Just in time for Halloween, here are the top 10 creepiest facts about Cardiff

Believe it or not, there’s something scarier than the queue for the SU on a Wednesday!


Cardiff, a city we all know and love, has previously been plagued with horrors and ghastly tales throughout its history. Whilst most of like to spend our Halloween carving pumpkins and dressing up in costumes to spend the night in a club.

For the horror fanatics out there who love to be spooked, we have delved into the city’s dark history to present you with some creepy facts about Cardiff that will irk, spook and maybe terrify even the very bravest of you.

1. Cardiff Castle ghosts

There are well-documented sightings of Norman ghosts haunting Cardiff Castle, specifically a Norman Keep. He stands at night, watching over the walls, right by the gate. Remember to look twice when you cross the roads there, you could see something strange!

2. Mass graves uncovered in the 1960s

During the building of Cardiff’s first high-rise building, the Capitol building, in 1967, builders were seen going into the site wearing hazmat suits – but why? One of the builders had the pleasure of accidentally digging up a mass Black Death grave pit, and the disease could have easily been preserved due to the cold ground. Puts a scary twist to Freshers’ Flu, doesn’t it?

3. Witch burnings on St Mary Street

Ah yes, the beloved pilgrimage to Coyote Ugly, the Prince of Wales and, for the academically inclined, the JOMEC building. The warm, even burning atmosphere could be due to the massive crowds on a weekend, or could be due to the dark history of witch burnings on that very street. That’s right, during the 15th and 16th centuries, it was not uncommon for everyone’s Saturday to be spent watching people being burned at the stake. Sounds like more fun than trying to find a table at Central Bar after 7pm.

4. Walking on graves

Behind Cardiff Market, on Woking Street, you may notice some copper numbers on the floor. They are, in fact, vaults containing dead bodies, that have been numbered so workers know not to dig them up. You are quite literally walking on ancient graves.

5. Hospital exorcisms

In 1822, the Cardiff Royal Infirmary, while generally haunted, was home to one of Wales’ only documented exorcisms. One of the nurses who witnessed it had to get psychiatric help, and felt as though she herself too had been possessed by the demon.

6. Cardiff Market used to be a violent prison

Now notorious for independent shops and banging food, Cardiff Market used to be the site of a prison for violent inmates and was actually home to several executions. There are also rumours that some ghosts of particularly violent prisoners are seen walking around outside it at night. However these could just be freshers who can’t hack their drink, we’ll never really know, but both are equally as scary.

7. Late-night sightings

Stumbling home from a night out, you may have seen some several weird and slightly creepy things. Perhaps a ghostly woman dressed in white, standing on the turrets of Cardiff Castle? Perhaps at 3:45am? If you can remember to, maybe look up on your way home, and see if she’s watching you try and justify missing a 9am for a night out on a Tuesday.

8. Cathays chaos

Listen, we’re all familiar with the strange happenings in Cathays, it’s definitely a place with a lot of character. You may not know, however, that at the crossroad between City, Albany, Crwys and Richmond roads, was where priests were hung, drawn and quartered for denouncing their priesthood.

9. Bute Park burials

Underneath the idyllic Bute Park is deep tunnels, previously used by monks to escape execution. Now, I have been assured that they are empty, but you never really know.

10. Phantom horse and coaches

Apparently, ghosts come in vehicle form too. Since the 1900s, multiple people have reported seeing a phantom horse and coach speeding down past Cardiff Castle, past where the Next Bikes are stored. This isn’t particularly scary, unless you’re afraid of horses, in which case, a semi-invisible animal you’re afraid of galloping past you is terrifying.

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