The Devil of Bangor: A Christmas Eve Encounter

This Christmas tale, recounted by Jimmy the Welsh Viking, centres around an unusual experience of his grandfather in Bangor, Wales. During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Jimmy's grandfather worked as a steam engine fireman, later transitioning to the gasworks in Bangor after the phasing out of steam trains.

One Christmas Eve, seeking extra income, he volunteered for a shift at the gasworks. Around midnight, while working in the boiler room, a man in a sharply tailored black suit, overcoat, and hat, accented with a red tie, entered. The man claimed his car had broken down and inquired about the location of a tire shop. Jimmy's grandfather provided directions to a shop approximately a mile away.

Shortly after, the grandfather noticed the man had walked into the coal yard, an area enclosed by a high wall topped with glass. Realizing there was no exit that way, he went to alert the man, but he had disappeared. Returning to the boiler room, he discovered a £5 note and a thank you note on the floor. Disturbed by the encounter, he burned both the money and the note.

The following morning, he visited the local church and confided to the vicar that he believed he had seen the devil. Jimmy's grandmother maintained that it was indeed the devil, while Jimmy himself has considered alternative explanations, such as a prank or even a mistaken encounter with Father Christmas. However, the man's sudden disappearance from the enclosed coal yard remains an unexplained element of the story.

Check out our Christmas episode with Jimmy the Welsh Viking for this and more ghost stories here