It’s that time of year again when we celebrate the spooky and don our scariest costumes. Here are just some of the spookiest tales in mid and west Wales.

Richard Holland writes in the book Wales of the Unexpected about ghoulish ghost pirates on Pen Llŷn and in rural Ceredigion endlessly searching for hidden treasure.

One such buccaneer was John Wyn ap Hugh, better known as John Bodfal. He owned Ynys Enlli which purportedly became a pirate haven.

The tale goes that John Bodfal buried his treasure at Marian Glas and a phantom horseman can be seen and heard looking for the buried loot.

Another tale of ghost pirates comes from the Ystwyth Valley.

J C Davies, who collected folk tales from the region in the early 1900s, wrote that a bridge in Llanafan had a reputation for being haunted.

An old man told him that the origin of the ghost ‘could be traced to some former days when retired pirates lived in a house near the bridge, and who were supposed to have hidden some treasure in this spot.’

Mr Holland writes: “That privateers and other rogues plagued the coast of Wales in centuries past is beyond doubt.

“When a Portuguese ship came to grief on the Borth sands, the local fishermen began to loot the wreck with glee.

“They were startled to discover, however, that not all the crew were drowned.

“The captain had lashed himself to the mast and though half-dead was now glaring at them accusingly.

“And at precisely the same moment as their discovery, the looters heard the sound of approaching hoof-beats thudding across the sands -- the excise men were on their way!

“Panicked, the fishermen murdered the only witness to their deed and threw his body overboard.

“For many years afterwards, it was said, the bay became haunted by the blood curdling shriek of the murdered captain.”­

Nannau Park is located a few miles from Dolgellau and at one time featured an oak tree with a bizarre appearance, said to have been caused by spirits.

The ghost was said to be one Hywel Sele, Lord of Nannau, possibly slain by his cousin, Owain Glyndwr in 1402.

The legend goes that while out on a hunt, Sele attempted to kill Glyndwr but failed and was himself killed, his body being hidden within the hollow of an oak tree.

The oak is subsequently said to have been haunted and was named Derwen Ceubren yr Ellyl (‘The Hollow Oak of the Devils’) or Ceubren yr Ellyll (‘The Hollow Tree of the Ghost’).

A skeleton, believed to be the remains of Sele, was discovered in a tree approximately 40 years later.

His ghost was said to wander for the next four centuries

It was known as a “tree of ghostly dread”, and even though it no longer stands, maybe the area still has some feeling of strangeness.

The sound of a harp that can occasionally be heard on a stretch of the River Teifi in Llandysul, known as ‘Pool of the Harper’, is thought to belong to a performer who drowned there.

The banks of the river, which stretch for some 75 miles, are said to be home to a couple of phantom women.

A woman in green wearing emeralds is said to protect a hidden treasure somewhere along the river, while a woman dressed from head to toe in black drifts around looking for something… or someone.

Cardigan Castle has an unusual ghost - that of a Barbary ape, which was rescued from a wrecked Spanish galleon by Sir Rowland Rees, a 19th century resident of the Cardigan Castle on his travels.

During a dispute over the elopement of his only son with the daughter of a local merchant, Sir Rowland was killed one stormy night.

His pet ape was never seen again... except when his ghost appears on those rare, wild stormy nights.

There are two supernatural tales surrounding St David’s Church in Blaenporth.

If a phantom bell is said to be heard three times at midday or midnight, someone of importance in the village is due to die.

There is also the tale of a ghost named White Mary.

This ghost is said to have once manifested to a local man and instructed him to find the thief who had stolen the church’s communion cup. She gave her champion exact details on where to find the item and the criminal, so it was not long before the missing goblet was returned.

This tale dates back to the middle of the 16th century.

A judge who sentenced a group of 80 bandits to death was ambushed by the remainder of the ganag and brutally murdered on what is now the A458 north of Mallwyd.

His screams are reportedly still heard from time to time.

Not spooked enough? Check out one paranormal researcher’s top five most haunted spots in and around Aberystwyth.

If you’ve got your own terrifying tale to tell, get in touch with us today by email at [email protected]