13 places in Wales with eerie and haunting pasts that may strike a chill

From castles to bunkers, tunnels and lighthouses, there's plenty of places with a dark history, as Branwen Jones finds as the nights draw in

- Branwen Jones

Capel SALEM

WALES, steeped in history and folklore, has its fair share of chilling tales.

Halloween, or Noson Galan Gaeaf as it's known in Welsh, has deep roots. Calan Gaeaf, traditionally celebrated on November 1, signalled the onset of winter and bore similarities to the Gaelic festival of Samhain.

Typically, this time was marked by harvest celebrations, adjusting to shorter days and longer nights, reminiscing about the past and anticipating the future. Now that the spooky season is upon us, we've explored 13 locations across Wales with a particularly unsettling history.

Some of these sites bear witness to our brutal past, while others are steeped in mythology and local legends. Some have all but disappeared, leaving only traces behind, while others remain standing and have become popular tourist destinations.

Pentre Gwynfryn, Gwynedd

The chapel is where one of the most famous paintings in Welsh culture is set. Sydney Curnow Vosper's watercolour titled "Salem", which was painted in 1909, depicts a woman wearing an ornate shawl and a Welsh hat arriving at her pew at the chapel in Pentre Gwynfryn near Harlech in Gwynedd.

But if you look closely, some say you can see an outline of a face appearing in the folds of the woman's shawl. According to reports, the artist denied that the shawl contained an image of the Devil, but this has not prevented it becoming the painting's main talking point over the years. The chapel still stands to this day.

Pontarfynach, Ceredigion

The story goes that an elderly lady needed to cross the deep Mynach gorge in Ceredigion to get her cow back from the other side of the river.

The Devil offered to build her a bridge on the condition that he would take possession of the soul of the first living thing that crossed it. The woman agreed and the Devil built the bridge.