Mine Disaster Premonitions at Morfa November 22, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
10 March 1890 one of the worst mining accidents in British history* took place in Morfa in South Wales. 87 miners were killed. A gas explosion had been set off, probably by an unfastened lamp. Interestingly the local community had had forebodings before the explosion. This article came out almost two months later in the main Welsh newspaper.
The Morfa explosion has been prolific of material inviting the investigation of the Psychical Society [sic]. In this instance the presentiments and warnings had the merit, rarely associated with such incidents, of dating back beyond the event connected with them. Observe the sequence of unquestionable facts, fourteen days before the explosion the colliers were so disturbed by uncanny sounds and flesh-creeping premonitions that they secretly subjected the colliery to a special examination. The disturbance was so pronounced that the manager threatened to dismiss anyone found reporting the alleged supernatural manifestations. Several of the victims of the explosion stayed away from work days before the disaster in consequence of the effect produced upon their minds by what they had seen, had heard or had dreamed. At a time when the air was heavy with weird stories of ghostly visitations, a catastrophe happened which took away a hundred lives and filled the district with lamentations. Is it surprising that people whose religion does not exclude, but rather favours, the belief in the direct interposition of the Almighty in everyday occurrences, should regard the signs as emanating from a Divine source; that henceforward the locality should be peopled with ghostly visitors; that evidences of the supernatural should be detected on ever hand? Western Mail, 26 April 1890, 3.
The end passage is a low and unnecessary shin-kick at Welsh Methodism. The author though is intelligent and goes on to discuss the fairy background to these superstitions, the knockers or coblynau who supposedly knocked or thumped communications to miners. It seems that there was, unless this is retrospective reconstruction of a couple of bad dreams, something like hysteria among the men in the pit. The problem is that the writer is infuriatingly unexact in describing the material: miners saw, heard and dreamt… what? Heard we might imagine the traditional knocks, dreams could have been anything but what about the ‘flesh-creeping premonitions’? Can anyone dig up any other good contemporary sources for the paranormal Morfa explosion: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com
*The worst was the absolutely dreadful Senghenydd disaster (also Wales) in 1913 when 440 were killed…
22 Nov 2015: Chris from Haunted Ohio Books writes: Here are a couple of clippings: one from a US paper and one from a Spiritualist paper about the Morfa manifestations.
Superstitious Miners: A remarkable story is told in connection with the explosion at the Morfa colliery in Wales. It is stated that recently the firemen of the pit—men who are always selected for gravity and responsibility—have heard inexplicable noises, “shoutings” as they are described, in the workings, and that these have not been heard by one person alone, but by several, when in company examining the pit. Further, a miner returning to the surface felt himself to be accompanied by some invisible presence, which, although not seen by him, was perceived by the banksman to land on the bank, and hastily make its way to the shed where the injured and dead are now carried. It is alleged that these strange phenomena were described previously to the explosion and caused several colliers to refuse to descend, in spite of their thus becoming liable to prosecution. New York Sun The Journal News [Hamilton, OH] 21 May 1890: p. 4
I have had a number of clippings from various papers in regard to the alleged supernatural noises and apparitions which are reported to have taken place before the lamentable explosion at the Morfa Colliery. The best is that of the Western Mail (March 14th), and I reproduce it as it comes to me, without, of course, endorsing or necessarily approving what is said in it. It is from the Pontypridd correspondent of the Western Mail:— Although during my visits to the scenes of the various colliery disasters which have occurred in South Wales and Monmouthshire during the past dozen years I have met with many strange stories not excepting so-called ghost stories, it has been left to me to come to Taibach to meet with a large body of people—not an exceptional individual—pinning their faith to superstitious anecdotes of a most extraordinary kind. A red dog forms the leading feature of one of these tales. This red dog was, it is said, seen in the colliery some time ago. It daily made its appearance in one of the working places, and then just as mysteriously disappeared. It may have been a living dog, I suggested, but my informant would not admit it for a moment— it was a ghostly dog, and an omen of evil. The story of the man dressed in oilskins and wearing a leather cap, who one day appeared on the cage and then vanished into thin air, mentioned in one of the narratives yesterday, is another example. Then there is another tale told of a man who jumped on a journey of trams underground, and, after riding some distance, jumped off and melted away in the darkness of the mine; and that this man was recognised as one who died long ago. Strange noises of ghostly trams “running wild” in the pit and heavy falls which never took place are quite ordinary matters compared with the remarkable perfume which is alleged pervaded some part of the mine on a particular occasion. It was an odour like that of a garden of roses. There was nothing visible, .but the pleasant aroma of innumerable roses was, it is said, inhaled by several persons. These hallucinations, evidently formed of morbid fancies, have, for some time past, produced in the minds of many of the workmen a vague, indefinite fear that something would happen. Of course, all the workmen do not believe this tattle, but not a few shake their heads ominously when such things are mentioned, and one actually said yesterday: “I did not believe them before, but it has all come true now”; and to smile at the recital of any of these stories is to bring down on one’s self the dire displeasure of his informant. Mr. Isaac Hopkins, manager of the Dynevor Collieries, Neath, came to Port Talbot on Tuesday night, and on the same evening he was telling Mr. George Palmer, of Neath, that some men had come to work at his colliery, and stated as their reason for leaving the Morfa that the pit was haunted. The Yorkshire Post has a similar but less full narrative; various other papers give currency also to the supernatural warnings. Probably there were warnings. These very soon spread among a sensitive people who are secluded from the outer world, and carry their lives in their hand when they go to their work. I should expect to find such people “ superstitious,” i.e.,more alive to the action and presence of the world of spirit than their neighbours of coarser fibre. But as to the exact amount of truth existent in these records I am not- called on to decide. Light, Vol. 10 29 March 1890
Anon X sends in this link:
The pit of Ghosts. Reports of strange happenings and ghostly sightings were commonplace at this colliery, but in the weeks prior to an explosion in 1863 in which 40 miners lost their lives the eerie incidences became more frequent. Superstition was rife among the workforce and it was commonly believed that these supernatural events were harbingers of disaster. After the explosion these strange events occurred less often, except for one particular apparition of a dog, which would appear out of nowhere and then mysteriously vanish into thin air, they called this phenomenon “The red dog of Morfa”. Morfa colliery became known throughout the coalfield as the pit of ghosts. An unusual explosion occurred here on the 14th of February 1870. Work on deepening the shaft was in operation, when a quantity of blasting powder accidentally got ignited, killing 29 men. On the 10th of March 1890 another explosion occurred at this colliery this time claiming the lives of 89 men and boys, including one of the rescuers. It was at the beginning of the morning shift with a workforce of 250 men and boys underground when the blast ripped through the labyrinth of mine workings. Some 100 or so survivors managed to walk to pit bottom unaided and these were quickly brought to the surface. The search for other survivors was blocked by a large roof fall in one of the main headings. Work to clear this fall was still going on the following morning when to the amazement of the rescue team five young boys clambered through a small opening over the top of the fall. They described the harrowing experiences they had encountered while making their way to safety including having to climb over badly mutilated bodies of their workmates. After the fall was cleared the rescuers were able to make slow progress further into the mines workings clearing other roof falls and debris but recovering only dead bodies. It took another twelve hours before they reached the area where the explosion occurred. It seemed very unlikely that any more survivors would be found, when astonishingly they discovered John Franks, although injured but suffering from the effects of afterdamp had somehow survived the explosion. On the Wednesday with the rescuers still clearing and searching the many headings and stalls, a fire broke out in one part of the mine, this made their already hazardous task much more difficult. In the smoke and confusion some of the rescuers became detach from the main party and they got lost in the maze of roadways. The following morning all but one of the missing rescuers were found alive and unharmed, but they had difficulty in reaching one man named Brownsell and it was some time before he could be rescued. He had been overcome by the effects of smoke and afterdamp, which has rendered him unconscious; he died soon after being brought to the surface. It wasn’t until a week after the explosion that all 89 bodies were recovered. The under-manager a man named Barvass had been badly injured in the previous explosion of 1863 and he also survived several other minor blasts. Alas this time he wasn’t so fortunate and he was numbered among the dead. At the inquest some witnesses spoke of hearing unearthly voices just before the explosion occurred and there were many reports of a strong smell of roses that had permeated throughout the workings. The jury returned the verdict that the explosion was caused by shot firing igniting a body of gas. However because of the collieries supernatural reputation others were keen to believe in a more paranormal explanation Morfa Colliery. 26th of November 1858
