Mystic girl of Gwrych Castle

A company boss Kevin Horkin was taken pictures at Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales and may have captured a picture of a spirit.
Kevin didn’t notice anything unusual until he downloaded the pictures to his PC. In one of the photos was the image of a pale young woman looking out a window.
Amazingly, it’s impossible for anyone to stand at that particular window because the floor in the room is completely destroyed.
North Wales Paranormal group have confirmed that many sightings have been recorded at the castle.
Local history claims that the first castle at Gwrych was built by the Normans in the 12th century. It was seized by the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffydd (the Lord Rhys) of Deheubarth in about 1170 who then rebuilt the timber castle in stone. This castle was later destroyed by Cromwell’s army following the English Civil War of the mid-17th century.
The later castle at Gwrych was begun in 1819. The castle is a Grade 1 listed building set in a wooded hillside overlooking the Irish Sea.
It was the first Gothic folly to be built in Europe by a wealthy industrialist Lloyd Hesketh. Bamford Hesketh, his son, inherited the title of Gwrych in his early 20s and used his vast fortune to build the 4,000-acre Gwrych Castle Estate.
The castle once had a total of 128 rooms including the outbuildings, including twenty-eight bedrooms, an outer hall, an inner hall, two smoke rooms, a dining room, a drawing room, a billiards room, an oak study, and a range of accommodations for servants.
There are nineteen embattled towers and the whole facade is over 2000 yards. Many feel the castle’s outstanding feature was the castle’s 52-step marble staircase.

THE HISTORY OF GWRYCH CASTLE

Local history claims that the first castle at Gwrych was built by the Normans in the 12th century. It was seized by the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffydd (the Lord Rhys) of Deheubarth in about 1170 who then rebuilt the timber castle in stone. This castle was later destroyed by Cromwell's army following the English Civil War of the mid-17th century.
The later castle at Gwrych was begun in 1819. The castle is a Grade 1 listed building set in a wooded hillside over looking the Irish Sea. It was the first Gothic folly to be built in Europe by a wealthy industrialist Lloyd Hesketh. Bamford Hesketh, his son, inherited the title of Gwrych in his early 20s and used his vast fortune to build the 4,000-acre Gwrych Castle Estate.
The castle once had a total of 128 rooms including the outbuildings, including twenty-eight bedrooms, an outer hall, an inner hall, two smoke rooms, a dining room, a drawing room, a billiards room, an oak study, and a range of accommodations for servants. There are nineteen embattled towers and the whole facade is over 2000 yards. Many feel the castle's outstanding feature was the castle's 52-step marble staircase.
Queen Victoria stayed at Gwrych in 1932 in what is now known as the Victoria bedroom. These rooms are situated in the front of the castle in the round tower on the first floor, with two windows overlooking the Irish Sea.
In 1946 The castle was sold and then it passed through subsequent owners and is now derelict. All of the windows are cast iron and the fantastic stained glass has vanished. It's been years since the castle's been occupied. Years ago they used to hold medieval fairs and the like on the grounds of the castle.
The castle was bought several years ago by an American businessman who planned to spend 10 million pounds to convert the castle into a top-class opera house with adjoining luxury hotel. But those plans never materialized and the building was frequently vandalized. Unfortunately, in early 1998 Gwrych was extensively damaged following the collapse of ceilings and floors, and was later damaged by fire.

Afghanistan’s Hidden Treasures

Back in 1979, Soviet archaeologists digging in Afghanistan stumbled upon more than 20,000 gold coins and artifacts from over 2,000 years ago. Experts believe that they belonged to the Silk Road culture of Bactria, an important culture in Afghan history. The ancient treasure was hidden away in a secret chamber, inside of locked boxes, during the next 20 years for safe-keeping. Nobody knew about the treasure, and many thought that it was actually stolen during conflicts in Afghanistan during that time period. Finally, these secret locked boxes were cut open, and the treasure was again revealed in 2004. Keeping this treasure a secret was very important because the Taliban had looted and stolen 80% of Afghanistan’s treasure in 1996, but they never knew of the Bactria treasure that was hidden away in 6 large locked boxes. This treasure is now being stored in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Centralia, PA The Mouth Of Hell

Practically from the time we are born, we develop a picture in our minds of the american dream.In general, to achieve that dream, we find the ideal job, get married, buy a home, and start a family. We live our lives from day to day with the hope of building a bright future.
now imagine that everything that you have worked so hard to accomplish went literally up in smoke. as tragic as this may sound, in 1962 the town of Centralia, located in Columbia County Pennsylvania, had that nightmare become a reality, but on a much larger scale. An abandoned strip mine was accidently set on fire, igniting a nearby vein of anthracite coal. From water and fly ash, to back filling and drilling, every idea tempted to put out the fire would have the same results. It would flair up again in a different locatation making it impossible to control.
Government showed little concern in extinguishing the flames until 1981, when a 12 year old boy had a sink hole swallow him right out from under his feet, while playing in his own back yard. Fortunately for him, he was not alone at the time and was rescued by a visiting cousin.
In 1983, a research study done by engineers, showed that the only way to put out the fire for good is to escavate and dig up the entire vein. At a cost of 600 million dollars, the federal government chose to relocate the villagers at a much lower cost. Many people felt that this was merely a ploy to acquire mineral rights for the coal. They decided to take their chances in court and fight the decision, but to no avail. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania claimed eminant domain, condemning house after house, stating that it was due to toxic gases, sink holes and the eminent danger that exists. Not only did the residents have the government to deal with, but the post office revoked their zipcode as well.
47 years and 40 million dollars later, there are only 9 buildings left with 8 people remaining, in a town that was once the home of over 2000 people. It is hard to say whether or not the many attempts to put out the fire would have been more successful, had the government gotten involved sooner, but if you ask any of the former residents. they would surely have appreciated it if somebody would have at least tried.
Anthracite is one of the most pure types of coal in existance. Because of this, it burns very hot making it the perfect source for the steel industry. The study also revealed that because of that reason, the fire could spread to 3700 acres and could stay ignited for 250 years or more.
Appropriately nicknamed the mouth of hell, Centralia virtually is no more. Route 61 is now detoured through the neighboring town of Ashland. What is to become of the towns and villages that surround Centralia? Will they too suffer the same fate? Will Route 61 once again be rerouted through another town because Ashland is in the path of distruction? Is it not worth millions to dig up a vein of coal that has a value of billions to save these communities? Maybe the fears of the residents were right, maybe it is about obtaining mineral rights after all. Only time will tell.