Spooky Places to Visit in Wales This Halloween
Haunted Inns, Witches & Fairy Tales
By Your Official Welsh Tourist Guide
If you’re looking for spooky places to visit in Wales this Halloween, you’re in for a supernatural treat. From ancient haunted inns to mystical fairy glens and eerie legends from charming villages, Wales is a land where folklore and the paranormal meet in the misty valleys.
While witch trials were common elsewhere in Britain, only five witches were ever tried in Wales — but that hasn’t stopped centuries of ghost stories, fairy sightings, and eerie happenings across the country.
Here are five of the most haunted and mysterious places in Wales to explore this Halloween season.
The Skirrid Inn, located in Llanfihangel Crucorney, is widely regarded as one of the oldest and most haunted pubs in Wales. Steeped in history and legend, the inn once served as a courtroom and a place of execution. Over 180 people were reportedly executed here, many hanged from an oak beam above the staircase for crimes such as sheep stealing and highway robbery, with the last known execution around 1658. Today, visitors can still spot scorch and drag marks on the ancient beam, eerie reminders of its dark past.
Guests at this haunted pub in Wales often report ghostly encounters: sudden cold spots, phantom footsteps echoing through the halls, and the faint perfume of someone long gone lingering in the air. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or a thrill-seeker hoping to experience real paranormal activity, the Skirrid Inn offers a spine-tingling glimpse into the past.
Visit their site here: The Skirrid Inn skirridinn.com+2Visit Monmouthshire+2
Tip for travellers: Arrive at dusk, pull up a pew by the fire, and keep an extra eye on the ancient staircase… just in case.
This moss-covered gorge near Betws-y-Coed is enchanting and deeply mysterious. Hidden waterfalls, thick woodland, and the whisper of the wild. Locals say the Welsh folk (the Tylwyth Teg) still dance in the shadows here.
In Welsh folklore, the Tylwyth Teg are not the tiny, winged fairies of English storybooks. They’re ethereal, human-sized beings of great beauty and unpredictable moods — sometimes kind, sometimes cruel. They live in hidden valleys, fairy rings, and underground halls, often appearing near water.
Many tales describe mortals lured into fairy dances, only to awaken and find that a single night of music had lasted a hundred years. Others speak of the “changeling” — fairy children swapped for human babies, a belief that haunted Welsh families for centuries.
Some locals still say that if you stand quietly at dusk in the Fairy Glen, you can hear faint laughter or harp music carried by the wind. But be careful — the Tylwyth Teg are known for their tricks. A lost traveller might find themselves spirited away to the otherworld. More information from the local tourist board: Fairy Glen – Betws-y-Coed betws-y-coed.com
Best time to visit: Late afternoon – when the light fades and the glen feels more alive.
In the quiet village of Myddfai, Carmarthenshire, lives the legendary tale of the Lady of the Lake of Llyn y Fan Fach. A farmer fell in love with a beautiful woman who emerged from the lake’s mist. She married him under one condition: he must never strike her three times. When he broke the promise, she vanished back into the waters, leaving behind their sons.
These sons became the Physicians of Myddfai — healers who were said to be descendants of the Lady of the Lakeherself. They recorded remedies based on medicinal plants and herbal wisdom, blending ancient Celtic healing traditions with early medicine.
Their work represents how deeply knowledge of plants, herbs, and natural remedies is woven into Welsh culture — from medieval times to modern herbal practices that still thrive in rural communities.In this quiet and magical village lies one of Wales’s most celebrated legends: the “Lady of the Lake” from Llyn y Fan Fach, her strange marriage to a mortal man, and the mysterious healers known as the Physicians of Myddfai. Some claim her spirit still wanders the lake in moonlit mist.
Visitor centre site: Myddfai Visitor Centre & Community Hall myddfai.org
Did you know? The area remains linked to herbal lore and healing traditions tied to that legend.
Once home to the opera star Adelina Patti, this gothic castle now offers accommodation, events — and yes, ghost tours. Reports include eerie singing echoing through the theatre and footsteps in empty corridors.
Official website: Craig y Nos Castle craigynoscastle.com+1
Stay overnight if you dare — a Halloween sleep-over here could be unforgettable.
On the island of Anglesey, at Llanddona Beach, there’s a legend of witches shipwrecked on its sands, feared by locals but also said to have wielded strange powers of healing and curse. The wind across the bay still carries their whispers.
A vivid local account: The Witches of Llanddona anglesey-today.com+1
Traveller’s tip: Visit during low-tide; the sands stretch far and the sea breeze tonight might feel like more than just the wind.
One fascinating theory suggests that the traditional image of a witch — tall black hat, cloak, and red underskirt — actually originated from the Welsh national costume of the 18th and 19th centuries.
In that period, Welsh women wore high black stovepipe hats, dark shawls, and aprons. Later English illustrators and storytellers may have exaggerated these outfits in depictions of “witches,” blending real Welsh fashion with superstition.
So, when you imagine a classic witch flying on her broom — pointy hat and all — you might really be picturing a Welsh woman in her Sunday best!
Whether you want to meet a ghost at the Skirrid Inn, see fairies in Betws-y-Coed, or sense the Lady of the Lake at Myddfai, there’s no shortage of haunted places in Wales to explore.
Remember — while Wales only ever tried five witches, the land is full of spirits, mysteries and secrets that refuse to stay buried.
