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Well Known Stories
Phantom Lights of Sker & Tusker
Background
When Porthcawl docks were being built it was firmly believed that a ghostly and inexplicable light could be seen hovering above Tusker Rock.
Sometimes the light drifted westward and could be seen hovering over Sker Point. In either case old salts believed the light was the harbinger
of a storm or a forthcoming wreck.
Because of this light the water around Tusker was regarded with awe by local fishermen and it was deemed appropriate to always cast out three nets.
If the middle one filled with crab and lobster bad weather and a poor season would follow; if it filled with fish fair weather and a good season
were indicated.
Phantom Ship
In the early 19th century sailors of Porthcawl told a tale of a ship from the underworld. It was a 3-masted barque which as it sailed up and
down the coast smelt abominably of sulpher so much so that life in the coastal villages became difficult. The devil had placed the souls of sinners
in this ship but its constant meandering had annoyed St. Donat so much that he pierced its hull with a spear. The devil who at that moment was
counting the number of souls aboard was thrown into the water and had to swim for his life. The ship was wrecked and a giant from the Gower made
a toothpick from the mast and a hankerchief from the sails.
The Cyhiraeth
Accompanying the ghost light of Tusker was the Cyhiraeth - this was an unearthly noise starting as a moan heard in the distance across the waves
gradually increasing in pitch and loudness until it became a scream. It might stop suddenly or gradually die away only to come again in a
startling shriek that petrified all those who heard it. It often travelled inland frightening the people in the small villages of the Vale.
It was always the harbinger of a terrible storm with the certainty of a shipwreck to follow.
The Tolaeth
The Cyhiraeth sometimes brought the Tolaeth - another sound less frightening but more ghostly. This was the noise a carpenter would hear
at night after making a coffin; the sound of hammering would be heard with inspection revealing nothing untoward. The Tolaeth was well known
throughout Wales for in the past because of epidemics and a short life expectancy when coffin-making was chiefly a carpenter's main source
of income. In the coastal areas because of frequent wrecks more than the usual number of coffins were often required increasing the
hearing of the Tolaeth as a direct result.
Old Coastal Beliefs of Glamorgan
Background
A sailor's life tends towards the creation of legends and superstitions. This was particualarly so in previous centuries when sailing
ships, without modern navigational aides were at the mercy of sudden storms and unchartered reefs. Wales with its long coastline had its
full quota of sailor-lore with the Bristol Channel reputed as one of the most dangerous passages in the world. The following strange sayings
and beliefs are outlined as they are well known on our side of the Channel.
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