'The legend of Valle Crucis will continue to survive long after the ghost-like apparitions have faded back

into the darkness...'





OVER the past 800 years stories of ghostly apparitions and supernatural voices have echoed through the crumbling ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey.



From mysterious traces of light floating in the darkness to spirits of the legendary Owain Glyndwr, the Llangollen landmark has experienced its fair share of paranormal activity.



And it inspired one journalist – Richard Holland, who wrote a column published in the Free Press in the early 1990s – to take the first step on a journey through the world of paranormal investigation that would lead to a future career as a well-respected ghost hunter.



Richard is now editor of Paranormal magazine but it was during his time writing the column for the newspaper that he received a letter regarding Valle Crucis Abbey that really caught his attention.



In it the writer recounted an extraordinary vision that she claimed to have witnessed at Valle Crucis in the 1930s.



She wrote: "Walking one night on the road opposite Valle Crucis Abbey with my aunt, we stopped to peer through the darkness and suddenly I was amazed to see in front of the abbey the ground light up in a large circle of the most golden dazzling light, apparently emanating from the ground.



"In the middle of the circle, there was some kind of golden object

several feet high and walking about quite a number of human figures, garbed in wonderful golden costumes with golden helmets on their heads. I said to my aunt:

'Isn't it wonderful? It must be some kind of pageant they are putting on'.



"I couldn't believe it when she said 'What light? It's all dark'. For some seconds the wonderful scene went on, but she couldn't see it.



"Then it vanished as suddenly as it had come."



The letter seemed to fit in with some other "hauntings" Richard had heard about at the abbey and reminded him of some of the Arthurian legends and later medieval rituals.



"I think that what she describes sounds like some sort of medieval ritual and there is no reason to suppose that it pre-dated the abbey," he said.



"However, with the apparent links between the abbey and Dinas Bran, which is the strongest contender for the Grail castle, you do immediately think about that sort of thing.



"What is quite interesting about Valle Crucis is that there is a tradition of singing being heard from the abbey.



"It was first brought to my attention by a lady from the Wirral who had camped in the field next to the abbey as a girl.



"She said that she had heard this wonderful singing coming from the ruins but that it was the middle of the night and dark so she couldn't understand where it was coming from.



"Also, while researching Haunted Wales, I came across a book that had been published in the 1890s, which recounted the same phenomenon.



"On this occasion two preachers were walking past the abbey at first light when they heard this beautiful singing. It was a solo male voice, singing a Latin religious song and they stopped to listen for a while.



"They did not know that it was anything supernatural at first and it was only when the singing had stopped that they went down to the ruins to introduce themselves and found nobody there."



Of course, having stood since the 13th century, not all visitors to the abbey have been of the supernatural variety.



King Arthur is thought to have been a visitor and, more recently, Charles Darwin stopped off there when he came to the area to study rock formations on nearby Velvet Hill.



JMW Turner also spent some time painting a haunting view of the picturesque ruins of Valle Crucis.



There are also a number of legends associated with the abbey, perhaps most famously – already mentioned by Richard – that of King Arthur and the Holy Grail.



Castell Dinas Bran, overlooking the abbey, is said to be the model for the Grail castle.



According to legend, the Grail is hidden beneath the castle and can only be found by a boy with a white dog with a silver eye.



The search for the Holy Grail is one of the central Arthurian legends and has several parallels with the Bran legend.



Many believe Bran to be an early "Grail King", or "Fisher King".

In his first version of the legend, Robert de Boron names the Grail King "Bron".



The association is strengthened by the similar wounds the two share – the Fisher King was wounded in the thigh and Bran in the foot.



According to the legend, the king was cured with the help of the Grail and, in return, he built "a strong castle on top of a hill overlooking a fast flowing river in which to house the Grail".



Perhaps the most interesting link is that once the castle was finished, a magic inscription appeared on the gates saying that this castle must be named Corbenic. Corbenic is an old French word meaning crow... the Welsh word for crow is Bran.



Many Arthurian scholars believe that the Valle Crucis Abbey visible today is not the first religious building to have stood there and that the site has strong links with Dinas Bran on the mountain above and with Arthur and his quest.



Some also believe that, further to the legends connecting the two sites, there is actually a physical link – one that runs between the abbey and castle above – that was used by the kings and princes of old.



No matter which truth you choose to believe it's clear that the legend of Valle Crucis will continue to survive long after the ghost-like apparitions have faded back into the darkness.