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Was it a ghost pirate ship or a UFO? RICK HALE tries to separate fact from fiction in the strange happenings on St Catherine’s Island in Wales
A few years ago I was a guest on a podcast and the host asked a very interesting question: “What is the part of paranormal research and investigation that concerns me the most?”
Without even thinking about it, I immediately replied, “That’s an easy question that I think most researchers would agree with, separating a legend from a historical fact.”
In a country like Wales, with a rich history of both legend and folklore, the lines between legend and fact are sometimes somewhat blurred.
And no legend is more difficult to distinguish from the truth than the legend of St. Catherine’s Island in Tenby.
Only because it contains elements of two very different elements found in the broad spectrum of the paranormal.
Some might say it’s a spooky legend. While others believe that the people of Tenby have come into contact with something out of this world.
Located just off the coast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, St Catherine’s is a small tidal island accessible on foot at low tide.
Originally owned by the Earl of Pembroke, who lost the island during the reign of Elizabeth I, the island passed into the hands of the Corporation of Tenby.
For centuries, the only building that dominated the island was a lonely church overlooking the sea.
That was until 1867, when the church was razed to make way for St. Catherine’s Fort.
The fortress was built after Napoleon III, Emperor of France, made a number of perceived invasion threats against Britain. Threats that fortunately were never realized, despite the bluster of the French monarch.
For most of the 20th century, the island was family-owned and lonely and quiet.
Fortunately, the island’s fortunes changed in 2014 when it was opened to the public and became a tourist hotspot for those seeking the strange and unusual.
And that strange and unusual thing comes from a bizarre legend surrounding the island. A legend that ties in with the phenomena known in the paranormal field as high strangeness.
Legend of St. Catherine’s Island
The strange legend surrounding this seemingly innocent island took place long before the fortress was built. Sometime during the reign of Elizabeth I.
One day, shortly after all the fishing boats had left port to seek their fortunes in the depths around the island, an unusually powerful storm came out of nowhere.
Seeing how foolish it would be to remain on the water, for such a storm would bring certain disaster, the fishermen took in their nets and headed for the shore.
Their families stood on Castle Hill and watched as each boat arrived safely.
Satisfied that all the boats were safely in port, the people were about to leave for the safety of their homes when they noticed something strange.
A single ship, larger than anything the people of Tenby knew, struggled in the waves that the storms stirred.
But it wasn’t just any ship. On this particular ship, strange multi-colored lights danced and strange figures walked across the deck.
The good people of Tenby were so afraid of what they saw manifesting before them that they fled in fear to their homes to wait out the storm. And whatever this terrifying apparition may be.
As the storm raged outside, unearthly sounds carried by the wind could be heard.
Sounds that sounded like a multitude of voices all shouting at once and what could only be described as a huge ship coming to a stop on the beach.
Whatever this terrifying ship was, it had come ashore, and its ghostly sailors would soon sweep through the city.
The next morning the storm had passed over the sea again and the sun shone high and bright.
Several citizens of Tenby gathered their courage and walked to the shore to see which ship was making such horrifying noises. What they found surprised them.
There was not a ship to be seen on the beach, not a wreck, not even a piece of driftwood to be found.
All they found was a single man, dressed in strange clothes, sleeping soundly on the beach.
When the man woke up, he was taken to a nearby house, where he refused any hospitality and would not speak to anyone, as he was a foreigner and could barely speak the Queen’s English.
The only person he wanted to talk to was a local shepherd. And over time, pieces of his life story began to come to light. And it was really nerve-wracking.
According to the stranger, he was a pirate who attacked and plundered several coastal villages in Britain.
He had so much blood on his hands that the sea maidens tormented him and turned his ship into a ghost ship.
After telling his story, the stranger claimed that his deceased lover called him to be with her.
And being helpless to do anything, the shepherd watched in horror as the man ran to a cliff and threw himself into the sea. Where he sank beneath the waves and drowned.
An alternative theory
What we have here is your age-old tale of a ghost ship and a man so haunted by his past that he took desperate measures and committed suicide.
According to some who visit the island, the man still haunts the island to this day.
However, I would like to offer an alternative theory as to who the man was and the alleged ghost ship that brought him to the good people Tenby.
As for the ship, it was unlike anything they had ever seen, emitting strange lights and cacophonous sounds.
As for the man, who was completely strange to them and wore strange clothes that looked like nothing they had ever seen before.
I think you might know where I’m going with this.
What if the ship wasn’t a seagoing vessel, but rather a spaceship and the man was actually an alien resident left behind?
Of course, this is mere speculation, perhaps even wild. But we as humans, when faced with the unknown, will put a human face on what we do not understand.
Or attributing the familiar to the otherwise extraordinary. Regardless, the legend of St. Catherine’s Island has stood the test of time. And will continue to do so.
Tell us your thoughts on the strange story of St Catherine’s Island in Tenby in the comments below!
