THE CRICCIETH GHOST

Description

THE CRICCIETH GHOST.
The Cheshire Observer 6th March 1869.
Criccieth was at one time celebrated for its ghost. The "Criccieth Ghost" was a name of fear to the whole neighbourhood, often appearing after dark, wandering about the roads and fields. Upon one occasion " the friend of a friend" of the narrator's was returning home through Criccieth, in his gig, with a companion. It was dusk, but not too dark for the driver to see, as they approached a bend in the road, a person standing in the midst of the way. The travellers drove up, turned out of their course to avoid running down the figure, and as he passed, the driver lightly struck it with his whip. No sooner had he done so, than instinctively he felt he had made a mistake. Time for repentance, however, was not given, for in a second after the rash stroke, the harness dropped from the horse and they were pitched from the gig into the road. Then they knew that they had met and ill-treated the Criccieth Ghost. The horse, released from his harness, galloped home, alarming its owner's family. A servant was at once sent along the road to render assistance, who shortly met his master coming on foot. The servant, finding that the gig was left behind, volunteered to run back and fetch another horse to bring it home, but the alarmed employer replied, " No, leave it till morning," and for a time refused to give any account of what had happened. This ghost has also been "laid" by a pious bishop — we suppose with bell, book and candle — but the period for which its troubled spirit was confined is nearly up, and the villagers are looking forward with some apprehension to the time when the Criccieth Ghost shall again walk the earth.
NOTE: “ Bell, book and candle” - This expression alludes to the closing words of the rite of excommunication, 'Do to the book, quench the candle, ring the bell', meaning that the service book is closed, the candle put out, and the passing bell rung, as a sign of spiritual death.