Was THAT the ghostly countess? I’m A Celeb viewers spot a spectral figure in one of ‘haunted’ Gwrych Castle’s windows on FIRST night of new series
It seems the ghosts of Gwrych Castle have been chomping at the bit to make their TV debut on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The series was forced to relocate to the supposedly haunted ruin in Wales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the premiere episode aired on ITV on Sunday night viewers noticed a shadowy figure stood at one of the castle windows during the broadcast.
While rumours of the Regency era castle being haunted have been discussed at length in the lead up to this year’s series, no-one expected a ghostly sighting this early on.
Was THAT the ghostly countess? I’m A Celeb viewers spotted a spectral figure in one of ‘haunted’ Gwrych Castle’s windows on the first night of the new series
One of the medieval-style windows appeared to have a spectral shape stood in it as the camera panned across one shot of the castle.
The most famed ghost at the castle is said to be previous lady of the house Winifred Hesketh, the Countess of Dundonald, who died in 1924.
The apparition of a woman has been seen by several eye-witnesses over the years – sometimes seen in a red dress, other times in white, said to be floating.
The ghostly countess is said to be a vengeful spirit, reeling after her husband – Scottish aristocrat Douglas Cochrane, the 12th Earl of Dundonald – removed all of the valuables from their several properties.
Vengeful bride: The most famed ghost at the castle is said to be previous lady of the house Winifred Hesketh, the Countess of Dundonald, who died in 1924
Sighting: The series was forced to relocate to the supposedly haunted ruin in Wales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the premiere episode aired on ITV on Sunday night viewers noticed a shadowy figure stood at one of the castle windows during the broadcast
A chilling photo taken 10 years ago shows a pale, shadowy young woman on the first floor — in what used to be a magnificent banquet hall.
Some locals also believe that the spirit of a servant girl who died falling off a horse haunts the land. Others say ghosts of former groundskeepers have been seen around the 200-year-old castle, amid its 250 acres of deer park.
Winifred inherited the castle from her father in 1894. She was married to Douglas when she was 19 and he was 26, against her will.
They were unhappy, with Douglas rarely at the castle, while Winifred doted on it, at one point in talks with the royal family about making it their Welsh residence.
She died, however, in 1924 of heart failure, with the royals abandoning plans to take over the castle, apparently goaded by Douglas.
Most haunted: The apparition of a woman has been seen by several eye-witnesses over the years – sometimes seen in a red dress, other times in white, said to be floating
Following Winifred’s death, Douglas stopped their children from living at Gwrych and took it upon himself to sell his late wife’s art, literature and jewellery collection, against the wishes in her will.
Desperate to amass a fortune out of it, he tried to sell the castle off as a quarry site, then as a hotel, but his plans were constantly thwarted – with legend suggesting Winifred continued to interfere from beyond the grave.
Boxer Randolph Turpin trained at the castle in 1951 and was running on the grounds one morning when he came across a woman in tears. He approached her, only for her to vanish before him.
The Abergele rail disaster of 1868 took place less than a mile away, which saw 33 people killed, and the cliffs the castle sits on have been the site of shipwrecks over the years, prompting speculation that victims of such tragedies also haunt the local countryside.