Chapel said to be haunted by a 'ghost hound' going to auction

Comes with planning plus the local legend of a spooky beast

Some buyers might expect maybe a human spirit to be wandering their property and land if they buy a historic chapel or church, but how many would expect a potential 'ghost' to be a dog?

According to local folklore, this dilapidated 17th century chapel near Cwmbran going to auction is said to be haunted by a blood thirsty black hound.

No Scooby snack rewards for this naughty dog, that legend says has been scaring people for centuries.

According to legend, the former chapel and adjacent, fully occupied graveyard, is haunted by 'The Black Hound of The Underworld', which haunts the souls of men.

According to local folklore a former minister of the chapel, once surrounded by scrubby woodland and fields, late one night heard the blood curdling baying of a hound.

It was not long after that the man of the cloth was said to have witnessed what he described as a great black hound following his trail. The minister, realising that he was on the menu, struck the hound between the eyes with his Bible.

The mythical creature is said to have burst into flames and disappeared, leaving the minister's soul intact but his beard singed.

And if stories across the world are to be believe this Welsh minister, who had a lucky escape from the beast that stalked him, is not the only person to have had a ghostly hound encounter.

A spooky, menacing black hound is seen across many countries as being a predictor of doom, or linked to tormented souls forced to conduct wild hunts, or a demon or even the devil himself in disguise.

But according to blog The Serpent's Pen by David Castleton, the black dog isn't necessarily a bad omen or a ghostly evil manifestation.

Some dog sightings are a 'church grim', which protects the churchyard from all who would desecrate it, including vandals, witches, warlocks, thieves and even the devil.

Hopefully the mutt said by local folklore to be at present at this chapel isn't a Welsh Gwyllgi, which David says is also known as the 'Dog of Darkness' or 'Black Hound of Destiny'.

The blog states that this dog is described as 'a huge mastiff or black wolf with noxious breath and burning eyes – appears to individuals after dark, especially on isolated roads. Glimpsing the dog is a prediction you'll suffer a horrendous death'.

Years ago this Welsh chapel stood quite alone on a wind-swept, grassy hillside and the thought of a sinister hound prowling the graveyard seems more likely to capture the imagination than in more recent times.

These days the single-storey detached stone-built chapel sits incongruously among modern homes in Waun Road, in the St Dials area of Cwmbran.

Once a centre for Welsh Non-Conformists, the chapel, which hasn't been used for worship for generations, is being sold by Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions and is a total renovation project. 

Debra Bisley, of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "I don't know about the mysterious black hound and the minister's beard but the chapel and graveyard is certainly unusual plonked as it is in the middle of the modern estate.

"Sympathetically converted It could make a lovely house or may be an unusual airbnb property. There would be no nuisance or noise from the immediate neighbours either.

"The detached chapel, of stone construction under a pitch tiled roof, is believed to date back to the 17th century.

"It's understood not to be listed and has planning for conversion to residential uses. The site also offers potential for the creation of off road parking."

Whatever the four-legged beast said to be at the site - man's best friend, demon in disguise or the neighbour's escaped wolf hound, maybe have some dog biscuits on stand-by if you buy this one; just in case.

The chapel is going to online sale with Paul Fosh Auctions on Tuesday, March 8 from noon with the virtual hammer falling from 5pm on Thursday, March 10, 5pm with a guide price of £43,000 plus.

For further information call the auction house on 01633 254044.

Story by Joanne Ridout via WalesOnline. For full story click here