the person it represented would die the following year. This particular divination you also find in the Welsh Celtic, Calan Gaeaf. This is a later interpetation of divination by the bonfire that perhaps have traces dating back to the pagan Celts.
Among the customs observed during Samhain were various divination practices intended to foretell the future, often with nuts and apples. The Celts would engage in scrying with different practices, and nights like Samhain with the veil between the two worlds thinning was a perfect time it.
In the beginning it was most likely the priests or designated seers that did it in religious ceremonies to gain insight from the pagan Gods. Most likely heavily on different drugs and herbs.
Throughout the years it became a more common thing that people did among themselves, perhaps mostly for fun. This practice was especially prevalent among the young, who sought knowledge about potential suitors and marriage prospects in the coming year.
Mirror Magic: Many types of fortune telling persisted up until recent years, or perhaps even practice today. Many of them was about young women and girls trying to foretell their future husband.
Guising for the Fairies
Another thing the Celts most likely did was the guising and mumming that eventually would turn into the modern Trick or Treat. They would dress up, most likely as the aos sí or the pagan Gods and go door to door, often performing or singing for food and drink.
Food and drink offerings played a crucial role during Samhain. Some documents say that they drank for six days in some places. Families would leave out treats and meals to appease the wandering spirits, ensuring that their ancestors were satisfied and would protect the home.
This was often called dumb supper, where dumb in this context means in silence and often in connection in that women ate certain types of food to fortell their husbands.
This tradition probably stems from the fact that the spirits and the aos sí were remnants from the pagan God and revered as such. Some left windows and doors to let their ancestors enter their home for the night, some shut it to keep the spirits out. It was also customary for people to wear costumes made of animal skins or disguises to confuse the spirits, preventing them from causing harm.
The Transformation into Halloween
With the arrival of Christianity in the Celtic lands, many traditional pagan celebrations began to intertwine with Christian beliefs already in 609, by Pope Boniface IV. To replace the pagan festival, the Church moved All Saints’ Day from May to November 1st, followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2nd in the 9th century by Pope Gregory. The night before All Saints’ Day, known as All Hallows’ Eve, retained much of the Samhain traditions, including bonfires and the practice of wearing costumes.
As these Christian holidays spread, so did the customs associated with Samhain. The name “Halloween” is derived from “All Hallows’ Eve,” marking the transition from a pagan to a Christian celebration. The idea of honoring the dead was preserved, albeit within a different context. Some could even argue that the Samhain traditions we know of today were also inspired by the All Saint’s Day.
The Influence of Irish and Scottish Immigration
In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their customs to North America, further evolving Samhain into what we now recognize as Halloween.
As the years passed, Halloween became more secular, and the emphasis shifted from honoring the dead to celebrating with costumes, parties, and playful spookiness. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, initially a practice using turnips in Ireland, became popular in America due to the abundance of pumpkins. The bright orange fruits symbolized harvest and autumn while also echoing the ancient practice of lighting fires to ward off spirits.
But is this really just a dead holiday today, has it been swallowed completely by Halloween? As the highly commercialized and secular holiday took form, another branch of Samhain took form in the 19th and 20th century. Celtic Neopagans and Wiccans have taken Samhain as their own, trying to celebrate it as a religious holiday instead.
Halloween is a far cry from its Samhain origins, having transformed into a celebration of fun, fright, and community. Yet, the echoes of its ancient past linger in the traditions of dressing up, honoring the dead, and embracing the supernatural and reminding us that the veil between our world and the other, can be very thin.
As well as pagan roots, modern Halloween has its Christian touches as well. The three days of Allhallowtide is an old Catholic celebration of the dead, where its followers are praying for their departed as well as reflecting over their own mortality and coming death.
“My God, bestow Thy blessings and Thy mercies on all persons and on those souls in Purgatory for whom I am in charity, gratitude, or friendship bound and have the desire to pray. Amen.” – Invocation of the souls in purgatory
Allhallowtide, also known as Hallowmas, is a deeply spiritual and eerie season in the Catholic tradition, encompassing All Saints’ Eve (Halloween), All Saints’ Day (November 1st), and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd). This sacred triduum is rooted in ancient customs that venerate the dead while warding off evil spirits, and its ghostly imagery and rituals have shaped the modern celebration of Halloween.
There isn’t only in Europe you can observe the Catholic Allhallowtide. In Mexico they celebrate it as El Dia de Los Muertos and have a very distinct imagery and customs as it merged with the ancient Aztec traditions honoring Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of the underworld. In the Phillippines they call it Memorial Day. It is not even just the catholics having some kind of celebration during the Allhallowtide as even after the Reformation, the Protestant also took some of the celebration with them. But how did this celebration of the dead start, and how did it end up as the modern Halloween?
Day of the Day: Christian devotee pays respect and offers prayers at the grave of a family member to mark All Souls Day at a Holy Cemetery in Chattogram in Bangladesh. All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the saints departed. //Wikimedia
The Origins of Allhallowtide
The origins of Allhallowtide trace back to early Christian practices that commemorated saints, martyrs, and the faithful departed as early as back as the 4th century. The Christians needed a day to venerate the saints and initially they decided on May 13th in 609, decided by Pope Boniface IV as the Pantheon in Rome was consecrated called Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs.
The Pantheon or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs in Rome
This was a temple built for the Roman Gods and the way it transformed into a Christian Church is perhaps to show how something old and pagan turned into something Christian. Kind of like the same story with Samhain in many aspects.
By the 8th century, Pope Gregory III dedicated November 1st as All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints who had passed to align more with the European further north.
As Catholicism spread across Europe, it merged with local pagan traditions like Samhain. Some scholars think that Allhallowtide celebrations arouse to ease the Pagan Celts’s convergence into Christianity. There are also those that think the Celtic Samhain were just as much influenced by the Christian celebration.
The Celts believed that during Samhain, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thinnest, allowing spirits to roam. This blending created an atmosphere ripe for ghost stories, fear of the supernatural, and rituals to keep dark entities at bay.
Demons, Ghosts, and Gothic Imagery
During Allhallowtide, it was widely believed that demons, ghosts, and lost souls lurked in the shadows, seeking to torment the living. While All Saints’ Day focused on the saints and their miracles.
Memento Mori: The day was often used to visit graves and lighting lights for the dead.//Source: All Souls’ Day by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Perhaps the dark imagery we know from Halloween comes more from the next day: All Souls’ Day—the day to pray for the souls trapped in Purgatory—who had a more somber, eerie tone. People believed that the dead needed their prayers to be freed from purgatorial suffering, and if they were neglected, their restless spirits could cause mischief or even harm. Lighting candles or visiting their graves serves to kindle a light for the poor souls languishing in the darkness.
Churches often held midnight masses, with the flickering light of candles casting long, sinister shadows over darkened stone walls. The consecrated gothic churces and cathedrals became the very image of these day, and it is not a far stretch to claim the gothic imagery we have for Halloween comes in large from this.
As the faithful prayed for the dead, the feeling of unseen presences lurking around them was palpable. This led to an association of Allhallowtide with not only the holy but also the haunted.
The fear and reflection of death was important, as was the saying Memento Mori, or remember you shall die. The fear of demons also played a significant role. With the dead in close proximity, malevolent spirits were believed to take advantage of the liminal period to break through the spiritual barriers.
Many customs, such as lighting candles, dressing in costumes, or placing offerings of food at doorsteps, were meant to ward off these dangerous entities. Gargoyles, grimacing and monstrous, were commonly carved into the architecture of Catholic cathedrals, serving both as protectors and reminders of the evil that lurked.
Even the tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween has roots in Allhallowtide. Medieval Christians would dress as saints, angels, or even demons to personify the cosmic struggle between good and evil. Today, Halloween costumes range from the terrifying to the playful, but the theme of disguise—to ward off or confuse malevolent forces—remains.
Remembering the dead: An elderly woman stands alone holding her walking stick. She looks down in thought, presumably reflecting on her dead husband. To the left of the woman is a lantern on which hangs a commemorative wreath; behind that is a stone monument. //Image: All Souls Day by Jakub Schikaneder 1888.
Rituals and Superstitions
Souling: In England, a popular tradition associated with All Souls’ Day is souling,were they went round to the houses of the well-to-do on Souling Day, as they called it, begging money, apples, ale, or doles of cake.
Bonfires, another ritual carried from Samhain into Allhallowtide, were lit on All Hallows’ Eve to keep away evil spirits. The fire symbolized light and protection, guiding the souls of the faithful dead to peace while scaring off the demonic. Much like the tradition of lighting candles in church for the departed. People would also carve turnips into grotesque faces, mimicking the Jack-o’-lantern of today, to frighten away wandering spirits.
Another thing that Samhain and Allowtide had in common was leaving food on the table for the departed, keeping the room warm for them and the likes. Examples of regional customs include leaving cakes for departed loved ones on the table and keeping the room warm for their comfort in Tirol and the custom in Brittany, where people flock to the cemeteries at nightfall to kneel, bareheaded, at the graves of their loved ones and anoint the hollow of the tombstone with holy water or to pour libations of milk on it. At bedtime, supper is left on the table for the souls.
There was also a belief in divination during this time. Just as the Celts used Samhain for fortune-telling, during Allhallowtide, prophetic dreams and omens were thought to hold sway. It was believed that the spirits of the dead could offer glimpses into the future or warnings about dangers ahead.
The Dark Legacy
While Allhallowtide’s focus on saints and the dead is deeply spiritual, it also carries a dark undercurrent of fear—fear of lost souls, malevolent spirits, and demons unleashed upon the world. This duality of honoring the dead while fearing the unknown reflects humanity’s deepest existential anxieties. It is this legacy that transformed into the eerie, chilling celebration of Halloween, where ghosts and monsters, the sacred and the profane, come together in a night of unsettling mystery.
In modern Halloween, the echoes of Allhallowtide remain, even though the Halloween celebration has become a controversial one. The pagan influence as well as the demonic and dark imagery connected to venerating Satan instead of the dead has made many Christians to depart from the celebration their religion helped shape.
The prayers for the dead have become a night for ghost stories, the saints have transformed into costumes, and the bonfires have morphed into jack-o’-lanterns glowing in the dark. But beneath it all, the core idea remains the same: the borders between the worlds of the living and the dead blur, and on this night, something lingers.
Before the modern Halloween came back to the British Isles, there were celebrations like the Welsh Calan Gaeaf. The first day of winter. The night before this day was when the veil was thinnest and the spirits roamed the land.
Home, home, at once The tailless black sow shall snatch the last one. – Welsh rhyme from Nos Calan Gaeaf
As the winds of autumn grow colder and the days shorter, the people of Wales prepare for Calan Gaeaf, a festival steeped in ancient tradition and eerie folklore. Celebrated on the night of October 31st, this Celtic holiday marks the transition into winter—when the veil between the living and the dead thins, allowing spirits to walk freely among the living.
Much like its more famous counterpart, Halloween, Calan Gaeaf is a time when ghostly apparitions and supernatural forces are said to roam the earth. But in Wales, the night is uniquely filled with tales of terrifying spirits, haunted crossroads, and ominous signs of death. It’s a night where even the bravest avoid stepping outside after dark.
The Origins of Calan Gaeaf Festivities
Harvest: The Calan Gaeaf is a harvest festival as well, and things like apple bobbing and telling fortune of apple skin were some of the activities.
Calan Gaeaf, translating to “the first day of winter” in Welsh, has roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. For the Celts, this night represented the end of the harvest season and the start of the dark half of the year, when the world was gripped by cold and the dead returned to walk among the living. Or is it really a tradition for all Celts? There are those who claim there really is no evidence that Samhain was ever celebrated in Wales, making some think it is more a Gaelic custom rather than Celtic.
But how far does this celebration date back though? The word, Galan or Calan is actually from the latin, calends “first day of winter.”
What is Celtic though is the dating of the day. The night before the day is called the Nos Galan Gaef, and this is when the spirits from the otherworld, or Annwn, are said to come out to play. The Celts counted the days to begin on the evening before, not the morning off.
The same term is in the Cornish language called Kalan Gwav, or Allantide as it is mostly called now. In Breton language in modern day France it is called Kalan Goañv.
Wales, with its rich Celtic heritage, embraced these ancient beliefs, and Calan Gaeaf became a night filled with both celebration and fear. Fires were lit in villages to keep the malevolent spirits at bay, and families gathered indoors to share stories of ghosts and ghouls, all while keeping a wary eye on the night outside.
The Haunting Presence of Hwch Ddu Gwta
Among the many eerie figures associated with Calan Gaeaf, none is more feared than Hwch Ddu Gwta, a fearsome black sow with no tail. Legend says that Hwch Ddu Gwta roams the Welsh countryside on Calan Gaeaf, accompanied by a headless woman, the Y Ladi Wen, stalking those who dare to venture outside after sunset. Anyone unlucky enough to encounter this spectral beast would surely be doomed, dragged away into the darkness or even to the underworld itself.
Y Ladi Wen: The Lady in White is a Welsh legend, known as Y Ladi Wen or Y Ddynes Mewn Gwyn. She appears dressed in white, especially during Hollantide and Calan Gaeaf, and is featured in Welsh oral tradition to warn children against misbehavior. Y Ladi Wen can be seen as a scary ghost who might seek help or offer treasure. She is linked to the villages of Ogmore, Ewenny, and St Athan. In Ogmore, a spirit was said to roam until a brave man approached her, discovering a cauldron of gold under a stone in Ogmore Castle. He took some treasure but later returned for more, angering the spirit, who attacked him in revenge. He fell ill and died after confessing his greed, leading to the belief that “Y Ladi Wen’s revenge” would affect anyone who died without revealing hidden treasure. //Source: pduncaza/Deviantart
To avoid Hwch Ddu Gwta and other restless spirits, people would rush home before nightfall, locking their doors tightly. The idea of being caught outside was a terror for many, as it was believed the spirits could claim anyone out in the open on this haunted night.
Hwch Ddu Gwta a Ladi Wen heb ddim pen Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola’ Hwch Ddu Gwta nos G’langaea Lladron yn dwad tan weu sana.
The black sow and headless white lady, Will try and catch the last to leave, Thieves abound knitting stockings, Beware the tail-less black sow on winter’s eve.
A game played by the bonfire was also that one of the men would wear a pig skin and chase the children to keep the fear and legend alive.
Divination and Dark Omens During Nos Galan Gaeaf
Aside from the lurking spirits, Calan Gaeaf is a night filled with ancient customs and rituals. One of the most unnerving traditions was a form of divination—an attempt to peer into the future and learn of one’s fate, particularly regarding death. People would gather around bonfires (coelcerth) and throw stones into the flames, each person marking their stone with a special symbol or name. After the fire had burned down, the stones were retrieved. It was said that anyone whose stone was missing in the morning would die before the next Calan Gaeaf. You could also see the people who would die if you ran around the church three times and peered into the keyhole of the church door.
Another dark tradition involved staring into a mirror at midnight on Calan Gaeaf, with the belief that the face of your future spouse—or, chillingly, a skull—would appear behind you. If you saw the skull, you would never marry, and die within a year.
Boys would cut ten leaves of ivy, throw one away and put the rest under the pillow. This would help them see the future, and if they touched the ivy, they would see witches, or gwrachod, as they slept. The men would also dress in women’s clothing mimicking the Gwrachod and go from door to door for treats. This was thought to repel the evil spirits.
The girls grew roses in hoops they could go through. They then cut the rose and put it under their pillows to see their future. Peeled apple skin was also thrown over the shoulders to spell the first letter of the future husband.
Bonfire Night: Central to the Nos Calan Gaeaf is the bonfire, or the coelcerth as it is in Welsh.
The Modern Halloween Celebration in Wales
Though today, many of these old customs have faded, the fear of spirits abroad on Calan Gaeaf still lingers in the corners of Welsh folklore. The old ways of celebrating seem like it’s being swallowed by the highly commercialized American Halloween.
On this eerie night, even the skeptics can’t help but feel a shiver down their spine as the wind howls through the hills and the night closes in. After all, as the old tales warn—if you’re out too late on Calan Gaeaf, you might just find yourself face-to-face with something that doesn’t belong in this world.
So when October 31st comes around in Wales, beware of wandering too far from home. Hwch Ddu Gwta might be watching, and the spirits may be closer than you think.
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