For seeing the long-dead soldier is said to be the worst of omens as the witness can expect nothing less than death!
The centurion can apparently be seen in all his glory, including helmet and body armour. People think he may have died in the area during a battle as Romans had settled nearby in Chester or Deva as it was known centuries agao.
One of the sightings of the soldier involves a group of men who had been fishing on the moors and were returning to their vehicle. After being dumb-struck by the vision before them, and being local men who knew the legend, they were concerned at the prospect of one them facing doom.
Sure enough, folklore has it, that one of the men did soon meet his death.
And some time later a second group of people is also said to have fallen foul of the apparition when one of the group went on to meet a premature death after seeing the ghost.
your comments
Ben Roberts Greenfield.
Today I visited the site of the house as I find stuff like this interesting, on the side of the house written in chalk it said (are the rumours true) and someone else wrote (yes) does anyone know what they are?
Mon Jul 28 10:12:25 2008
Peter B from Australia
Just came across this site whilst researching Denbigh Moors. I had not heard of the Roman soldier but in the 1960s my mates and I used to climb in the Ogwen area. One afternoon we set off from Flint via Mold and Ruthin rd. We were going to spend Xmas in the mountains. There were 3 of us in an Austin A40 van, and on a lonely road across the moors she began to boil. The head gasket had blown so we decided to walk to the nearest village for the night. It was snowing and getting dark and cold. Jim and I walked in front, Dave about ten yards behind grumbling about the whole event. When an old woman dressed in black with a shawl approached us, Jim asked directions to the nearest village hotel. She just pointed and mumbled something in Welsh then continued on. We told Dave to get a move on the lane to the pub was just up ahead, the old woman had told us. "What old woman?" he asked, he had not seen anyone. When we looked, the only footprints in the snow had been left by our climbing boots and the old woman was nowhere to be seen.
Mon Feb 18 09:46:13 2008
Mike, Holywell
I've been to the moors a couple of times over the years, haven't been to the house but been to many places up there and although I haven't seen anything, I near enough always get a feeling that someone's 'walking over my grave', especially in the woods that are on the way to Nantglyn.Was talking about it last night with a friend and he said of a battle that happened up there, I personally doubt it but I guess it could be true.
Thu Feb 14 15:42:49 2008
Ben
Message for Dave Lewis:- finding the story very funny, and Dave, if you're reading this I guess the soldier of doom hasn't killed you yet! How was your 10 minute run?
Mon Oct 29 09:02:48 2007
John the radarman from Buckley
While demonstrating radar to the military, by tracking soldiers through a 3ft thick abbey wall in pitch black, we also picked up something on the radar that nobody could explain. The soldiers to a man all said they felt as though they were being watched and that despite the cold it was actually much colder. We were demonstrating a method of soldiers standing guard without sticking their heads above the parapet. We also proved we could see weapons. I first tracked a ghost with radar when working over night in Worcester Cathedral many years ago - would love to test this further, but it requires money so after a lottery win, who knows?
Fri Oct 19 14:14:51 2007
Brynley, Flint
I have been up to see the house on the moors - it is nothing more that a pile of bricks and a waste of time unless you go for the views, then it's worth the trip. All in all a waste of time - I was more scared with me mum's driving than that place!
Fri Sep 14 08:57:46 2007
Bradderz from Flint
Last night (August 9th 2007) 3 car loads of us made the trip up to Denbigh moors expecting to experience a paranormal happening! We parked up by an abandoned pub and had been told previously that if we walked to the old ruins of a house located at the peak of the moors then we should expect to hear screams when we were near and if not to be worried because the soldier would be coming! Well it turned out that the only screams we heard were one of the girls in our group who slipped when trying to get into the house and nothing more! We never saw the soldier so kind of felt like a wasted journey but at the end of the day we were glad of the walk and the laugh that we had waiting for something to happen! In my own opinion go to the nut house, much scarier;)
Fri Aug 10 14:04:13 2007
Sam W
Can ghosts hurt anyone or are they just light, right?
Tue Jul 17 13:02:05 2007
Len Wood, Melbourne Australia
When I was 5 my brother and I heard a clap of thunder and a flash of lightening and spun around with fear to see a massive Roman Soldier statue in the front yard across the street. We never spoke of it till last year and we both drew a picture of what we saw, we each drew the same picture to our amazement. Any ideas what this was...I am now 46 years old.
Mon Jan 8 14:26:17 2007
female llay
i have travelled down here to see a friend. she said she had seen this ghost too but i didnt believe her, so she took me to the place that she had seen this ghost and we waited for 3 hours. in the end i gave up and wanted to go home, well, back to her place, but just as we went to go she stopped me and screamed at the top of her voice 'its there its there look thats the ghost i've seen!' and she started to run. i just stood and i couldnt talk or move. the man just stood staring at me. in the end after about 3 mins it started to fade away. then i started to run so me an my mate have seen him but we haven't died, but it is true there is a ghost there go an see it for yourself.
Tue Feb 28 14:02:41 2006
Alex, Dudley
interesting and spooky story id love to see the actual soldier it would be interesting to see how he reacts and most of all....where is he heading to and why?
Thu Jan 19 16:28:48 2006
earl connahs quay
I have seen it to
Wed Jan 4 16:29:05 2006
philip smith ruthin
I was interested to read that st peter's ruthin is supposed to be haunted by a roman soldier ?
As organist I practice in the building and have never come accross him, but a few strange things have occured.
Wed Dec 21 16:05:46 2005
Calms from Surrey
It's all around us so whether you choose to believe is down to you, it's not about being afraid or unsettled around them anymore. If he is there he's there besides a premature death could only mean one thing, that the life taken disturbed the life that once lived, big mistake if you saw him first.
Wed Dec 7 12:19:03 2005
Tom Hythe
Knowing that part of the world, I am not surprised that a centurion died there. The post mortem result would probably reveal that he died of terminal boredom
Thu Oct 27 10:41:27 2005
Rebecca Clark, Liverpool
Whilst on the Denbigh moors last week (14th Aug 2005) filming a short film at night (part of a university project) a still photograph taken on a digital camera revealed a strange hand reaching for one of the female actors. Everyone was accounted for and there is no possible way it was one of the cast or crews hands but it is denfinitely there. I have the image saved on the camera as proof!
Wed Aug 24 20:59:09 2005
John Boy Doyle - Wrexham
The Roman Centurion who is said to walk the moors is said only to be a little over 4 foot high. This suggests to me that he is walking on a very old long since lost road that has been with age. I sometimes think I see him when walking my dog. Very unsettling.
Wed Aug 10 12:45:56 2005
Helen Zaas from Australia
I was walking along Aires Rock when we (me and a group of white witches) were carrying out a ritual. We had no light as it was a full moon and that was our light source. Everyone in the group felt a hand trying to choke them,we decided to stay but the "feelings" just got more aggressive and weirder so we left. We have recently been back and some other people have said that they have had the same experiences. Weird or what!
Fri Jul 1 10:57:33 2005
Tina of Philippines
I wish it's just a joke because I really fear such a story. But others says that there was really a spirit who still searching for peace.
Wed May 18 06:07:58 2005
Carys from Bermuda
My Granddparents had a farm on the moors and as a child (and well into my teens) I spent many hours exploring the moors. I never felt spooked and if anything always found the moors to be perfectly peaceful. My trips home are not complete without the mandatory trip up to the old homestead -the beauty of the area is still breathtaking and I have never felt any eerie feelings whilst there
Fri Apr 22 02:46:43 2005
Alejandro from Argentina
Stephanie made a joke (I hope so).
Sat Feb 5 23:47:40 2005
Christy Allford
Whoever wrote "this picture is fake sorry I don't believe that one". It's obviously not supposed to be a real picture, it's an image of what they think it may look like, you obviously didn't read the story properly and guessed it was a load of bs, learn to read!
Fri Jan 14 05:06:26 2005
Julie Williams, Ruthin
I know of local builders at Ruthin who have found Roman coins and said nothing, as work would have had to stop while an archaeological survey was carried out. Also, St Peter's church at Ruthin is supposed to be haunted by a Roman soldier.
My point is that, battle or not, the Romans or those employed by them were not strangers to the North Wales area. Maybe they were locals who joined up and 'made good'.
Sun Dec 26 16:07:57 2004
Thingy
I get the feeling of anger & hatred, because he may have felt that he died when he wasn't ready. Is anyone brave enough to talk to him?
Wed Nov 10 16:48:22 2004
Ian from Cefn Mawr
Recorded history has it that there were few Romans killed on the moor. So, if you are not a sceptic, it is something you don't take lightly when going over that area.
Mon Oct 18 15:27:12 2004
Rhiannon Wrexham
Stephanie Canada... I don't wish to state the obvious but between you and I (and whoever decides to read this comment) it's not supposed to be real, it's just meant to be an indicator as to what these people have seen, sweetie x
Sat Jun 26 09:59:51 2004
Stephanie Lepez from Canada
I think that's a total fake picture! Sry but I don't believe that 1.
Tue Jun 1 18:59:35 2004
Chris Williams
I think the story is rubbish. For one thing the story claims the soldier to be a centurion, even though there were 80 solders for every one centurion. Also, I haven't come across any records of the Romans fighting any pitch battles on the moors. It seems the least likely place for a battle to occur. The story also claims some people who saw it 'die' premature. What is that meant to mean, a "ring" style death or getting hit by a car or something?
Fri Mar 26 19:22:38 2004
Toni, Finland
I'd like to respond to Jarred from Australia: You haven't obviously caught the catch of the story: not everyone who's seen the ghost has to die! For example only one of the fishermen died. So gee, I reeeeally wonder how people lived to tell about the ghost...
Fri Feb 13 15:45:28 2004
Toni, Finland
Now that's a freaky story I like!
Fri Feb 13 15:35:54 2004
Sadie from Powys
I travel over Denbigh Moors to go surfing in Abersoch and whenever I seem to go over there I don't like it. The mist is unreal and spooky and the weather never seems to be good. I can never recall it being good weather when I go over the moors.
Fri Feb 6 19:59:49 2004
Jarred, Aus
Real people would have survived to tell the tale.
Sat Jan 17 00:04:23 2004
Dawn Nelson, Canada
I found this tale interesting, as my grandmother, who was born in the county of Denbigh in 1899 and immigrated to Canada when she was twelve, used to tell us of reports of people walking the moors and hearing what sounded like an ancient battle taking place with soldiers in full armour and with swords.
Sat Jan 10 00:01:17 2004
Richard Holland, Mold
I repeated this story in 'Haunted Clwyd', but now I rather fear it may not be folklore at all - but made up at a much later date! However, I would be very grateful if Lorraine, or anyone else, could direct me to the precise location of this bridge. There appear to be several which fit the bill and it would be useful to know which one the locals point out as 'the haunted bridge.'
Sun Nov 9 20:17:57 2003
Robin, Canada
Very weird!
Sun Oct 12 01:58:42 2003
Lorraine from Shotton
When I was 13 me and my cousins went there and I have not been back since. It is very spooky: we heard moanings from the fields and that was enough.
Thu Jul 10 14:34:31 2003
We're no longer accepting comments on this page but we're still interested in your ghost stories about NE Wales
