The Most Haunted Castle in Wales
5 March 2025
Deep Dive
Craig-Y-Nos Castle: one-time home to the renowned opera singer Adelina Patti, a former TB hospital, a hotel and…the most haunted castle in Wales? In today’s episode, Chyaz explores some of the fascinating, spooky tales from this stunning building, and delves into how it got its haunted reputation..
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Themes
- Haunting and legacy
- Institutional trauma and memory
- Paranormal investigation and experience
Questions Explored
Who was Adelina Patti and why is she connected to Craig y Nos Castle? + −
Adelina Patti was a celebrated Spanish-born Italian opera singer who purchased Craig y Nos in 1878, performed in a private auditorium she commissioned, and died at the property in 1919, after which her body was embalmed in the Slab Room; many later visitors linked sightings and operatic echoes to her presence. Chyaz Samuel lays out Patti’s life and link to Craig y Nos in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.
Where and when did Craig y Nos operate as a tuberculosis sanitorium, and who was treated there? + −
After Patti’s death the castle was sold to the Welsh National Memorial Trust and converted into a sanitorium that admitted its first patients in 1922; unlike many TB hospitals it specialised in treating children and teenagers, and several former child patients later gave interviews about isolation, fresh air treatment and life at the institution. Chyaz Samuel walks through the sanitorium era in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.
What supernatural reports are linked to the Adelina Patti theatre at Craig y Nos? + −
The theatre is associated with a White Lady thought to be Patti, instances of unseen operatic singing heard in empty corridors, a reported apparition encouraging a nervous performer, and legends that singing Patti’s song ‘Home Sweet Home’ will summon her; the current owner also reported doors creaking open while the room was locked. Chyaz Samuel goes into these theatre accounts in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.
Who was John Mellon and what phenomena are reported in the room named after him? + −
John Mellon is said to have been a gardener who had a relationship with a housemaid named Charlotte, who was removed from the castle to protect both of them; legend claims Mellon took his own life and investigators report mediumistic impressions of the names John and Charlotte, sensations of a rope around the neck, and emotional responses pointing to a broken romance. Chyaz Samuel details the Mellon room stories in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.
Why do the conservatory and other areas at Craig y Nos carry particularly melancholic hauntings? + −
The conservatory was a lavish social space in Patti’s time but later became a children’s TB ward, and visitors and investigators report hearing echoes of children and babies crying there and elsewhere, including a named child spirit in the theatre basement; the episode highlights how the site’s medical history colours many of the sad encounters. Chyaz Samuel covers these melancholic accounts in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.
Why does Craig y Nos still draw ghost hunters and paying guests today? + −
Craig y Nos appears on television and digital media, featured on a 2004 Most Haunted episode, and today offers guided ghost tours, seances, overnight stays and paranormal investigations, attracting enthusiasts, former patients and curious visitors who report varied experiences; the hotel also markets its ghost history as part of its appeal. Chyaz Samuel describes the castle’s ongoing attraction in Things Are About To Get Weird, Episode 68: The Most Haunted Castle in Wales.